Jenn Broekman

Jenn Broekman has worked at CHS for six years teaching Sophomore Physics.

What book are you currently reading and why did you choose it? I'm reading The Relativity of Wrong, one of Isaac Asimov's numerous books of essays about science, history, and people. Asimov is funny and I like learning new facts and seeing how what we know about the universe has changed. It's interesting to read Asimov's opinion on the oddness of Pluto, especially because these essays were written before Sedna and Eris (the second and third plutoid dwarf planets) were discovered.

What are you planning to read next?That depends on which book comes in at my library next. I have two Tamora Pierce books on order: The Realms of the Gods and The Will of the Empress.

What was the last book you read cover to cover? Do you recommend it? Lady Knight by Tamora Pierce. Sure, I recommend it. It's both an adventure and a book about the effects of war. It's the fourth book in a series, though so you might be better off starting with the first book: First Test.

What was your favorite book when you were in school? Why did you like it?Gosh, there are so many to choose from ... I really liked the Foundation trilogy by Isaac Asimov.  I think I’ve read each of the books a dozen times.  I also really liked Ursula LeGuin’s Earthsea books and Madeleine L’Engle’s Wrinkle in Time series.  They were exciting!  The stores involved travel, empires, grand sweeps of history, epic battles between Good and Evil and showed people talking, loving, laughing, and inventing: everything I was (and am) interested in.

What fiction & non-fiction genres do you like to read?Fiction: fantasy, humor, poetry, realistic fiction Non-Fiction: biography/memoir, philosophy.

What magazines and newspapers do you read? I subscribe to Rolling Stone and Swimming World, but I read my news online.

Who is your favorite author? Bruce Novotny. He’s a local New Jersey writer who bases all his fiction on my hometown. There’s nothing like being able to visualize where the characters are right down to the parking spaces and surf spots.

How do you choose the books you read? Lately, by recommendation. Sometimes I just peruse bookstore shelves until I find something that sounds right.

Who were your reading role models when you were growing up? Mostly my third grade teacher, Ms. Buckholtz and my best friend Carlee.

Can you describe an important library experience?Every Wednesday all summer, when I was seven, my grandmother would take me to the library and I could pick out three books for that week. It was always exciting, especially when she finally let me go upstairs to the “big kid” book section.

What kind of reader are you now? I used to be a very particular reader, always gravitating to the same fiction genre. I despised non-fiction for a long time. When I allowed myself to expand my choices and pick up all sorts of novels, I discovered new genres and authors. I no longer look in only one section of the bookstore.

Do you have any additional comments?
If I’m not reading a book, I’m reading a blog, a manga, a fanfic, or even a cereal box!

Laurie Pham

Laurie Pham has worked at CHS for six years teaching French to grades 9 through 12.

What book are you currently reading and why did you choose it?Unbroken by Lauren Hillenbrand.  I loved Seabiscuit, her previous book.  I was very intrigued by the topic of this book which tells the story of a man who survived the Japanese death camps in World War II.

What are you planning to read next?Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper.  It’s for   a mother-daughter book club I belong to with my daughter.

What was the last book you read cover to cover? Do you recommend it? The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver.I’m a big fan of Barbara Kingsolver so I would definitely recommend this book.  She blends history (in this case Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo’s life together) nicely with fiction to make a great read.

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What was your favorite book when you were in school? Why did you like it?I loved the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  I read them over and over.  Unfortunately, I cannot get my daughter to read them with the same enthusiasm that I felt for them.  I also loved A Little Princess and A Secret Garden by Frances Hodgsen Burnett.  To me, these books were very visual, and I could play the stories out in my mind.  To me the best books are the ones that I can see in my mind.  That’s why I love the Harry Potter books so much, as well.  J.K. Rowling does such an amazing job at making her words come alive.

What fiction & non-fiction genres do you like to read?.Fiction: action/adventure, crime, detective, fantasy, historical fiction, literary fiction & mystery
Non-fiction: biography/memoir, history

What magazines and newspapers do you read?I read the Star Ledger and Wall Street Journal in the morning because they are delivered to the house.  We also subscribe to Newsweek and Entertainment Weekly, so I usually leaf through them to see what’s going on.  I sometimes read La Liberation, a French newspaper, online to get the French perspective on events in the world.

Who is your favorite author? Well, I’d have to say J.K, Rowling, since I stayed up twice ‘til midnight to buy her books and came home and read them pretty much straight until I was done.  I never get tired of rereading the Harry Potter series.  There is so much in her books; you always notice something that you missed the first time around.

How do you choose the books you read?Sometimes by author, I usually get stuck on an author and read everything that he/she has put out, like I did with Paul Auster after he was inducted into the CHS Hall of Fame.  My daughter who reads voraciously; I try to keep up with her.  Sometimes I read what my mother and sister recommend.  My sister is a librarian.

Who were your reading role models when you were growing up? My mother who reads all the time still, even though she is now blind in one eye.

Can you describe an important library experience?I still remember when they put the library in my elementary school; it was in the basement.  I was in 4th grade and fascinated with all the books and loved borrowing them.  I especially liked biographies at that point in time.  In high school I volunteered at the library all four years.  The librarians were always recommending books to me.  It’s probably why I read most of the books I did.

Do you have any additional comments?My one guilty pleasure in reading is James Patterson.  His work is largely formulaic, but to me, better than watching an episode of Criminal Minds or CSI.