Faces of SAL: Avery Alexander
May 7, 2024
Hi there! I’m Avery Alexander and I’m so happy to join SAL as this spring’s Public Programs Intern!
I answered some questions about who I am and what I like to read, so I hope it will help everyone learn a little bit about me…
Favorite book as a kid (and why)?
I always have a hard time choosing favorite books, so I will settle with two: The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester and Gilda Joyce: Psychic Investigator by Jennifer Allison. I remember that I got both of these books from a Scholastic Book Fair when I was eight or nine, and I believe that they are the novels that made me fall in love with reading. I read them so many times that both of their first chapters fell out! Both feature a strong girl as the main character, and both protagonists, Gilda and Piper, empowered me when I was a little girl myself. Also, both of the books have a spooky, whimsical vibe, and I think they definitely defined the sort of media I enjoy today.
What’s on your desk?
While I don’t have a permanent desk here at SAL, my personal desk is super colorful! I’m a bit of a collector, and my desk is positively crowded with Funko Pops, fashion dolls, acrylic standees, and other figurines (all of anime characters, superheroes, or Western animated characters). I also always have my journal on my desk, which I use every night to write down details of my day. Oh! And fidget toys. Can’t forget the fidget toys.
Where are you from?
I was born and raised in Maryland, just outside of D.C. I also attended Ithaca College in Ithaca, NY for my undergrad. Right now, I’m living in Seattle while I attend University of Washington’s Master of Library & Information Sciences program.
When you’re not working, you can be found. . .
Writing, mostly. I can sit and write for hours on end, and I actually just finished writing a novel and am now working on a second. I still need to figure out publishing, but the fact that it’s done is enough to be proud of! Besides that, I also love video games, TTRPGs, going to the movie theater, and reading (of course).
Favorite book right now (and why)?
There is no way I can give you just one, so I hope you forgive me for giving you a list of some major books that I hold near and dear to my heart: Good Omens by Neil Gaiman, An Invisible Sign of My Own by Aimee Bender, the Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children series by Ransom Riggs, and the Simon Snow series by Rainbow Rowell. I could reread any of these a million times and never get tired of them. These are all very different books, so it’s hard to pinpoint why I love them so much, but I think it’s because they’re all character-focused but also build out interesting, poignant worlds and stories. I love a good character-driven narrative!
I am thrilled to be here and I look forward to all of the things I’ll get to do and help with while I’m at SAL.