Bolinas Reads: Noelle Hiam
Noelle Hiam is an artist and curator who moved to Bolinas in 2019. She lives with her husband, Nick Aives, and their daughter, Mona. Born in Western Massachusetts, her family moved back and forth between there and San Francisco. After graduating from Wesleyan University, where she studied Earth and Environmental Sciences, she ended up working at Slide Ranch, and first saw Bolinas when delivering food from the People's Store to the ranch. In Bolinas, she splits her time between making ceramics, working at Bolinas Museum, and caring for her three year old daughter. Before moving to Bolinas, she lived in Inverness and worked at Point Reyes Books and CLAM. She recently co-curated (with Kirston Lightowler) a show at Bolinas Museum titled, All This Every Day: Bolinas Community Publishing in the Seventies. She also loves knitting and cooking and especially enjoys swimming in Tomales Bay and says she is always trying to sneak off to Shell Beach.
What are you reading now? What’s in your pile of books? Do you read one book at a time or several?
Lately I’ve been reading a few books at a time. I rarely have long stretches of time for reading these days (I have a toddler), so I’m usually picking up whatever book is closest whenever I have a minute! I only ever read one novel at a time, but like to have some poetry and nonfiction in the rotation simultaneously.
Right now I’m reading All This Every Day by Joanne Kyger (I recently co-curated a show about community publishing in Bolinas named after this poetry collection by Joanne at Bolinas Museum, so have been keeping it close)
Everyone Knows Your Mother is a Witch, by Rivka Galchen. It is historical fiction about someone being accused of being a witch in the 1600s, but also light and hilarious. I picked up this book after reading her first book, Little Labors, an adorable little book about how surreal it is to have a baby.
Touch the Earth by T.C. McLuhan - this book is so heartbreakingly beautiful and inspiring. I wish it was required reading for all humans.
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard - an old favorite that I’ve been rereading. I love Annie Dillard.
And I’m listening to the Braiding Sweetgrass on audiobook (Robin Wall Kimmerer), which is so lovely.
Do you like to read paper or ebooks? Audio books?
Paper! And I listen to audiobooks when I’m working in my ceramics studio or knitting.
Are you a browser in the library or do you know in advance what you are looking for? Do you browse the library catalog or pick specific books? If so, how do you find out about them?
I always know what I want. I keep a list of books that I want to read - recommendations from authors or friends and family. I worked at Pt Reyes Books for a few years when I first moved to West Marin, so I love to browse there, since I know my way around the store quite well.
Do you have a favorite genre? Any genres that you never read?
Hard to choose! But I love fiction and poetry; nature writing and feminist sci-fi always appeal to me too. I don’t like anything too dark though, because I tend to get too absorbed and then can’t shake it.
What was your reading experience as a child? Did you grow up with a lot of books? A favorite book?
I read constantly as a child, and was lucky to grow up in a family of readers and book lovers. My dad was a writer and illustrator and wrote books for me and my brothers. I was usually inspired by the long bedtime stories he would make up for us. When I started going away to summer camp in Maine when I was eight, he wrote me a letter with a bit of a story in it every day to read before bed. He later turned that story into a 3 part fantasy series.
Were there any books that made a big impression on you in your life? Perhaps a book that has impacted your consciousness a bit?
So many! Perhaps the most memorable are Annie Dillard’s book of poetry, Tickets for a Prayer Wheel, and Actual Air by David Berman. I brought these little books with me everywhere when I was in my late teens - early twenties. Others are Always Coming Home by Ursula K. Le Guin and Ecodeviance by C.A. Conrad.
Is there a famous author that you ever wanted to meet? Maybe back in time?
There are so many. I wouldn’t know where to begin.
What’s the last great book that you read and recommended to a friend?
My favorites this year were The Wall by Marlen Haushofer and When I Sing, Mountains Dance by Irene Solà.
What do you plan to read next? Do you plan?
I’m not sure yet...Reading so many books right now and trying to make time for knitting too.
Is there a book that you always meant to read but still haven’t. Any highly rated books that you thought were over rated?
I don’t believe in shoulds when it comes to reading.
What books do you return to? Are there any books you like to re-read?
I’ve been thinking about rereading one of my favorites - No One Belongs Here More Than You by Miranda July. I reread Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson every couple of years - another all- time favorite!
Do you have a collection of books at home? If so, where do you keep them and do you re-read?
I do keep a collection of my favorite books, I’m very attached and sentimental when it comes to books. Because I live in a very small space at the moment, we keep them stored in bins in a shed - in classic Bolinas style. I very much look forward to unpacking and revisiting them some day! I love to re-read.
When and where do you like to read? Describe your ideal reading experience.
On the beach or in bed!
Why read?
Why not? I can’t think of one reason not to.
Contributed by Jane Silvia
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