Penny Johnson is with Rossland Public Library, casual staff, having moved to Rossland with her husband Bill in 2014 after living in the Northwest Territories for 33 years.
She is a retired adult educator, so supporting and providing people with opportunities to learn was a focus for many years.
Working at the library is a dream come true as she’s surrounded by books.
Penny loves helping patrons, whether making recommendations, tracking down a book on Komodo dragons or just directing them to our collections.
Penny is also a volunteer at the Rossland Thrift Store and the Rossland Rotary Community Garden.
When not reading, Penny gardens, skis, bikes, hikes, and camps – anything to get outdoors!
1. What is your favourite childhood book?
My favourite childhood book is actually a series of bedtime stories by Thornton Waldo Burgess.
He was an American naturalist and conservationist who wrote about the beauty of nature and its living creatures.
I truly think he gave me a love for nature and taught me life lessons through the eyes of clever animals like Grandfather Frog, Sammy Jay, and Reddy Fox.
2. What book did you most enjoy in school?
I loved The Grapes Of Wrath by John Steinbeck, published in 1939. It’s an incredible story of the Great Depression and chronicles the Dust Bowl migration of the 1930s by telling the story of one Oklahoma farm family driven from their homestead and forced to travel west to the promised land of California.
It’s very raw, intense, and an extremely tragic depiction of a dark period in our history.
The Grapes Of Wrath was kind of a “eureka” moment for me in terms of identifying my genre preference and understanding what I really liked in a book.
I quickly realized I love historical fiction and the setting in which a story occurs. That mixed with Scandinavian murder mysteries are my go-to reads.
3. What book do you read over and over?
The book I have read seven times is The Lord Of The Rings (LOTR) by J.R.R. Tolkien. I know that must seem alarming, but it was over a period of 10 years.
I first read it in 1975 when I was reading fantasy fiction like C.S. Lewis and Ursula Le Guin. However, over time I started to research what influenced Tolkien to write LOTR. Tolkien at first intended LOTR to be a children’s tale in the style of The Hobbit but his experiences during WWI and for his son in WWII influenced his writing.
So, what started as a fantasy book actually became more of an historical fiction and influenced me to read WWI and WWII novels.
4. Name the last book that made you laugh.
The last book that made me laugh was Last Chance To See by Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine. I was the moderator for “Rossland Reads” in 2018 and it was one of the selected books. Author Douglas Adams (The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy) and zoologist Mark Carwardine traveled around the world in search of exotic, endangered creatures. Though it’s a book driven by the catastrophe of global extinction, we are also presented with an entertaining travelogue full of British humour and wit. I thoroughly enjoyed the insight the book brought me regarding environmental conservation.
5. Name an author /book that changed your life.
The author that changed my life is George Orwell. Most know him as the author of 1984 and Animal Farm, but the books that resonated with me were his non-fictions: The Road To Wigan Pier; Down and Out in Paris and London; and Homage to Catalonia.
The Road to Wigan Pier documented Orwell’s experience of working-class life in the north of England in 1937, Down and Out in Paris and London depicted living in extreme poverty in London and Paris, and Homage to Catalonia was an account of Orwell’s experiences during the Spanish Civil War. I discovered his writing when I was 20 so I was open to new influences, political ideas, and social criticism.
6. What book do you like to give as a gift?
I’m an avid gardener so I like to give my gardening friends The Well-Gardened Mind: The Restorative Power of Nature by Sue Stuart-Smith. The author offers an inspiring and consoling work about the beneficial effects of gardening on the heart and mind. Given the rise of pandemic gardening, this book is a perfect read.
7. What are you reading now?
I usually have three to four books on the go and more than eight to nine on hold at the library. I’m reading The Arctic Fury by Greer Macallister.
It’s about a dozen women, hired by Lady Jane Franklin, to trek into the Arctic and find her husband’s lost expedition. It’s an intriguing premise.
In Her Own Footsteps by D.J. Richardson tells the story of a young Metis woman, Flora Ross, caught up in the military standoff in 1859 that became known as the Pig War of San Juan Island. It’s a fascinating true story of how Ross becomes a pioneer in the B.C. healthcare industry and her struggle for identity and independence. I just picked up The Lost Village by Camilla Sten, about vanishing residents in an old mining town. I think it’s going to really scare me as it’s been compared to The Blair Witch Project! Lastly, I’m really looking forward to reading to Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro (The Remains of the Day), a book about what it means to be not-quite-human, exploring love and loyalty through the eyes of an android who cares for a fourteen year old girl.
RPL Announcements and Information
Iona Whishaw Virtual Visit
On May 25, 6:30 p.m., join Iona Whishaw as she embarks on a national tour from her living room to celebrate the publication of her eighth novel in the Lane Winslow Mystery Series, A Lethal Lesson.
Links to the event will be announced soon! For more information, visit https: touchwoodeditions.com/a-lethal-lesson-virtual-tour/
Children’s Book Week
Reading is a Superpower is the theme for Children’s Book Week, May 3 to 9. Take-home packages are available for kids of all ages.
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
Displays and colouring pages will be available for patrons.
Art in the Library
The library will soon be featuring the artwork of Kat Goetz, Nicole Rose, and Alex Moon. You may view the artwork during library hours.
Kootenay Library Federation “Read Local” Book Club
On May 29, 6:30 p.m., the KLF Book Club meets via Zoom to discuss This One Wild Life: A Mother – Daughter Wilderness Memoir by Angie Abdou. This memoir features a mother who aspires to hike a peak with her daughter during the summer holidays, and things don’t go as planned. To register and obtain a copy of the book, email kootenaylibrariesprogramming@gmail.com
RPLA Board of Directors 2021 – 2022
The RPLA Annual General Meeting was held on April 14th. The new Board of Directors is as follows:
Chair: Richard Kemick
Vice Chair: Catherine Spence
Treasurer: Roberta Post
Members at Large: Eileen Daniel, Michael Ramsay, Jeff Ross, Abigail Steel, and Francine Weigeldt.
Much thanks to past co-chairs Jeff Ross and Jacqueline Dawes whose expertise and contributions have been invaluable over the past year.
Read: Rotary Community Bingo growing by leaps and bounds
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