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READ ALL OVER -- Willow Martin-Seedhouse

Read All Over celebrates the bookworm in all of us, showcasing readers in Vancouver and the books they love most. . Willow Martin Seedhouse is an Assistant Pipe Organ tuner, Gospel singer, and History buff.

Willow Martin Seedhouse is an Assistant Pipe Organ tuner, Gospel singer, and History buff. She will read just about anything she can get her hands on but especially historical fiction and fantasy. She considers herself a student of life, the Universe, and everything.

Read All Over celebrates the bookworm in all of us, showcasing readers in Vancouver and the books they love most.
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What are you currently reading? Your thoughts on it?

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. I'm enjoying it quite a lot. Rothfuss paints a very vivid picture with his words, and you can't help but be drawn in to the story and the world. The characters are entertaining, even the bit parts, and that just pulls you in more. I'm looking forward to reading the next one!

The Rampage of Haruhi Suzumiya by Nagaru Tanigawa, and At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson. I am enjoying both quite a lot. Rampage is a translated Japanese light novel, the fifth in a series and a great book to read when you're tired and need something light to make you laugh, and At Home is a fascinating book that takes you through the history of everything from architecture and electricity to British and American politics and society. Bill Bryson also has an entertaining way of writing and his footnotes and asides are almost worth it in and of themselves.

How do you like your books served up best - audio books, graphic novels, used paperbacks, library loaner, e-reader...?

Ooooooh, this gets complicated... It depends on whether I've read the book before. If I've decided it's good enough to buy, than paperback or occasionally e-book. If I've never read it before, than library loaner or I see if my cousins have it, and ask to steal it for a bit. I read a lot of graphic novels as well, but I consider them a different medium. I read them in collected paperback editions and occasionally hardcover.

The one book you always recommend is...

Ha, one? Well the one series I recommend without fail is Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. It's hard to suggest one in particular out of all of them, so it usually depends on who I'm recommending the book too. If I know their general likes and dislikes it makes it easier to pick one. The one I started with was Lords and Ladies, and that one completely hooked me.

What books have changed your life?

The Elfquest graphic novel series by Wendy and Richard Pini. I learned how to read with those comics, and they are what sparked my interest in, and love of, fantasy. The series also prompted me to start making up my own stories which I've been doing with enthusiasm for years. And Asterix. When I was little if we went visiting I'd look over the bookshelves and if they had any Asterix I would hole up in a corner with as many as could find for the rest of the evening. Asterix introduced me to the humour genre, and I've had a great appreciation of it ever since.

Which writer excites you right now?

Guy Gavriel Kay. I love his work. he's done one fantasy trilogy, and several fantasy/history novels. The amount of research he puts in to each of his books is impressive, and the end product is always incredibly detailed and well written. And to a history and folklore buff like me absolutely fascinating. I have thoroughly enjoyed every book I've read of his, and waiting for his next book is very hard but well worth the wait.

What's next on your reading list?

The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss, and Imager's Battalion by L. E. Modesitt Jr. Wise Man's Fear because I'm enjoying Name of the Wind so much and Imager's Battalion is the most recent book in the Imager series which I've been enjoying for several months. There's a few more, but the list could go on for a while.

Your life story is published tomorrow. What's the title?

Work in Progress