Library Interview with Mary Powers, Retired Broadcaster

Library interview with Mary Powers, retired broadcaster 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. Mary Powers, a Niagaraon-the-Lake resident retired from a 30-year career in broadcasting (CHUM Productions) and international content marketing, has a face that sparkles when she talks about books. As a lifetime reading enthusiast, she met with Dr. Robin Williams at the NOTL Library earlier this fall to share her reading story. Q: What are your earliest memories of reading? I was raised in a Ukrainian family, and that was our home language. My mother used to read to me in Ukraine and so it wasn’t until I entered Kindergarten that I learned English. I quickly figured out I couldn’t get the apple juice instead of the grapefruit juice at snack time without it. I had a wonderful Grade 3 teacher (Mrs. Little) and I have a strong visual memory of her reading aloud to our whole class C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. She was a particularly talented reader and storyteller and would read every day after lunch for either 45 minutes, if we had scored well on our spelling bee test or for 20 minutes if we had not. When she read, we were spellbound, and it was incredibly impactful. So, from then on, I was hooked on the magic of stories and reading. Q: What was the first book you read? I guess it was the second in the Narnia series (The Chronicles of Narnia) and after that, I marched through the next five of his books. It introduced me to the idea of reading a full series of books, which I have continued throughout my life — when I find an author’s voice I relate to, I search out and read the whole body of their work. Q: What was your first experience with libraries? My most memorable experience was with my school library at McMurrich Junior school in Toronto (Grades 1-4). There was an amazing librarian whose name I can’t remember. But she was the classic twinsetand-glasses-on-a-string-looking lady and yet, she had a genuine interest in each of us, as individuals. She listened carefully and often introduced us to a specific book she thought we might enjoy. I remember she introduced me to the books of Jules Verne. I have been lucky to have been introduced to books by two such remarkable women. Q: How many books do you read at a time? I always have one or two on the go. I can become way too absorbed in a book, staying up too late, so I keep an alternate that is less interesting to switch to, when I should be going to bed. Q: When do you read? I often start my day with a digital paper read, then 45 minutes of my book. My favourite thing on a Saturday or Sunday is to go to the chair beside the fireplace and curl up with my book. But I also read in bed at night and in fact can’t get to sleep without reading. Q: What is your favourite book of all time? Oh, that is a hard question as there are so many, but as of today it would be Covenant of Water (Abraham Verghese). It is a multigenerational story that follows a close-knit family through life in southern India. It is a story that really touched me. Q: You had a busy international career; how did you find time to read? There was nothing more wonderful than finding myself on a 15-hour flight to somewhere like Hong Kong, pulling out my book, and being able to read, with no interruptions and someone coming by to offer me tea, or wine or a snack. How lovely is that? Q: Do you read hardcopy or digital books? I read both. I always have my Kobo nearby, which I have had for about 12 years, but I will also pull up books on my phone if that is what I have with me. I used to be a big book buyer and when we would move, I would have boxes and boxes of books to cart. Even on vacation, I used to be the gal with one suitcase for clothes and one full of books. Digital access now makes it so much easier. Q: Do you always finish books that you start? I can only think of two books that I gave up on. I hang in until the end, as I need to hear what the author was trying to do and understand the end of the story. Q: How do you decide what to read? My favourite genre is fiction and I often get recommendations from other readers, but my tastes are varied and eclectic. For example, I have a niece, Miranda, who introduced me to four fantasy novels in The Twilight series (Meyer). As I mentioned before, once I find an author I like, I will pursue the full series. Alan Bradley is a Canadian writer and I have read 10 of his Flavia de Luce series. It is about an 11-yearold girl who is a scientist and solves murders in an English village. I have that author on my watch list, so I am notified when his next novel comes out. But I have also read our own Canadian Louise Penny and her inspector Gamache series (18 books) as well as Patricia Cromwell’s Scarpetta series (eight books), Ian Hamilton’s Ava Lee series (14 books), G.M. Mallett’s The Max Tudor novels (eight), and I am currently reading Jacqueline Winspear’s seventh book, The White Lady — a strong woman story of a WWI nurse in London. Mary also said her mother had encouraged her to memorize and recite poetry in Ukrainian, so reaching back into her childhood brain she recited a poem, It’s All the Same to Me, by the famous poet Taras Shevchenko (1814-1861) in the melodic, gentle language of her childhood. She loosely translated its final section for me — Shevchenko didn’t care if he was forgotten in the snows of a foreign land as long as his beloved Ukraine wasn’t left plundered and on fire. It seemed like a perfect moment to end to the conversation.