Beloved indiegainesville friend, supporter, and yes, cheerleader Erica Merell, of Wild Iris Books, bravely agreed to answer 5 random questions from us…learn about books you need to read, her favorite foods, how far away she’s ventured from home, thoughts on e-books, and other locals you really should support—if you aren’t already!
Her kickass responses:
1. What was the last book you read? What book are you anxious to read? And what book do you think everyone should read? (Okay, so this is three parter. We cheat. And everyone benefits….right?)
I’m fulfilling my desires for dragons and fire-breathing abilities by reading the Game of Thrones series right now… sometimes you just need a break from the serious stuff. I’m really looking forward to the new Junot Diaz book –This is How You Lose Her and Bornstein’s’ – A Queer and Pleasant Danger. Sadly enough, owning bookstore (Wild Iris Books) somehow affords me less time to pleasure read…. Everyone should read Charlotte’s Web, The Alchemist, Feminism is for Everybody, Cutting for Stone and poetry.
2. What is your favorite food/are your favorite foods?
I’m pretty much in love with anything that contains pasta and/or cheese, a huge fan of fried Puerto Rican style pork chops and bacon…. I can never get enough bacon. Does coffee count as a food group?
3. What’s the furthest you’ve been away from “home” (however you define home)?
I grew up moving about every 5 years so I learned to take my “home” with me and it’s wherever my family of choice surrounds me…. but logistically speaking I’m guessing London is the farthest from Florida I’ve been.
4. Your personal thoughts on e-books, and if in favor, would you recommend a certain way to go?
In the next few weeks, Wild Iris Books will start selling Kobo e-readers (and I would recommend one of those because: these readers are a great! They run on an open source platform, have international capabilities, and are light weight.
Let’s not forget that they were also created for independent book stores (like ) in hopes of allowing us some hope to compete with the market. I’m still holding on to my traditional books, but I have to admit we got a sample Kobo to play with and despite my old-fashioned nature – I didn’t hate it.
5. Any indiegainesville people/places/things you want to give a shout out to? (No limits!)
First and foremost our community of activists, feminists and freaks that never fails to support our mission and space.
IG’s reponse: *woot* and “hear, hear!”
Special Wild Iris Books shout-outs to the CMC, PRIDE Community Center, and the Citizen’s Co-Op.
And my own personal shout-outs to Cymplify, Tempo Bistro to Go, Coffee Culture, and Mi Apa.
