Reader's Fave

I recently interviewed Delphine Criscenzo of the Little Island Creamery for our eighth installment of Reader's Fave, a casual talk with someone who shares their favorite book. As we chatted, Delphine shared her thoughts about "Of Mice And Men" by John Steinbeck, the famous author who wrote many admired books known throughout the world, including last week's Reader's Fave, "East of Eden." Delphine's parents were immigrants to France where Delphine herself was born and raised. She later came to the U.S., went to university, and decided to work and live here. Delphine made it clear from the start she is more of a non-fiction reader, especially enjoying history, evolutionary biology, geology, and human history. However, "Of Mice And Men" appealed to her because it was "like reading history from an individual's perspective," which, according to Delphine, is often missing from historical sources.

As we talked, Delphine specifically pointed out the "impact on these very humble people" within the story, which seemed to really speak to her. Even with the killings of a woman and a mouse by a mentally disabled man in the story, Delphine said, "The book captured me with the nomadic aspect ... and I enjoyed the humanity of it. Our society can stigmatize these disabled people who live amongst us."

Delphine recalls having first read "Of Mice And Men" in high school in France. She doesn't remember if it was a classroom assigned book or not; regardless, she really enjoyed reading the book as a teenager and the perspective it offered about our humanity. Delphine also shared that one of her favorite authors is Frances Marcel Pagnol, who is also a playwright. Delphine recollected reading many of his books, and believes she first started reading his books as an eight-year-old. Today, Delphine continues to be an avid reader. She currently has eight books on her Kindle right now; seven are non-fiction, while one is fiction. A couple of the non-fiction current examples she's reading are, "Finding The Mother Tree," by Suzanne Simard, and "The Earth Transformed" by Peter Frankopan. "I read every day," said Delphine. "It's part of my wind down."

May you wonderful Wahkiakum readers continue to enjoy the rich world of reading and, maybe even wind down your days with a bit of an enjoyable read.