During my lunch break at the BDN, I can usually be found in the break room with my nose buried in a book. People in other departments took notice, and soon a colleague from inside sales began bringing me her recommendations. She introduced me to Jodi Picoult with “My Sister’s Keeper” and fed me with fluffy Danielle Steel paperbacks.

My love of reading has also helped me connect with people as I interview people for stories. Last year I talked with the Turner High/Middle School librarian about “Twilight,” and this past summer I chatted with a school district secretary about “Harry Potter.”

Books also help me stay connected to my family. My sister and I lend each other books we enjoyed, and my mom and I have criticized the movie versions of beloved novels.

And now I must change my original ending to this entry, which encouraged you, this blog reader, to turn the conversation to books if we ever meet in person and stumble over small talk. Chances are slim we’ll run into each other as I am leaving the Stateline Area.

Best,

Ashley

Set for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 17, FamilyFest is a combination of last year’s StoryFest and the Parent Involvement Conference sponsored by the School District of Beloit.

Organizers invited Asgedom to speak because his life touches on the event’s theme: Hand In Hand Building Character.

Asgedom, a refugee from Ethiopia, migrated to Illinois with his siblings and parents as a young boy. Despite living in poverty, he achieved academic success and graduated from Harvard.

I’m guessing this is an inspiring memoir and have mentally added it to my list of To Be Read books.

I’m in over my head.

I recently started reading “The Universe in a Single Atom: The Convergence of Science and Spirituality” by the Dalai Lama.

It wasn’t a book I chose. Rather, it’s one my science-minded sister loaned me last Christmas. Unable to decide which book I wanted to start next, I figured I might as well work toward getting it off my shelf.

No doubt, the book is interesting. The Dalai Lama makes comparisons between Buddhism and science and shares stories from his life about why science interests him.

I cannot, however, go into much more detail than that.

I finished reading a chapter about quantum physics and began another on the Big Bang Theory, but my brain absorbed squat. I even admit to skimming the last pages of the quantum chapter.

The book requires focus and, perhaps even more important, care in the subject.

I’m determined persevere, though. It’s only 200 pages.

While “Gilmore Girls” premiered on the now-defunct WB earlier this decade, I didn’t begin watching it until after I visited the Warner Bros. studios — the place where the show was filmed — last summer.

Not only is Rory smart and cares about her grades, but she also keeps a book with her nearly everywhere she goes.

I can relate.

I have been known to bring books on car rides around town, to the dentist office (or so my mom claims), to the hairdresser’s — basically anywhere where I knew I’d have a few moments to spare to crack it open.

While I’m not so bad now (or so I think), I try to steal whatever moments I can at home to read. Waiting on someone before heading out somewhere? I can squeeze in a page or two. TV show on a commercial break? I can get in another few pages.

So, with my love for reading, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing a character on TV who shared my passion.

I became a regular library visitor throughout my childhood. I would play computer games in the children’s section and check out an armful of books.

In the summertime I would bike to the library and speed through the reading program, eager to select my free books after completing each level.

But then I left home for college, where my library card was of no use. I obtained a card from the college town’s library but used it solely for academic purposes.

Soon, I got out of the habit of going, and when I moved to the Stateline Area I made no effort to get a library card.

By then I had joined BookMooch.com, which has become my source of reading material.

Maybe I’ll once again be a library-card carrier. For now, though, I am OK having inactive cards.

Sure, I’ve read comic books (my best friend and I in high school devoured the Buffy the Vampire Slayer installments) and comic book collections (Zits, Luann). I even read a novel — Jodi Picoult’s “Tenth Circle” — that incorporated such elements.

But the graphic novel eludes me.

I’ve read reviews for some I think I’d like, but their price and rarity on BookMooch.com have kept them away from me.

I could, I suppose, borrow one from a library, but that would require me signing up for a card. (Yes, I don’t have one; that’s a blog entry for another time.)

So, whaddya say? Are graphic novels worth the time and money?

“Bother” centers on a family of four whose lives are thrown off balance when the daughter announces her engagement to a man her parents and brother aren’t fond of.

While Haddon provides insight to all of the family members, the protagonist is the father, whose fear of dying and discovery of his wife’s affair causes him to act crazy.

His outrageous behavior leads to some laugh-out-loud moments I wouldn’t want to spoil for potential readers.

What I’m reading now: “Keeping Faith” by Jodi Picoult and “Trans-sister Radio” by Chris Bohjalian

Three examples come to mind: “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” by J.K. Rowling; “The Lovely Bones,” by Alice Sebold; and “New Moon,” by Stephenie Meyer.

[Caution: There are what some could consider spoilers in the following paragraphs.]

I purchased the last Harry Potter book the weekend it was released. I feared someone spoiling the ending, so I read the 700+ page novel by that Monday morning.

I reread the novel last month, allowing myself more than a week to get through the massive story. Because my focus was no longer on Harry’s outcome, I could better appreciate Rowling’s storytelling skills and the events leading to the final chapters.

My reading of “New Moon” was similar. [Spoiler alert] I became impatient for Edward to return to the story, so reading about Bella’s growing friendship with Jacob was frustrating. Only when I accepted Edward’s absence did I enjoy the tale Meyer wove.

[Spoiler alert] With “The Lovely Bones,” I was eager for Susie’s family to discover her murderer, so I was disappointed that, upon the story’s end, the man never received public blame for what happened. I suspect my hopes for the story affected my enjoyment of it.

My book club selected the novel for our next read, and I found my second time reading the novel was much different. My focus remained on the words in front of me rather than my hopes for the story.

My standby reading places include the break room at work, the Beloit Public Library and my apartment.

A recent visit to Beloit College to interview the new president, Scott Bierman, opened my eyes to another place: the campus’ Poetry Garden.

I have passed the garden on each of my visits to the college, but until that sunny day and feeling the cool relief the garden offered from the heat I had never thought to read there.

Bierman encouraged me to return to campus on non-work matters such as that.

So, when I had an hour to kill after work one day, I did.

I lay on my back on one of the wooden benches and cracked open my book of the moment: “Witness” by Sandra Brown (another garage sale find).

I wanted to stay there.

Aside from my paperback, I could only see the tree branches and pockets of sky, thus helping me plummet in the story with no distractions.

I hope to return to the spot, perhaps when I don’t need a microwave to heat my packed lunch.

Next time, though, I might try to bring a cushion for my head.

OK, that may seem like a dumb question, but not everyone reads books cover to cover.

I know people who skip chunks or flip to the end.

Except for instances of required reading for school, I am not that kind of reader.

Sure, I may quickly skim sections I find dry, but skipping paragraphs or even pages? I could be missing vital parts of the story.

Reading the end before reading everything that leads up to it? What a spoiler.

For me, there’s no other way: It’s cover to cover.