She had always been a reader, taking after her late dad, David Grass 鈥67. Her first job was shelving books at the library and, while a DePauw student, she did that in summers too.
So Courtenay Grass 鈥02, who majored in English literature at DePauw and got a master鈥檚 in library science, was horrified a few years ago when, looking at the Goodreads app 鈥 what she calls 鈥渟ocial media for book lovers鈥 鈥 she realized she had read only one book the previous year.
A friend 鈥渨as in the same boat,鈥 and together they resolved to read a book a month. That New Year鈥檚 resolution was 鈥渢he only one I鈥檝e ever kept鈥 鈥 and surpassed, said Grass, who rates books on Goodreads and posts about them on Instagram.
Grass, regional coordinator for a mortgage company, likes a variety of genres 鈥 thrillers, historical and contemporary fiction, nonfiction and memoirs. She usually uses the Libby app to borrow books from the library; binges on her Kindle on weekends (and loads the device before vacations); and recently bought a chair to furnish a dedicated reading spot in her home. 聽
Books provide escapism for her, but one of her three book clubs has the serious mission of selecting books written by female authors with a focus on diversity. 鈥淲e need to expose ourselves intentionally to different people because that鈥檚 how you learn,鈥 she said.
鈥淐aste鈥 by Isabel Wilkerson should be required reading, she said. She read 鈥淎re You There God? It's Me, Margaret鈥 by Judy Blume 鈥渙ver and over and over鈥 as a youngster and counts it among her favorites. Others are 鈥淯nbroken,鈥 鈥淭he Good Earth,鈥 鈥淓leanor Oliphant is Completely Fine鈥 and 鈥淯ntamed.鈥
DePauw Magazine
Spring 2022
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From Inkling to Ink: How a book becomes a book
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