Kidsburgh is excited to be a partner in the Won’t You Be a Reader? regional literacy campaign. As part of this year-long celebration of reading, we invite kids and adults throughout the region to share about their reading experiences. Throughout the coming months, we will share their responses. (Click here to submit your answers to the questions you see below!)
Here are answers from KDKA-TV anchor and Kidsburgh partner Kristine Sorensen:
What do you love about reading? Tell us about your reading experiences as a child, as an adult or both:
Reading is one of my favorite things to do in my free time. I love how reading transports me to another world – whether it’s another period in time, a fantasy world, the experience of someone whose life is different from mine, or just a compelling story that makes me want to keep coming back for more. I’ve loved reading since I was a child, and now, as an adult, I started a Book Club with friends and continue to read as much as I can. I know that as a professional writer and journalist, reading makes me a better writer which is one of many reasons I encourage my children to read.
Tell us about a book you are currently reading, a book you are excited to read this summer or a book you loved as a child:
Some of my favorite books of all time are the “Harry Potter” books. I read many of them with my children, reading them out loud together or reading them individually, but at the same time so we could discuss them. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the series because typically, I am not drawn to the fantasy genre of books. But they were so descriptive, and I felt transported to another world. I also loved sharing the experience with my children. Now, my daughters are living in a sort of Harry Potter world at the University of Pittsburgh, where they have classes in the Cathedral of Learning which has been described as the closest thing to Hogwarts in the United States!
If there are books on your nightstand at the moment, what are they?
I just finished the book “James” by Percival Everett, which is a retelling of “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” from the perspective of the enslaved man, Jim. I recently finished “Remarkably Bright Creatures” by Shelby Van PeltI and “The Correspondent” by Virginia Evans, and loved both of those. My favorite author of adult books is Barbara Kingsolver, so I am always reading her new works.