What’s On Your Shelf? with Stephanie Daugherty
Take a seat, pour some tea and settle in for What’s On Your Shelf?: a series in which library staff share books from their own reading lists.
No matter what piques your interest, take a page from our staff’s favorites. Who knows? You may find your next great read.
First up in the series is Stephanie Daugherty, a Newport Branch patron services assistant, who we caught up with via email. She isn’t new to the book-recommending game. Along with helping work the patron services desk, Daugherty runs a bookstagram, aka an Instagram account dedicated to books. She says what started out as wanting a space to ramble about fictional characters has become a creative outlet to connect with other readers and authors.
When it comes to libraries, Daugherty loves how multi-generational they are.
“I vividly remember getting my first library card when I was five (but getting books on my mom’s card even before then),” says Daugherty. “And my grandma utilized our local bookmobile/outreach services until she was into her 90s.”
What are her genres of choice? Fantasy, historical fiction and academia-esque mysteries. You can find her poring through books curled up in a recliner with at least two blankets, an ambiance video or themed playlist on the TV, and a mug of tea—usually Earl Grey.
“That or hiding away in a corner while my husband plays one of his gigs haha,” Daugherty adds.
Regardless of your personal setup, explore Daugherty’s favorites below (and click the links to check out titles).
What’s your go-to recommendation?
Caraval by Stephanie Garber! (Pssst, hey, if you haven’t read it yet, go read it).
What’s the last book to make you cry?
This is a little embarrassing, haha, but Letters from Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkien. The entire book was just so precious and the last letter hit me right in the heart.
What’s a title currently on your TBR (to-be-read) list?
A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy Lin. A political fantasy with tea as a central worldbuilding concept? Sign me up!
If you could live in any fictional book, what would you choose?
Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson! I read this book last June and it lived rent-free in my head for the entire rest of the year.
Who’s an author you return to again and again?
Rick Riordan—the Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus universe is such a comfort read and I go back to it almost every summer.
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