NL: Can you share a bio with us?
MS: I’m from Brooklyn, NY with a pretty long run in the Bronx. I have officially called Nyack home since June 2022, when I moved to live with my Rockland-native wife, Karissa, and our two dogs, Mila and Milo. As the Executive Director of PFLAG NYC, I work towards creating a more inclusive New York City for the LGBTQ+ community. I just joined the Nyack library board and am excited to get to work.
NL: What are you currently reading? Do you like it?
MS: The two books I am in mid-read right now are Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward and Quietly Hostile: Essays by Samantha Irby. These are both repeat authors for me and I love their work.
NL: If you could have any author speak at Nyack Library, who would it be and why?
MS: If we could bring people back to life, I’d want Octavia Butler at Nyack library because she’s a genius and my favorite author, but since that’s not possible, Adrienne Maree Brown, whose work and life are deeply inspired by Octavia, would be my choice.
NL: Which character in a book do you most identify with?
MS: Pippi Longstocking and Bridget Jones.
NL: What books are on your night stand?
MS: I’ve been on a mission to read a bunch of the lesbian pulp novels of the 50s and 60s. I think they have an important place in queer history, and I think a lot about how these books were the only way some people were able to have their identity validated in a time when there was so much LGBTQ+ invisibility. I’ve started with the six books in The Beebo Brinker Chronicles by Ann Bannon and have made my way through half of them so far. They’re a lot of fun and a great nighttime read.
NL: Are there any books that you feel are overrated?
MS: My initial thought was that I appreciate any book that gets people reading, but when I thought a little harder, I’m of the unpopular opinion that Brené Brown is overrated. I also wouldn’t hate it if I never heard people talk about The Five Love Languages ever again.
NL: Do you have a literary “guilty pleasure”?
MS: I’m a sucker for celebrity and political memoirs.
NL: Would you ever organize your books by color? Yea or Nay?
MS: Hard nay.
NL: What do you plan to read next?
MS: I’m going to keep going on my lesbian pulp novel adventures, but other than those, Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo, Black Candle Women by Diane Marie Brown, and There Goes the Neighborhood by Jade Adia are all on my “to be read” pile.
NL: What’s the first book that you remember reading?
MS: The first children’s book I vividly remember reading was a book called ‘King Mitch Had an Itch‘ (it was a Little Golden Book). It’s a strong memory because I got to read it aloud to my entire pre-k class at story time, and I remember feeling really proud of myself. Other books that had a really big impact on me were The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Babysitters Club books, and an adult book that I read when I was too young but really connected with was She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb.
NL: What’s your least favorite book?
MS: I don’t know that I have a least favorite book. This is probably more of a guilty pleasure, but I hate-read a bunch of right-wing political memoirs.