86 SARASOTA SCENE | MAY 2019
arts&culture
OCTAVIA SAENZ
Creative Writing Major at
Ringling College of Art and
Design
What are you reading now?
I’m reading Gretchen Felker-
Martin’s Ego Homini Lupus, a
gory novel about a medieval
woman losing her mind after
being married off to a wolf pelt
hunter. It’s like George R. R.
Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire,
zoomed all the way into one life
of someone with little power.
What’s the last great book you read?
Drive Here and Devastate Me, a collection of poems by Megan
Falley. As the title says, it’s a devastating
collection of poems that left me feeling like
I’d been run over by a car. At the same time,
it’s so tender and sweet. I highly recommend
it for anyone feeling lovesick or who enjoys
feeling lovesick!
So, you’re inviting four characters from books
(real or imagined, living or deceased) to The
Hob Nob for milkshakes. Who joins you for
some 1950s-style outdoor dining fun?
Leah and Abby from Leah on the Offbeat by
Becky Albertalli, Kaye from Tithe by Holly Black,
and Molly from Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae
Brown. Now there’s a group of strong-headed
women bound to get up to some mischief!
Bilbo or Frodo?
Bilbo! Frodo’s a good kid, and his friendship with
Sam is adorable, but Bilbo is more fun. He’s clever,
more in touch with his inner trickster—enough
to best Gollum!—plus, he didn’t split the party!
DAN HOFFE
Financial Consultant
What are you reading now?
I’m reading The Righteous Mind—Why Good People are
Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathan Haidt.
What’s the last great book you read?
My all-time favorite book is Shantaram by Gregory David
Roberts. With killer prose, it transports you to the hustling,
bustling, chaotic, seductive, and dangerous Mumbai.
You’ll live among the slum dwellers, learn about the
mafia and the standing babas, and be blown away by the
cacophony of sights, sounds, smells, and tastes that are
modern-day India. It’s an epic tale of love, forgiveness,
and ultimately redemption told on a grand scale.
It’ll make you laugh. It’ll make you cry. But most important,
it’ll make you think.
So, you’re inviting four characters from books (real or
imagined, living or dead) to a Slam Poetry event at
Bookstore 1. Who do you take with you?
I’d invite Gabriel Allon, Aloysius Xingu Leng Pendergast,
Mitch Rapp, and Harry Bosch. These characters would
definitely add the “slam” to the poetry!
Biographies or how-to’s?
I’ve always loved biographies. What’s more
interesting than seeing how someone
chooses to spend the most precious gift
of all—their life?
ROGER
Homeless Ex-Carpenter in Portland
What are you reading now?
James Patterson’s Witch & Wizard.
What’s the last great book you read?
The other day at the Multnomah
County Library, I found Dreaming
the Beatles: The Love Story of One
Band and the Whole World. What
a great read!
So, you’re inviting four characters
from books (real or imagined, living
or dead) to join you for a visit to Voodoo
Donuts. Who shares a Bacon Maple Bar or Mango
Tango with you?
Gandalf for sure. Then Philip Marlowe. Lyra Silvertongue
from Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy. And
Eeyore because why not?
Audiobooks or physical books?
I like to hear the music of Portland’s fabulous downtown
in the background when I read, so physical books for sure.