Reader Profile: Kimi Martin

Kimi Martin





She blogs here:




Kimi on life:

I guess first I would have to say that I am a mom and my kids are my passion. I have been a stay at home mom for 24 years and have 7 children. My youngest is 4 so I am still knee-deep in mom responsibilities and have to work everything else in and around that. I love music and play the piano and violin and love to sing in the choir. One of my greatest experiences was singing in our stake choir for the Birmingham Alabama temple dedication! However, I find it difficult to keep up with the music other than just incidental playing around at home.

I find that music fills a place in my soul while the reading is as necessary as breathing. I love to read and always have. I learned to read when I was 4 years old and always had a book in my hands, or so it seemed. As a mom, I was always waiting for kids somewhere: preschool pickup line, music lessons, etc. so I have usually had a book to read while I am waiting. I am recovering from ankle surgery right now and have all the time I want to read, it's great!

I have a new passion in blogging and am learning web design, which is a lot of fun! I would like to start writing, other than for my blogs and have started a children's book, but am finding that it's difficult to put what is in my head as a nebulous idea down on paper.

Unfortunately, I haven't yet developed a passion for house-cleaning and cooking but there's always hope, or so my family believes:)

Kimi on reading:

My very favorite genre is historical fiction. I love learning about different places and times and fiction is a great way to do it. I love it when the author gets detailed about what life is like in the culture/time about which they are writing. One of my favorite authors right now is Anne Perry. She gives such details about the Victorian Era that I am always learning new things along with enjoying the mystery.

My least favorite genre is hard to say. I used to think that science fiction would be but then I read David Eddings books and Orson Scott Card. There are some action novels that get too detailed about fighting but if they have a good plot I still enjoy them. I will read just about any genre as long as it is well-written and not obscene.

Books that make me cry, hmmm, I think that a book that will make me cry is usually dealing with family difficulties and tragedies, although any sort of human triumph over difficulties will get to me. Books that make me laugh are usually about the silly things that go on in families, and I do love books of Calvin and Hobbes comics!

If I could pick a dream LDS fiction book it would have to be historically based. We own all the Work and the Glory and Children of the Promise books. I haven't seen anything about the exodus from the colonies in Mexico, maybe they are out there and I've just missed them. I think that would make a great story! I really enjoy Christmas books and think that books always make a good gift. Last year for my birthday I asked for, and received, 2 David McCullough books: John Adams and Truman. Yes, I love biographies about inspirational people. They don't necessarily have to be famous, but I do like to read about people triumphing over their trials.

Why Kimi reads:

For me, reading has always been a visceral need. I have to read and will read what ever is nearby if I don't have a book with me. I don't feel that way about most other things. I like to watch tv and movies sometimes with my family and will crochet while I watch but most of the time there isn't anything worth watching. I don't play sports because, even when I don't have a cast on my leg I am terrible at them but I do like to watch them sometimes! I enjoy doing a lot of things but when I have a bit of free time I usually think of reading first. I have always been drawn to the written word in a way that I am not to other things.The thing about a book is that you can pick it up and read for a few minutes here and there. It makes it easier to fit into a busy day where so many other things just can't. It works well for moms and all busy people so long as you can put it down when you need to. It took me a long time to develop the ability to do that! I read so many books right now that virtually all of them are from the library.

When I buy a book, I look for one that will appeal to several members of the family, all of whom are readers, and/or one that will be read over and over again. Because we live in Massachusetts, we don't have the option of checking LDS books out and don't have an LDS bookstore anywhere close. In fact I have no idea where the closest would be! All LDS books are ordered online or picked up when we are in Utah. For that reason, most of the books we buy are not LDS. Just thinking through our bookshelves, I would say that maybe 20 to 25% of our books are from an LDS publisher.