As an avid reader, I know you can learn a lot about people by talking to them about their favorite books. As a Riverside resident, I'm also aware of how our public servants are often perceived one-dimensionally. I wanted to give us all an opportunity to see each of them in a different light, as a full person who has a life and interests outside of their office.
Why not just march right into City Hall and ask everyone what they read?
I put together four easy questions: What's your favorite genre? What's the last book you read for pleasure? Is there a favorite book from your youth? And — the kicker: Do you have a Riverside Public Library card?
Riverside City Hall is an impressive brick building built in the mid-1970s and recently designated a historic landmark.When you walk through the sliding glass doors, the first people you meet are the security guards. Today, three are at the desk.
"Which of you like to read?"
They look at each other.
"I read sometimes," the first one replies. "I don't read," another one says. "How about you?" I ask the last one. "Psychology," she says. "Ah, you're in school?" She nods.
"You win," I say, pointing at the first guy whose name I learn is Larry Baker, security officer with Allied Universal."What's your favorite genre?"
"Comics. Manga… Like Kaiju #8, Fire Force and Soul Eater."
"Fire Force is a prequel to Soul Eater," the second guard — the one who said he doesn't read — chimes in.
"So you do read!" I say, addressing him. Back to Larry, I ask, "What is the last book you read for pleasure?"
"Tender Is the Flesh. It's a novel. A friend recommended it."
"Awesome. Okay, favorite book as a child or young person?"
"The Giver," he answers without hesitation. "I also love The Iliad. The Odyssey."
"Last question: Do you have a library card?"
"Aww, no." He looks a little sheepish, like he's just given the wrong answer on a pop quiz.
Just then I spot a member of law enforcement. I make my move.
"Excuse me," I learn his name is Capt. Townsend, "may I ask you something?"
He stiffens a little, readying himself for whatever. I give him my pitch and his face softens. Yes, he likes to read! He reads on his Kindle, and most enjoys thrillers like the ones Tom Clancy writes.
"Do you have a favorite book from childhood?"
"Not that I can remember."
"Must have been a pretty traumatic childhood," I say. He chuckles.
"Do you have a library card?"
"No."
And he is off, interview complete.
"May I go up to Planning?" I ask my new friends at the front desk. Larry uses his badge and selects the One Stop Shop floor. I step to the check-in station.
"May I help you?"
"I'm not here for any of the departments," I say. "I'm actually here to talk to… you?" The woman behind the counter looks puzzled. "Do you like to read?"
Shaking her head, she says, "I don't." Another woman is approaching. "Do you like to read?" "Yes," she says. I ask her name: Assistant Planner Katie Syme. Favorite genre? High fantasy. Last book you read for pleasure? Start Where You Are by Pema Chödrön. Favorite book from childhood? Dealing with Dragons by Patricia Wrede. And: Do you have a library card? YES!
Next up: Business Tax Representative Camila Alfaro. Her favorite genre is romance. She most recently read Pizza Girl by Jean Kyoung Frazier. The book from her youth that left a lasting impression? F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. Does she have a library card? Sadly, no.
Now to the fifth floor: parking services. I've been here before. (Sigh.)
An attendant approaches and I ask, "Do you like to read?" She does — but she doesn't want to answer the questions. Instead she retrieves someone else: Veronica Garcia, administrative assistant in public works. She likes to read self help, but the last book she read for pleasure was The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, a fantasy adventure novel. A childhood favorite is Dr. Seuss's classic, The Cat in the Hat. No, she does not have a library card.
I also queried Margie Haupt, deputy director of Parks, Recreation and Community Services, known best as the go-to person for arts and culture in the city. Her preferred genre? Fiction. Most recently she read Theo of Golden by Allen Levi, and Scott O'Dell's Island of the Blue Dolphins is a favorite from her youth. Yes, she has a library card!
Back at home, I compile the answers from all of our City Councilmembers, which I sent via email.
Drumroll please…
Ward 7 Councilmember Steve Hemenway is a reader of business and economics. His most recent pleasure read is Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All the Facts by Annie Duke. As a child, he was partial to Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree. As for a Riverside Public Library library card, I give him a pass because, while no, he does not have one, he says, "In my 30 years here, I've been fortunate to have consistently remained a part of the La Sierra University community with library access there. It is also worth noting, I am extremely grateful to our Riverside library director [Erin Christmas] and team for providing the Ward 7 Office with space to hold office hours in the La Sierra Library."
Ward 6 Councilmember Luis Hernandez, the Council's newest member, is a history buff. His most recent pleasure read was the novel, Chicano by Richard Vasquez. A favorite read from his youth is Lord of the Flies by William Golding. And also, Yes, he has a library card.
