Occupation: I am the Head of Circulation at C.H. Booth Library.

Family: I have been married to Nicolette for 13 years. We have a daughter named Jane, 12, and a son named Linus, 8.

Pets: We have an old-man cat named Buddy, a cat who has lost his marbles named Fooie, and a new kitten named Elphaba Orpheus Moon Knight Aynat-Nolan.

What do you like to do in your free time? Read, write, play video games with my kids, go to the movies, wrangle cats.

What is your favorite book? Top five favorite books of all time: The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster, High Fidelity by Nick Hornby, The Savage Detectives and 2666 by Roberto Bolano, The New Me by Halle Butler. Or How Literature Saved My Life by David Shields.

Who or what has been the greatest influence in your life? My family, for sure. Can’t imagine my life without them.

If you could spend the day with one person, who would you choose and why? This is a tough one. I would say the kitten but he always runs away from me. I love going to movies and Broadway shows with my family — those are always great days. Is it weird to say, myself? I am very good company, but quiet, which is great for reading.

Who is your favorite musical artist? This is impossible, so I will answer with the top five records I have been listening to recently: Spoon — Lucifer on the Sofa, Aeon Station — Observatory, Hualun — Before Next Spring, Devendra Banhart — Refuge, Demian Dorelli — Nick Drake’s Pink Moon, a Journey on Piano.

What is the greatest piece of advice you have ever been given? I wouldn’t say that I have ever been given what could be called a piece of profound advice, but from various professors in college, both as an undergrad, and in graduate school, I was given many opportunities to try something, fail at it, sometimes spectacularly, but then try it again, and again, and again, until I got to a place where I understood it, not just in the context in which the lesson was being taught, but internally, in the context of myself. No one has ever synthesized that experience into advice, but it is something I learned from someone else that I am eternally grateful for.

What is something you cannot live without? If I say coffee, is that a cliche? But honestly, it’s coffee. And books. And my family. And my cats. And a real tasty IPA. And Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

What is your proudest accomplishment? Going back to school at 32 and getting my bachelor’s degree ... and beating Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

What is a meal/recipe your family has passed down to you? My grandmother makes me a strawberry pie for my birthday every year — that’s another thing I couldn’t live without. My daughter bakes professionally and wants to learn how to make the pie, so that will be something that lives forever, I think.

What is a tradition your family does that is important to you? Besides the strawberry pie, I am generally anti-tradition. Things change, I think it’s okay to let them if they want to.

What would you like The Newtown Bee to cover in the future? Seems to me like The Newtown Bee is doing a great job without my input! I know at the library we value the continued and awesome support of The Bee, so all I can say is keep up the good work!