Betty Giorgi is the head of adult services at the Wilmette Public Library. She took some time from her schedule to talk about what she likes to do in the summer, her philosophy on books she doesn’t like and more.
Q: What’s your background?
A: My hometown is Rockford, Ill. I came to Chicago in the late 1980s, after having lived in Madison, Wisc., where I went to school.
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Q: Since we’re here in a library, can you tell us what your favorite book genres are?
A: I read just about everything – fiction and non-fiction, suspense, mystery, historical fiction. I like it all, so there’s no particular genre that is a favorite.
Q: Where did you travel this summer?
A: Every summer we travel to southwest Michigan, near Saugatuck … We go there every summer; we pick fresh fruit, and swim, and take bike rides and visit friends and family. You can’t beat Michigan cherries and peaches and blueberries!
Q: Do you have a cause or charity that you’d like people to know about?
A: One of my favorite causes is a group called Free Spirit Media (www.freespiritmedia.org It’s a non-profit group in Chicago that helps young people by giving them the tools to express themselves.
Q: Have you ever read a book that upset you or made you so mad that you wanted to throw it across the room?
A: I feel like a kid in a candy store working in the library, because there are so many books to read, and if I don’t like a book, I don’t feel obligated to finish it.
Q: What are you currently reading?
Q: I’m reading “The Nix,” by Nathan Hill, and “The Sympathizer,” by Viet Thanh Nguyen. Both are books that look back at a period in our history that is ripe for telling stories.
Q: What’s your idea of a perfect day?
A: It would be hopping on my bike, riding along the lakefront to hear a concert at Millennium Park, with perfect temperatures and that fantastic skyline. Cloud Gate is my inspiration!
Q: Are you looking forward to autumn?
A: I love the changing colors of autumn. We’ll go back to Michigan for apple picking.
–Kathy Routliffe, Pioneer Press
Twitter: @pioneer_kathy
Shout Out is a weekly feature in which we get to know and introduce our readers to their fellow community members and local visitors throughout suburban Chicago. Check out more online at ChicagoTribune.com/ShoutOut.
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