Ryan Bankson is a Library Assistant in the Circulation department at Carnegie-Stout Public Library and an infantry captain with the Iowa Army National Guard. He enjoys wandering around his haunted mansion, messing around in the woods, and devouring any book in sight.
Q & A with Ryan
Q. What is the best book you have read within the last year (or ever)?
A. Napoleon: A Life by Andrew Roberts. I'm a lifelong student of military history and Napoleon has been my personal hero for as long as I can remember. Roberts' comprehensive biography of the great soldier-statesman is the best of the many that I've read over the years. It's quite the tome, but readers cannot help but be amazed by Napoleon's accomplishments.
Q. What is your ideal reading environment (location, sound, snacks, etc.)?
A. In fair weather you'll find me on my porch with a book on my lap and cooler full of beer nearby. When the winter weather drives me inside, I do my reading in my chair in the study with a glass of brandy at hand.
Q. What book are you most excited about reading next, and what about it is most exciting?
A. I'm excited for Joe Abercrombie's latest, The Trouble with Peace. This is to be the second in a new trilogy from this master of Grimdark fantasy. What's the Grimdark fantasy subgenre you ask? Think George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. These action-packed low fantasy novels feature a lot of 'gray areas' characters–not all good or all evil, black or white. Abercrombie's characters are morally ambivalent with mixed motivations, plenty of snark, and action-packed, fast-moving plots. If this sounds appealing to you, I recommend The Blade Itself, the first in Abercrombie's First Law Trilogy.
Q. What book do you think more people should read, and why do you think they should read it?
A. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. I enjoy novels that explore themes of immortality, and this classic from the prolific Oscar Wilde really makes the reader think about the cost of eternal youth.
Q. When do you decide to stop reading a book? In other words, do you read every book to the last page, or is there a moment when you decide to stop?
A. If I decide that a book isn't worth my time, I cast it aside to be returned to the library without a second thought. This could be within a few sentences, a few chapters, or after I've slogged through half of the book. One of the best things about having a library card is that you're not on the hook for the cost of the book if it isn't a good match for you. Your friendly neighborhood library has thousands more, all available for free.
Q. Do you remember when your love for reading began?
A. I started devouring Goosebumps, Strange Matter, and Spooksville books when I was in early elementary school, later gravitating to Harry Potter, The Wheel of Time, and A Song of Ice and Fire when I was older. As long as I've been able to read independently, I've been a voracious reader with very disparate tastes.