Amanda Jones is an American librarian and anti-censorship advocate. She has been involved in movements against book censorship in Louisiana and throughout the United States. Her efforts on this include publishing the book “That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America”. In 2023, for her efforts on anti-book banning, she was awarded the American Association of School Librarians’ Intellectual Freedom Award and the American Library Association’s Paul Howard Award for Courage.
In a chat with The New York Times, she answered some questions about books and disclosed her goal as a librarian. Read the interview here;
What books are on your night stand?
“Call Us What We Carry,” by Amanda Gorman; “Sunrise Nights,” by Jeff Zentner and Brittany Cavallaro; “The Partition Project,” by Saadia Faruqi.
What kind of reader were you as a child?
I was a voracious reader of Beverly Cleary, Judy Blume, the Baby-Sitters Club series and the Danielle Steel novels I sneaked from my great-aunt.
How have your reading tastes changed over time?
I have gone through phases. If I find authors I like, I want to read all of their books. As a teen, my mission was to read every V.C. Andrews and Stephen King book. At one point, all I read for over a year was historical fiction set in Ireland. Another year, I read nothing but Larry McMurtry and westerns. I’ll try anything and if I like it, it becomes a phase until I try something different.
Have you ever gotten in trouble for reading a book?
As a kid I would get in trouble at school all the time for rushing through my schoolwork so I could read. My mom would try to ground me, but I didn’t see being forced to stay in my room reading as a punishment.
What’s the best book you’ve ever received as a gift?
Jarrett Lerner gave me an autographed galley of his middle grade book “A Work in Progress” at a conference and I cherish it. That book is fantastic.
What’s the last great book you read?
I just reread “The Color Purple” for about the tenth time.
What books are you embarrassed not to have read yet?
Nothing. If I wanted to read it, I read it.
What book would people be surprised to see on your shelves?
Karin Slaughter’s books, mostly because as a middle school librarian I tend to only talk about middle grade books publicly and she writes books for adults. Once I pick up a Karin Slaughter book, I get nothing in life accomplished until I finish it. I like murder mysteries with a romance element, and nobody does it better than Karin Slaughter.
Tell us about an author for middle school readers whom more people should know about.
Every middle schooler should be reading Barbara Dee. Her books are to today’s kids what Judy Blume’s books were to me at that age. She tackles such complex subjects with care. As one of my students once told me, “She just gets us.”
Disappointing, overrated, just not good: What book did you feel as if you were supposed to like, and didn’t?
My husband really wanted me to like “The Road,” by Cormac McCarthy, and I just don’t like it at all. It’s the style in which it is written that I don’t care for, but that’s OK. We don’t all have to like the same books.
You mention reading Sarah J. Maas’s “A Court of Thorn and Roses” series not once, but twice. Was this for professional or personal reasons?
Purely personal. I love a spicy Sarah J. Maas book!
What qualities do a good librarian and a good activist have in common?
Good librarians and good activists put kids’ interests first. Everything I do is so that current kids, and kids in the future, have a better world.
What’s the last book you read that made you laugh?
“Remarkably Bright Creatures,” by Shelby Van Pelt. I laughed when I realized how invested I’d become in a main character who was an octopus.
The last book that made you cry?
“Big,” by Vashti Harrison. It’s beautiful.
What’s the most interesting thing you learned from a book recently?
I found Mike Hixenbaugh’s book “They Came for the Schools” fascinatingly horrible in how disturbing some people acted in the Southlake, Texas, school system, but found it interesting how students, educators and parents banded together to fight back for what is right. It takes solidarity from all types of stakeholders to make positive change in a school system.
That’s all for today. See you in the next edition of author interviews.
