During the regular semester hours you’ll find Svetlana Sinanovic behind the Circulation Desk during the evening shift. Every few hours she will walk through the library making sure everything is in order. Students often quiet themselves as she nears because it is widely known that Svetlana is not afraid to shush anyone who is talking excessively loud.
When she is not safeguarding a pleasant library experience for all library patrons, Svetlana loves to read. More than anyone else in the library, with the exception of Resa Harney, Svetlana knows the McCain Library Browsing Collection inside and out. She doesn’t keep a list, but it is safe to bet that she has read more than 50% of the books in that collection. To pick her next read Svetlana peruses the Browsing Collection shelves pulling out titles that appeal to her and reading the inside cover. What she looks for in a book is a story about people that will highlight their lives and personal development. Like an anthropologist or sociologist she also wants the story to help her understand people, places and societies.
Svetlana is currently reading Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender. From the beginning of this novel Svetlana was captivated by the story.
“It was a little weird,” she said “and not real fantasy, but not real life.”
Svetlana describes the book as being about a girl who begins to feel through food the feelings of those who prepared the food. She goes on to say:
“The girl in the story describes her family whom she loves but is sad because she knows what her mother was feeling. You try to not to think about your parents and how they feel but she could not help it. It is a sweet family story.”
The book also describes how the girl’s friends reacts to her when she shares with them her special gift. Svetlana is nearly finished with this book, so it should be back on the Browsing shelves soon.
Svetlana also recently read Bogmeadow’s Wish: A Novel by Terry Kay. This is the story of one man’s relationship with his grandfather and his experience when he travels back to Ireland with his grandfather’s ashes. Svetlana loved this book because it was partially set in Decatur, GA and one of the fictional characters works at Agnes Scott College as a professor. While reading the book Svetlana admits she used Google frequently to find images of the places mentioned in the book. This book is also in the Browsing Collection.
Continuing her role as a literary sociologist, Svetlana’s latest pick from the Browsing Collection is another local author Pearl Cleage. The book is titled Just Wanna Testify: A Novel and focuses on an odd set of fictional characters Cleage has living in Atlanta’s own West End. Svetlana has never read Pearl Cleage’s work but is intrigued by insights this work may provide about life in Atlanta.
Clearly, if you are looking for something fun to read and need a recommendation Svetlana is the woman to ask next time you are in the library. She loves to talk about books and lights up when she begins to share some of her favorite titles.
