Katrien (she/her) is a Horticulturist, Greenhouse & Nursery Operations for the Scott Arboretum & Gardens. According to her mom, Katrien's first word was "book," and she's been living up to this love of stories ever since. Often caught reading on lunch breaks and during her five-minute SEPTA commute, Katrien enjoys participating in the Staff/Faculty Book Club, running a two-person book club with her best friend, and slowly working through massive fantasy series on the side. Between the dozen of books she tries to juggle each month, Katrien also enjoys indie games, cleaning scale off the Ficus in Singer Hall, and trying to take her cat Ginkgo on walks in the gardens.

What are you reading these days? I've been trying out a lot of different books lately. Some of my recent picks have had a bit of a body horror element, but I really just get a kick out of expanding my horizons. Top reads from the past month would include Angel Down, The Goldfinch, The Great Hunt, and Atmosphere.

Describe your favorite place to read on campus: When I do find time to read on campus, I don't make it much further than the Terry Shane Teaching Garden and usually by the fishpond.

Is there a book you've read multiple times? Most recently, I've found myself coming back to The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. I haven't finished the series yet (Oathbringer is really long), but the first book has helped me through a number of difficult times in the past few years. Whenever the world feels overwhelming, or I feel small and helpless, Kaladin's story line and some of Hoid's quotes have given me that extra boost to get up in the morning and keep hoping for a better future. Take a deep breath. Be sad. And then get back to work.

Who is your favorite author? It's hard for me to pinpoint one author because I haven't made a dent in any author's complete works. However, I have been really wowed by a couple recently. I love what Stephen Graham Jones does with twisting American narratives and building macabre suspense. Chelsea G. Summers had me, a vegetarian, salivating over her decadent word-choice. Meanwhile, every Taylor Jenkins Reid book fills me with such a whirlwind of drama and character that I could read them in one sitting. Or even Mary Shelley because wow, Frankenstein is fantastic and so fun to reread. And as someone who read the original Mistborn trilogy back in middle school and went to a book-signing for his Steelheart trilogy, I keep coming back to Brandon Sanderson's magical worlds.

What's the latest book you could not finish even though you thought you should? I put down the second book in the Licanius trilogy, An Echo of Things to Come. I liked his newer book The Will of the Many in terms of magic and intrigue, so I gave his older trilogy a shot, but honestly it felt like a recycled version of a typical, Eurocentric epic fantasy. I was bored.

What is your favorite reading genre? I most frequently pick up fantasy or sci-fi, but the genre boundaries are flexible. Epic fantasy, historical fantasy, horror fantasy, horror sci-fi, steampunk. Even my favorite literary fiction has some otherworldliness to it (e.g. Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield).

What book do you recommend most often? The book I recommend most often (and most often gift for birthdays) is Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir. The premise doesn't sound like something that works. Intergalactic necromancers in a mostly-friendly competition find themselves instead trapped in a haunted house murder mystery. However, the lovable characters, absolutely bananas plot, and unique world-building make it captivating for all types of readers. Also, I love getting the text message: "NO WAY. HOW DARE YOU." It's one of the few cases where I think the second book is the best in the series. Here's to hoping Tamsyn Muir finishes the final book; the cliffhangers have been pretty gnarly.

What's the best movie adaptation of a book you've read? Holes (2003)

What book made an early impact on you and why? And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. I like being tricked by stories, and that twist was definitely unforgettable.

What is one lesson you learned from a book that you think everyone should know? Maybe not a specific lesson, but I highly recommend The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein. I learned a lot about governmentally-enforced racism in housing, but I also learned to appreciate nonfiction as a personal educational journey. Oftentimes I find myself turning to books as an escape, and this book helped me break into the notion of books as a way to continue my education post-graduation.