Barbara Ackerman, a long-time employee of the Lending Services Department, is well known for her book recommendations, her caring ways, and her song writing skills. But how many people know that Barbara is also a published author? Perhaps I was the last to learn this about her. Here is the second part of a two-part interview with Barbara.
Q: Can you tell us how your book, “Ask Angela,” came about?
A: “Ask Angela” is one of the great blessings of my life. Nowadays there are so many memoirs and books with dogs or about dogs or written in the voice of a dog, but my book was a series of advice columns written for humans by a guru who was a dog. This advice column dealt with questions of the heart and spirit that would make sense for humans with a funny playful edge written in Angela’s voice. This concept was begun as a bi-monthly column in 1989 printed in Princeton’s very own Fellowship in Prayer Magazine. I met Angela in 1987. She was a friend’s dog who I would take on walks and hang out with for a few hours on Saturday. I had never spent any quality time with a dog before this, but had longed for a dog forever. A friend at Fellowship in Prayer had a connection to a press called Crossroad and this publisher took the first 26 columns that appeared in Fellowship in Prayer and published them in book form in 1994. For dog lovers there is a good amount of solid advice and many good giggles to be had in this little book.
Q: Are you still writing?
A: Although I haven’t done much writing lately, I have done some songs. It is my hope to write again once I retire.
Q: Which sections of our library do you most like to browse?
A: My favorite browsing area is the book group fiction table. If you are stuck trying to choose a book you really can never go wrong by picking one from that spot. They all seem to be winners and have universal appeal and are timeless. I also love to browse the new DVD section, the new books on CD, the new two week fiction shelves, and the Book Sale.
Q: What are the best books you’ve read recently?
A: “Cutting for Stone” by Abraham Verghese and “Let the Great World Spin” by Colum McCann.
Patrons can find Barbara’s book, “Ask Angela,” in the library’s non-fiction collection under the call number 158 ACK.
Thanks, Barbara!
To read the first part of this interview, click here.
Photo by Leticia Braga.