The Bookshelf: Patron Interview: Jan Manley

Published 11:00 am Saturday, December 2, 2023

Jan Manley is one of the library’s great champions. She follows and supports us on social media, she has donated supplies and ideas for programming, and she was an inaugural member of our library book club (aka The Page Turners). She is also a very creative individual. I recently sat down with her to glean more about her reading habits and interests.

Request: Tell us a little about yourself.

Manley: For the past 10 years I was sole proprietor of an online quilt fabric and supply company. I recently retired and am enjoying spending time with my husband David, on our farm, and visiting with my daughter, Dr. Allison Smith. I am now an artist working in photography, oil, acrylic and pastels. I especially enjoy en plein air painting. and I love nature and conservation so I am looking forward to having more time to learn about and help support our local, native wildlife and plant habitats.

Q: How do you use the library?

Manley: I really enjoy listening to audiobooks so I mostly use the Libby app. Libby offers thousands of titles on hundreds of different subjects so I can always find a great audiobook — and they’re all free. I also love participating in our new, in-person monthly book club meetings.

Q: Why is the library important to you?

Manley: I love to learn new things and travel. I can accomplish both with a good book. Our library offers in-person activities for all age groups. It is a great place for bringing our community together with special events. I couldn’t imagine our community without it. I’ve made lots of new friends through the library, too.

Q: What is your favorite book of all time?

Manley: This changes a lot as I experience “new-to-me” books and authors. One of my recent favorites would be “Ordinary Grace” by William Kent Krueger. I also love poetry and often recommend Emily Dickinson.

Q: What was the last book you recommended to a friend?

Manley: That would be “Winter Solstice” by Rosamunde Pilcher. I enjoy re-reading it every year. Pilcher (1924-2019) was a British novelist best known for her sweeping novels set in Cornwall.

Q: If you could have three authors over for dinner (living or dead), who would you invite?

Manley: Definitely Wendell Berry, Larry McMurtry and Jane Austen. I am a lifelong Janeite! One of my favorite Austen quotes goes “But for my own part, if a book is well written, I always find it too short.”

• Books by all of the authors that Manley mentions are available at the library to check out with a PINES library card. and if you would like to join our book club please call the library at (706) 695-4200 or find us on Facebook (@murraycountylibrary) for more information. We meet on the third Thursday of the month at the library at 6 p.m., but will not meet in December as everyone will be doing their own personal merrymaking and such.

Brian Latour is the branch manager of the Chatsworth-Murray County Public Library.