The Slice: Kate Uesugi
How a librarian in Hawaii spends her day
Thanks to those who messaged about my post-election edition of Bookpeach. I love reading your comments and emails so much!
For The Slice this week, I wanted to check in with one of my very favorite bookworms — Kate Uesugi.
Kate has excellent book taste, recommending stuff I wouldn’t usually find (Japanese horror, magical realism, byzantine historical fiction). Since moving back to her native Hawaii, Kate has been working at a local elementary school (the same elementary school she attended) and pursuing her Masters in Library Science. She is also an insanely talented baker, weightlifter, and crochet-er. She even made me a beautiful Kindle cover!
I always love hearing her book recs, and I’m sure you will, too. Librarians are the coolest.
What are you reading right this second?
I’m reading this book called Every Drop is a Man’s Nightmare by Megan Kamalei Kakimoto. She is also from Hawaii, and it’s a collection of short stories. I am halfway through, but I actually really like it. They’re all based on native Hawaiian legends/myths. Very magical realism, very weird and sometimes creepy, but fun and unique.
Why did you want to become a librarian? 📚
I considered becoming a librarian for a while before deciding to take the leap. The short answer is that I love reading, I love books, and I love sharing that with others.
Here’s the long answer: My background is in nonprofits and marketing, so this was sort of a career switch for me. My last job gave me the opportunity to work with issues around book bans and the changing political landscape around schools and libraries. I come from a family of educators (fun fact: my grandmother was a librarian, too), so these issues hit very close to home for me.
Working as a librarian gives me an opportunity to make a difference at a community level that was hard to accomplish from a national nonprofit. The town I grew up in (that I live in currently) is more rural and can benefit from stronger community ties. It’s really exciting to have an opportunity to give back to the place I grew up in.
What does a typical day look like for a librarian?
The school I’m working at hasn’t had a full-time librarian in three years, and so I’ve spent the entire first quarter of this year just getting it ready for the kids! There were books in there that were 60-70 years old, which was very interesting to me but not so much for a 10-year-old. I’ve weeded books, done a full inventory, reorganized and created new sections, and generally cleaned things up. I also recently had the opportunity to buy almost 200 new books!
What is your favorite book you've read this year?
Okay, so sorry, but I have three because I have such a hard time with this question.
1) Alli, I’m sure you (and all of our friends) are tired of hearing about this but The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki. I LOVE Ruth Ozeki and I am in love with this book. The plot is a little complicated so I won’t go on for too long about it (although I could), but it’s a beautiful and strange book filled with magical realism. It’s an ode to books, to reading, to libraries, and to stories. It was the perfect book to read in the midst of MLIS applications.
2) The Poppy Wars trilogy by RF Kuang. This might be controversial because I know people who didn’t like this trilogy but I loved it. I also loved Babel but I read that last year so it doesn’t count. I loved reading a historical military fantasy trilogy that was Asian and also had themes rooted in colonialism. Also, RF Kuang was 19 when she wrote the first book, which is just so impressive.
3) Our Share of Night by Mariana Enríquez. This was one of my favorite horror books I’ve read in a little while. It had everything. A tragic family saga! Ghosts! The occult! Queer subplots! A very unique masterpiece of a book.
What is your ideal reading set up?
My ideal reading set up depends on the time of day. In the mornings, I love reading on the couch with a cup of coffee. During the day, if it’s nice out, I head to the beach or the pool to read and tan. At night, I always read for 30 minutes before heading to bed (under the covers, lamp on, and phone put away!).
How do you consume books?
I truly will read anything in any form. I mainly get most of my books through Libby and then read them on my Kindle. If I am reading at the beach, at the pool, or generally in the sun, I prefer the Kindle (real books are sometimes wayyyy too bright).
I buy real books any time I am on a trip because I love visiting bookstores in new places. I also have an uncle who is a retired law professor and a voracious reader, so he always gives me a new stack of books every time I see him.
I also love a used bookstore or thrift store — give those books a second life! I do audiobooks rarely but my brother gifted me an Everand subscription last Christmas and I’ve been getting more into them lately!
What was the most seminal book for you as a kid?
This was hard but I think I’d have to say The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo. I love this book and I love all of Kate DiCamillo’s books. When I was a kid, I read every single book she wrote at the time. I share my love of this book with my mom and my sister, which makes it extra special.
I also loved Coraline and Stardust by Neil Gaiman and A Series of Unfortunate Events. Probably the reasons why I love a good spooky story.
What's a book you wanted to love but just couldn't?
I try to read some of the popular BookTok books (ACOTAR, Fourth Wing, etc), mainly because I like to be in the know. I think a lot of them are fun and entertaining but it’s just not for me. I’m not really a romance girl! I’ll probably keep trying though.
Also, I liked the first one but I couldn’t finish/get into the rest of the Thursday Murder Club books.
And finally, what do you wish people knew about libraries?
I wish that people understood how much libraries have to offer. I think there’s sometimes a perception of the library as being a thing of the past or outdated. But libraries are constantly adapting! There are libraries around the world that have so many cool initiatives and offer innovative services. They’re also such important community spaces and we need more people to be advocating for them!
Huge thanks to Kate for being so generous with her answers. You can follow her on Insta here! She also has a beautiful baking page here.
Do you have a book lover you think I should interview? Do you want to be featured? Send me an email and I’ll be in touch!
📚 On my shelf
I have been loving Elif Shafak’s Three Daughters of Eve so far. The story is a bit of a slow build, moving back and forth between our protagonist Peri’s childhood in Istanbul, her ill-fated time at Oxford, and her present day life as a wealthy Turkish housewife. I adored Shafak’s 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World (2019), and so far, this older book has been just as sharp.
For my Fulbright research, I’m currently reading a very dark, impeccably researched book called The Ravine. Wendy Lower, an acclaimed historian, dedicates the entire book to understanding a single photograph — a Jewish woman and child being murdered in Ukraine during the Holocaust. This photo is exceptional, because while Nazi war crimes are well preserved, there are virtually no images at the actual moment of murder.
📚 Links and Things
Indie literary magazine n+1’s annual Bookmatch quiz! I look forward to this every year. For any contribution, they will send you a hilariously specific quiz and then use your answers to come up with a list of ten personalized book recommendations.
I published a piece in Haaretz earlier this month! You can read about the Ukrainian guide I met at Auschwitz here. (If you can’t access, message me for a gift link 🎁).
My friend Erica has recently reignited my love for “This American Life.” Some of my favorite episodes for in-depth listening:
My Senior Year (about a Gaza teenager on an exchange program in the US this past year)
51 Days (unbelievable interview series with a hostage family)
Harper High School (a 2013 deep-dive into one Chicago public school)
A Small Thing That Gives Me a Tiny Shred of Hope (an episode right before the election about politically mixed couples… this one is a TALKER for sure).
The Book Gossip newsletter from Emily Gould at The Cut! Truly what dreams are made of. 💌
Happy reading! 💛
XOX
Alli