Meet the Chapter Host: Portland Host
We love our chapter hosts!
They’re key players in creating the lively discussions around our monthly book selections. We’re so happy to have them as a part of our community!
We will feature a different chapter host so you can get to know them a little better and maybe get a few more recommendations of books you need to add to your TBR pile!
Mackenzie Leavenworth, Portland Host
My name's Mackenzie, and I live in Brunswick, Maine! I am the host of the Portland, Maine Literary League chapter! I am originally from New Jersey, and am a graduate of Hamilton College (Sarah J. Maas' alma mater, for all the ACOTAR fans out there)!
1. What are your top five favorite books?
1. Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
2. A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
3. The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
4. A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende
5. A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
2. What are your reading habits?
I always have a current audiobook and physical read happening, and will use my e-reader for Netgalley reads and any time I start a book series on vacation and need the next book ASAP! I own 30 bookmarks, and end up dog-earing the corner of my pages every time! We have a wood stove in our old New England home, and love curling up and reading by it during this time of year!
3. What's the first book that made you fall in love with reading and why?Sarah Dessen's books were my first foray into all-nighter reads as a teenager! I just couldn't put them down!
4. Favorite genres and why?
Literary Fiction, Comedy, Contemporary Romance and Fantasy! I love a dry, comedic main character/narrator - especially when it's a darker observational humor, like a cynical female Jerry Seinfeld. (I realize that is a very specific preference!)
5. Favorite Literary League pick and why?
Infinite Country by Patricia Engel! The most compelling family drama I have ever experienced, and it's under 200 pages!
6. What has been your favorite part about being a host?
I absolutely love when everyone brings their own life experience to the table, especially as it relates to the book pick! Also, we usually take the last portion for everyone to give book recommendations, and I always come away with so many reads to add to my TBR!
7. What are you currently reading?
The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman - It's the second book in the Practical Magic series. I cannot stop thinking about the Owens family - I am totally transfixed by Hoffman's style of writing and her ability to connect multiple generations of this magical family together!
