Several months ago, I got an email out of the blue, from a book reviewer and columnist for Psychology Today. She wondered if I’d be interested in doing an interview on The Collector of Burned Books that would focus on the importance of exercising our freedom to read widely.

Obviously, I said yes. Quickly. With joy. Because, guys, this is a real magazine, LOL. One I’d heard of. I was pretty stoked that this lovely woman, who’d interviewed some BIG, big names in the book world, wanted to talk to little ol’ me.

When she sent me her questions, I pretty much squealed in delight, because they hit all the topics and themes I wanted to draw out in The Collector of Burned Books.

She asked questions about why reading widely is important to critical thinking.

She asked questions about the link between freedom and freedom of ideas, freedom of thought.

She asked questions about how reading is linked to empathy.

When The Collector of Burned Books released a few weeks ago, Ms. Rose sent me the link to the article, which included several of the interview questions as well as a lovely lead-in she wrote. And she also shared that the article had been marked as an “Essential Read” in the education category, which made my day.

Because friends, it’s so important to read books that aren’t “our type of book” now and then. Not always, obviously. But sometimes. It’s important to stretch ourselves. To seek understanding. To take the opportunity that books give us to do something we can otherwise never do–live inside someone else’s head and heart for a few hundred pages.

Have you seen the article yet? If not, I hope you’ll go and check it out. It turned out beautifully!