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Read All Over celebrates the bookworm in all of us, showcasing readers in Vancouver and the books they love most. |
| I'm a writer and editor of crafts- and creativity-related things, including books, magazine pieces and blogs, and I used to be the DiYVR editor here at Vancouver Is Awesome. I facilitate the Mighty Ugly Project which encourages people to explore the dark side of creativity. I have an impressive library of crafts books, and I've been on a young-adult fiction kick this year. |
What are you currently reading? Your thoughts on it?
I'm rereading my favourite book, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, by Michael Chabon. I rarely read a book more than once, so this is a big deal for me. When I first read it several years ago, I truly fell in love with it and the characters. I'm very relieved and pleased to discover that love hadn't faded.
How do you like your books served up best - audio books, graphic novels, used paperbacks, library loaner, e-reader...?
I'm not at all picky. I love the instant gratification of ebooks, and of not having to store them on our shelves. But I also love paper books of any variety – used, new, hardcover, paperback.
What books have changed your life?
I'm not sure any book has changed my life. But I have loved many. And I did wear nothing but black for a few weeks after reading Pattern Recognition, by William Gibson.
The one book you always recommend is...
What Is the What, by Dave Eggers. Every human should read it.
What books have influenced your life the most?
I couldn't really say, overall. But I recently read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot. It's a nonfiction book about a woman, Henrietta Lacks, who died of cervical cancer in the early 1950s, and whose malignant cells were sampled without her knowledge and ended up becoming the world's first immortal cell line, enabling major medical advances. She was poor, uneducated and black, and Skloot tells the story of her family, and gives an impressive history of medical research and ethics. It's one of the best non-fiction books I've read, and the scope and detail of it are downright inspiring to me, as a writer of non-fiction.
What book or story impressed you as a child? Were you obsessed with any particular ones?
Julie of the Wolves, by Jean Craighead George. It's about a girl who lived with wolves, and I would make a tent out of my blanket and read inside it with a flashlight.
What writer would you love to see read their work?
Neil Gaiman. He's got such a fabulous speaking voice, and I love his work.
Your life story is published tomorrow. What's the title??
Words Tied Up in Knots: The Tangled Mess of Kim Werker's Life.
Photos courtesy of Kim Werker. Read her blog post about the inspiration behind and creation of the side table in the right photo.
See what Kim is up to at www.kimwerker.com
