NOTL Library interview with Sue Sherk

The Niagara-on-the-Lake Public Library board and staff are interested in exploring the special place books, reading, storytelling and libraries hold in the hearts of our community members. The power of the written and spoken word, the enchantment of libraries and childhood memories of time spent with books, creates a profound tapestry of emotions and experiences. This questionnaire prompts introspection and reflection, offering a unique lens through which to examine the bond between readers and their connection to books, storytelling and libraries. Watch this space for interviews with an array of interesting community members.

Sue Sherk is a long-time resident of Niagara-on-the-Lake, born in the Old Town hospital. She grew up on Castlereagh Street with her brother and sister, and walked to Parliament Oak School. After university she spent her working life providing community nursing throughout Niagara, while raising her family with her husband Rick. Throughout, she has been an avid reader, an active athlete and a strong community participant. We met on a winters day to discuss books.

What were your first books?

I think they must have been books from the Mother Goose book series, and I do remember the Thornton Burgess book with Sammy Jay and Jimmy Skunk. He was an American children’s book writer and conservationist. I also loved Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. Oh my gosh, rafting down a river was a childhood dream. Both my brother and I have reread these as adults and do see them and their social commentaries in a different light 

When did you start to get books from the library

By six or seven I know my brother and I had library cards and we would walk downtown with our 25 cent allowances, buy a treat and then go to the library. It was under the Court House in those days on the main street. I got to know Enid Blyton and her adventure books like The Valley of Adventure and the Mountain of Adventure. That’s where I first learned about stalagmites, in the mountain caves. 

Where would you read?  

I was an avid reader and would bring home my library books and sit happily sit on my bed and read the day away. I remember a few Christmases I was given a new Nancy Drew book and I would finished it by dinner, and then be so annoyed with myself because it was all gone. Now I read consistently at bedtime for an hour or two. And I sneak in some more if I awaken in the night.  

Were you parents readers?

My parents weren’t particularly heavy readers, although they read to us in our childhood. However I had a British grandmother (my Dad’s mom) who was a great reader and she had some special nine-by-11 inch large books that were children’s’ anthologies she had brought from the U.K., and which she read to us. She lived a block over from us and taught piano lessons, and was the backup organist for the local church. My mom became an excited large print reader later in life, thanks to the large print books available from our local library — we enjoyed the fun of shared books and discussions.

What are your favourite books of all time?

Oh, that is a hard one. There are so many favourites and you read books in the context of the your life, at different times. Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged sticks out, but I can hardly remember what it is about now.  My current favourites are anything by Amor Towles, most recently “The Gentleman in Moscow,” and The Lincoln Highway I loved All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, both the book and the movie. And of course Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch, but  even more wonderful, which I recently finished, is an earlier  novel, The Secret History, which is about a charismatic classics professor and boys at a distinguished boys school. 

Do you read hard copy, or electronic books?

 I have mainly moved over to e-books and although it has been a bit of an adjustment, the convenience is amazing. I haven’t figured out how to mark and underline electronically, but if you are up at night reading, you don’t have to turn on the light. And the icloud library available through the local NOTL library is amazing. I can access pretty well anything I want, instantly, using my library card through the library portal. Easy to set up and so easy to use. Though at the end of the day, I still enjoy a good read on an old-fashioned hard copy book.

How do you decide what to read?

I get recommendations from friends, and I belong to a book club. I check lists of recommendations from review sites like Goodreads, or from lists generated by readers like Obama. I sometimes browse at Chapters and enjoy the surprise of a freshly-found book.

You mentioned a book club. Tell me about it?

 I have been in a women’s book club for over 30 years here in NOTL. We meet about monthly and read each other’s book suggestions. We rotate hosting and meeting in each other’s homes. I have fully read a number of books that I might not have otherwise. We used to meet in the evenings with a glass of wine but as we have aged, we have moved our meetings to afternoon with tea and I think we have become more reserved and contained in our discussions. I have certainly been stretched by the club, not only in the choices of books that others have suggested but also in the discussions of the book. Over the years, we learn so much about the books, the authors and even about each other with this shared experience. It is a cohort of friends that have been consistently my reading friends. And over the past few years, there is now so much available on the Internet where you can hear author interviews and readings, that deepen the experience of a book. It has been a special journey.

What do you think is the future of libraries?

 The library is evolving from a book repository to becoming a very vibrant cultural and learning hub, as well as a community common space for exploration, creation and collaboration in our modern world. It is a place where we can go to access digital resources and learn about and take advantage of new technologies. I’m grateful to have this place of peace and quiet, where I am treated with respect and dignity.