Lauren Bell is an undergraduate student at Western Illinois University majoring in Speech Pathology & Audiology while minoring in Creative Writing. She loves to read and write, which allows her an opportunity to create original characters and develop their stories and voices. When she isn’t focusing on her studies, she’s spending time with her three cats and a big English Mastiff out in the quiet countryside where she stays with her mom and stepdad.

M&L: What genre makes up most of your collection?

LB: When looking at my book collection, I believe most of my genre is a mix of thriller, suspense and fantasy with a dash of manga and a sprinkle of nonfiction and light-heartedness. More than anything, there are a lot of thrillers!

M&L: Which book is your favorite?

LB: Looking at this book collection on this shelf, I think my favorite would have to be Kingdom of the Wicked. I first read it a few years ago, but it’s still one I often think about and have read its following books with rapt interest and delight. Plus, it was one of my first proper introductions to fantasy, plus a murder mystery? Sign me up! It was a very fun read, and I highly recommend it!

I’ve been building this collection for four or five years. Some of these books I got in my junior or senior year of high school and I slowly collected more as I entered college. This is where things have been built up to!

M&L: How long have you been building this collection?/Which book have you had the longest?

LB: The books I’ve had the longest are the ones written by Mary Downing Hahn (The Old Willis Place, Closed for the Season, Wait Till Helen Comes, The Ghost of Crutchfield Hall, One for Sorrow [not seen on this shelf, but in my library]). I’ve had those books since late middle school, and have read them countless times, those being my go-to books to bring with me to functions/outings where I would have a chance to read.

M&L: Which book have you gotten most recently?

LB: Most recently, the books I’ve gotten have been Stephen King’s The Dead Zone, On Writing, and Night Shift. Along with that, I also recently got Jennifer Egan’s A Visit From the Goon Squad and Connor Sullivan’s The Body in the River.

M&L: Which is your favorite fiction book?

LB: It’s a tough choice to decide what fiction book is my favorite. If we’re going based off of my library, it’s a tie between Kingdom of the Wicked and One for Sorrow. Both are very intriguing reads that have me hooked all the way to the end. They’ve got mystery, suspense, and leave me on the edge of my seat. If we’re going favorite fiction in general, I would have to say The Outsiders. I was introduced to this book in seventh grade, and I haven’t been able to shake it away ever since. It’s an emotional read that left a big impact in my life, and even now I find myself going back to thinking about it on a random day. Fantastic read that broke seventh-grade me’s heart. She wasn’t ready for what was going to happen to Dally too.

M&L: Which is your favorite nonfiction book?

LB: Easily, my favorite nonfiction book I have is Stephen King’s On Writing. It was such an honor to follow his life and his writing journey to where he is now. King is such a humble man when it comes to his life, not afraid to share with us the good, the bad, and the ugly, as well as reminding us that success didn’t come overnight for him. He had to work his way to where he is, and he was more than willing to share his wisdom and knowledge with his readers. He gave different strategies and methods that future writers, such as myself, can work to get to where he is as well with our own hard work as long as we put in the time, dedication, and work to achieve what we want.

M&L: Which is your favorite poetry book?

LB: I don’t have a favorite poetry book. I also don’t own any poetry books.

M&L: What makes your library/bookshelf unique to you?

LB: I think what makes my library unique is I have a neat blend of literature to choose from. I’ve got a splash of nonfiction in there, surrounded by mostly fiction books, with manga layered on top. And even with those fiction books, there’s a little blend of genres in there as well. I’m not too afraid to be diverse with my books, and I’m also not afraid to show what kind of books I have and still have now. Plus, I also add cute decorations to my bookshelf as well to add a splash of color. I think it’s a fun book collection with a nice spread of choices to choose from.