The 24-year-old Canadian Jeopardy! champion has landed a job as a full-time tutor for students in the Toronto area. Roach, who rose to fame after winning the Jeopardy!
Roach plans to interview authors from Canada and abroad on “Bookends,” delving into their work and the context in which they create it. The Canadian Press asked Roach about their reading habits in an email interview. ROACH: According to my data on StoryGraph (similar service to Goodreads), I like to read books that are “reflective, emotional, and informative,” and I think that’s a pretty good summation of what ties together my taste in reading. I read pretty widely — the three most recent books I read outside of work were a cowboy fantasy graphic novel, a memoir about living as an artist in Big Sur, and a book that did an anthropological analysis of bureaucracy. What ties the three together for me is that I felt they all had something to teach me about how to live in the world.
* **Early Reading Experiences:** Roach, a renowned author, shares his earliest memories of reading. He emphasizes the importance of reading aloud to younger siblings. * **The Power of Reading:** Roach highlights the transformative power of reading, describing it as a journey of discovery and self-improvement.
A. Roach’s Literary Preferences: Realism Reigns Supreme
B.
* **Roach’s preference for realistic fiction:** Roach prefers books that are grounded in reality and offer a sense of realism. * **Dislike for romance novels:** Roach finds romance novels lacking in realism and doesn’t enjoy the “happy endings” that often feel unearned. * **Preference for realistic fiction:** Roach finds realistic fiction to be more engaging and thought-provoking.
ROACH: I have some big tomes kicking around my house that I want to chip away at over time — “The Age of Surveillance Capitalism” by Shoshana Zuboff, “Capital in the 21st Century” by Thomas Piketty, and “Debt” by David Graeber. These aren’t the sort of books we’re going to be covering on “Bookends,” so I’ll save them for my leisure time (I have some funny ideas about what constitutes “leisure”). CP: Ebook, paper book or audiobook? ROACH: Paper book unless it’s absolutely impossible for some reason. CP: Essay collection or narrative non-fiction? ROACH: Love both, but I marginally prefer narrative non-fiction.
CP: Plot-driven or character-driven? ROACH: Character-driven — I sometimes love reading a book where nothing happens. “Bookends” premieres on CBC Radio and CBC Listen on Sunday, Sept. 8 at 1 p.m. ET. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. Nicole Thompson, The Canadian Press