Ward 5 Councilmember Sean Mill's favorite genre is Mafia/organized crime and sports. (I am assuming he means two separate genres and not some sports-loving mafioso crime series. [Side note to writers: Could this be an untapped niche?]) Most recently, he's read Mafia Prince by Phil Leonetti. A book that left an impression on him as a young person was For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway. Yes, he does have a library card.
Ward 4 Councilmember Chuck Conder prefers mysteries, as well as history, particularly World War II because of his father's status as a veteran. He adds that he enjoys the tactile quality of a physical book and has absolutely no interest in Kindle. Regrettably, he hasn't had time to read for a while because of all of his commitments — boards and commissions, in addition to his work on the City Council. His favorite children's book? Never Tease a Weasel by Jean Conder Soule, his father's cousin. Does he have a library card? Yes! It's the older style, yellow, from a time before the new Main Library.
Ward 3 Councilmember Steven Robillard is a big fan of science fiction. Most recently, he read the Robert A. Heinlein classic, Starship Troopers. I myself have not read it, but I did see the 1997 movie. As a young person, he loved The Hobbit (which, again, I haven't read but have seen the movie. [Note to self: This is a disturbing trend — must get on that!]). And yes, of course, he has had a library card since childhood.
As a bonus, I also invited the Councilmembers' staffers to reply. Rakel Yr. Engels, legislative advisor and council assistant in the office of Ward 3 Councilmember Steven Robillard, responded. "I'm a bit of a mixed reader," she says, "but I especially enjoy historical fiction, biographies/memoirs, and books about leadership and personal growth." Her most recent read is The Women by Kristin Hannah and a book from her youth she is fond of is The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Does she have a Riverside Public Library library card? No… but she does have one for Corona, the library that is closest to her home.
Ward 2 Councilmember Clarissa Cervantes loves to read fiction — especially fantasy. Her two most recent reads, however, are decidedly neither fiction nor fantasy: On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder and How Fascism Works by Jason Stanley, both purchased from Riverside's own Cellar Door Books. As for a favorite from her youth, she cites, Holes by Louis Sachar. And — yes — she, too, has a library card.
Ward 1 Councilmember Philip Falcone is partial to history. "I am currently reading Banking on Beauty: Millard Sheets and Midcentury Commercial Architecture in California by Adam Arenson," he writes. "This was recommended to me by Ward 1 resident Andrew Butler after he and I shared our love for midcentury public art. Millard Sheets designed the Eliza and Luther Tibbets mosaic on the Provident Bank building at Magnolia and Central Avenues." As a kid, he remembers liking Miss Nelson Is Missing! by James Marshall and Harry Allard. "That is just a classic American children's book for those of us who are 1990s babies." In the classroom, he gravitated to The Boxcar Children and The Hardy Boys books, but in the school library, he says, "I would pick up a book on a different state in the U.S. to learn about the state's geography, wildlife, state flower, etc. The state book on Louisiana, my home state, was one I read over and over again." In high school, he says "I always preferred reading plays… [rather] than any kind of chapter book. My favorite play to read is A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams." Does he have a library card? Yes! He writes, "I do! It is the one with the artistic rendering of the Main Library. I love that Jeston's-looking rendering on the card."
How about City of Riverside Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson? She enjoys detective/suspense or history. Her most recent pleasure-read is The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny. For a book from her youth, she says, "it's a tie between Catcher in the Rye or To Kill a Mockingbird." Does she have a library card? "Yes!" she writes. "Proud owner of a Riverside Public Library card since I could write my own name at 5 years old. It was a big deal and a big day when my mom took me to the library to get my own card. It was the same for all my brothers and sisters. I use that card every month to check out audiobooks on Libby. I love love love our library!"
Which brings me to the pièce de résistance, Erin Christmas, library director of Riverside Public Library. Her favorite genre? Contemporary romantic suspense! As for her most recent pleasure read, she is currently reading The Secrets We Hide by Karin Slaughter, and she just finished The Thoroughbreds by Elin Hilderbrand and her daughter Shelby Cunningham. A childhood favorite is Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown. Does our intrepid Reader-in-Chief have her own library card? Yep! All California residents can get a Riverside Public Library card for free!
And with that, I must ask, dear reader: Do you?
More information: Cati Porter is a writer, editor and publisher of Mile Square Press. She is a resident of Ward 1 along with her husband and sons, fifth-generation Riversiders. Yes, she has a library card. Read more at substack.com.