Meet Jess Hood from Hamilton

 

What are you doing/where are now?

I’m currently working as a Democracy Advisor at the Waikato Regional Council. I meet a lot of interesting people and provide advice to elected members on various matters. I also volunteer as the Administration Manager for the Ages of Pages Book Fair which is a free annual event connecting authors and readers in Hamilton each May that also raises money for Duffy Books in Homes. As if this didn’t keep me busy enough, I also am an Author Assistant for two indie authors and run both a BookTok and Bookstagram.

 

What’s your journey to where you are now?

I was raised in Turangi where I attended a Duffy school. It wasn’t cool to read when I was at school so I used to hide that I read books and I allowed my peers to squash my love of books. But I have always loved reading, and it has always been a big part of my life. When I finished school, I studied a Bachelor of Arts in Social Anthropology and Security Studies at Massey University.

 

What was your favourite book and what book do you recommend people read?

My favourite book series as a kid was The Pony Club series. I wish the book Guess What We Are Doing Today?  by Luke Springer aka Mr Luke was available when I was a kid, it’s a really cool book about how reading can take you places which is what reading is all about and it is amazing to be able to share this with my son now

 

What’s one piece of advice you’d give kids today?

Reading is really cool and allows you to experience endless adventures in thousands of different worlds. No matter what people try to tell you about reading, it’s cool and don’t let people put you off your love of books