NL: Can you share a bio with us?
AP: It has been an absolute privilege to work at the Nyack Library for the last 20 years! I love this library and the people in it! I have been married to my husband Erik for 32 years and we have one son, Aleks, who is a composer who lives in Queens. I am very proud of my Latvian and Lithuanian heritage and spent my childhood weekends and summers at Latvian school and camp. My husband is also Latvian and we met on a plane to Germany for a Latvian Song and Dance Festival.My interests and hobbies include ghost hunting, photography, singing and collecting and learning about tarot and oracle cards.

​NL: What are you currently reading? Do you like it?
AP: I am currently enjoying my friend Sam Baltrusis’ book, The Ghosts of Sleepy Hollow. It’s a great combination of local history and spooky lore.

NL: If you could have any author speak at Nyack Library, who would it be and why?
AP: This is my short tale of the author who got away! When her book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, was on the NY Times’ bestseller list, I reached out to Susan Cain (who at the time lived in Nyack and was a frequent patron here) and pleaded with her to present her book at the library. She absolutely did not want to participate in any such thing. She said that public speaking gave her anxiety. I tried to present different ways she could do it, but her repeated answer was a polite, but firm no. Not surprising given the subject matter of her book! It would have been fascinating to learn how she was dealing with her sudden rise to fame, and to tell her how much I resonated with her book.

NL: What books are on your night stand?
AP: After years of piles of books crashing to the floor in the middle of the night, I finally broke down and bought a Kindle. While I still greatly prefer a physical book, I can’t deny the convenience of the digital experience. My most recent fiction reads include: Spells for Forgetting by Adriene Young, The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman, and The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods.

NL: Do you have a literary “guilty pleasure”?
AP: I find True Crime books fascinating! And I mean that in the least creepy way possible!:)

NL: Are you a re-reader?
AP: Normally no, but I do find comfort in the familiar during stressful times. I recently reread the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer and loved it just as much the second time around. I also reread The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry as an adult and found it deeply profound and moving. So much from it was lost on me as a child.

NL: How do you get out of a reading rut? 
AP: I try not to worry too much about it if I find myself in this situation. It’s never long-lived! Working in a library gives me the opportunity to be surrounded by beautiful books everyday! I can always find something interesting here.

NL: Are you a one-book-at-a-time reader? Or do you like reading multiple books at the same time?  
AP: While I much prefer to dedicate myself to reading one book at a time, I often find myself jumping from one book to another. So many books, so little time!

NL: Do you DNF (do not finish) books or always read until the end?
AP: I guess it depends on the book. While I do like to give everything I read a chance, there are some titles that are very difficult to get through. I don’t beat myself up about it though, I just move on to the next!