Interview with a Bookseller: Tanvi
Who are you? What do you do at the store?
Tanvi (she/her), I manage inventory and host the shop's two youth book clubs.
What genres do you read?
As a former youth and YA librarian, I love children's literature, especially middle grade fiction and kids and YA graphic novels. Also adult realistic fiction, mysteries, and various news sources. I read a lot of news.
Our lovely Tanvi at MIBA’s Fall Forum with Sir Callie author Esme Symes-Smith on the right
What is your favorite book?
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier, a classic of YA literature. It's often maligned, including by educators and librarians, because many consider it too bleak and violent for young adult readers. But the questions it asks is crucial, something that each of us should consider but which many of us probably never will: what risks would you take to do what you believe is right? How willing are you to stand by your values despite the personal cost? It's brutal and powerful.
Other favorites include Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, which demonstrates how a person (specifically, in this case, a Black man) can have their humanity stripped away, and thus become "invisible" not only to those who are prejudiced against them, but also to one's supposed allies. And Deacon King Kong by James McBride, who somehow manages to find the very best in each and every of a large, hilarious, and charming cast of characters that includes mob bosses, petty criminals, drunkards, adulterers, and hooligans.
What is the book that changed or affected you the most?
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. Growing up as a first-generation American in a bicultural home was an often lonely, traumatizing experience, and to read the The Joy Luck Club at age 16, and recognize that mine wasn't a singular experience was life-giving. That's what representational literature is: life-giving in the way it makes us feel part of a larger community and finally, finally known.
What’s a book that helped you get out of a book slump?
The Getaway by Lamar Giles, a horror dystopian set in a Disney-esque community, recently helped pull me out of a YA lit slump. It's an exceedingly disturbing examination of the ways in which the powerful manipulate and exploit those without access to resources in times of crisis, in this case, in the midst of global climate disaster. The social commentary (I love some good social commentary) on how past atrocities are easily repeated is on point and chilling.
What’s a book that you read at the exact right time?
See: The Joy Luck Club. I needed representational literature (which did not exist) when I was much younger than 16, but 16 was definitely the right age for me to have read this particular book.
Are there any books you own several copies of? Why?
I don't think so.
What is your earliest book memory?
I used to check out picture books with cassette tapes from the library when I was little and listen to them on my own. When I was around five, I checked out The Ugly Duckling and cried my heart out. Same with Charlotte's Web in second grade and The Trouble With Tuck in fourth. I learned young that animal stories plunge me into an overwhelming grief that hurts a lot. I've avoided them since.
What is your favorite place to read?
Anywhere at home.
Show us your bookshelf! How do you organize it? What are the vibes?
Most librarians are very methodical with their organizational system, sorting by author and genre, but I like to arrange mine by color. I think it's so beautiful. It's art! Many of the books on the four shelves are signed to me. Some I've culled for various reasons and replaced with better titles.
What advice would you give readers? Non-readers?
There were several years after I moved to Ames during which I lost my passion for books. I spent a lot of time feeling bad about this until a friend reminded me that I read spent more time reading news articles than anyone else they knew. Reading can look any number of ways.
Tell us a controversial book opinion
People used to often tell me that I didn't "look like a librarian," an innocuous comment with no ill intention driving it, but it was a subtle reinforcement of the idea that someone like me didn't belong in the book world--an idea that manifests in many ways and does real harm to marginalized people in these fields. There are a lot of cutesy stereotypes about what a reader looks like that I wish we would abandon. Anyone can look like a reader, because anyone can be a reader.
And also, I love when people dog-ear their books and scribble on pages. It's such an intimate experience to see what someone flagged--what was important to them here? How did it move them? It's warm and personal.
Why do you read?
Because the world is vast and interesting, and stories making knowing it possible.
Editor’s Note: I would be remiss not to include some pictures of Tanvi’s other great animal loves, since one of her cats is included in her book shelf photos. At the store, we all know how much Tanvi adores the heroic landmine sniffing rats, and that she adored the late Magawa in particular. The second picture includes two artistic tributes gifted to Tanvi to honor Magawa. The other two photos are landmine rats Tanvi’s loved ones adopted on her behalf, Baraka and Ronin.
What do you love about bookselling? About our store?
One of the things I miss most about librarianship is working with kids and serving as a bridge between them and books, which in turn are a bridge between them and the world. I'm so happy to have the opportunity to still work with middle and high school-aged kids through my two book clubs at Dog-Eared.
