Editor’s note: We thought you would like to get to know some of our journalists. This week in the editorial space, the members of the Tribune newsroom write about their interests.

Top 5 favorite books

1. “Harry Potter” series by J.K. Rowling (it’s a seven-way tie)

2. “A Prayer for Owen Meany” by John Irving

3. “Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim” by David Sedaris

4. “The Year of Living Biblically” by A.J. Jacobs

5. “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee

I’ve always been an avid reader — just ask my parents who had to drive me to the library once a week in the summer to get as many as 10 books when I was a kid. Back then, some of my favorites were Laura Ingalls Wilder books and “The Babysitter’s Club” books, among others.

In college my love of reading came in handy for all the schoolwork I had as a journalism major and history minor, though it did cut down some on my reading outside of schoolwork.

I was spoiled at my college internship at a children’s book publisher because I got to read all day and get paid for it. I got to read classics that were repurposed for teens like “Huckleberry Finn” and “Frankenstein.” My favorites were comic books that we turned into graphic novels like “Transformers” and “Star Wars.”

One of the last projects I worked on was helping with Shakespeare plays we were turning into graphic novels. I worked on the glossary and wrote a summary of the play to make it more understandable for our audience, which I enjoyed.

Memoirs have become one of my favorite genres, and I think I like them because they’re true stories. I own most of David Sedaris’ and A.J. Jacobs’ books because I enjoy reading them again and again because they’re entertaining. I also enjoy nonfiction, and one of my recent favorites was “How We Decide” by Jonah Lehrer. That book was fascinating because it looked at all the different elements that go into the thought and decision process.

Fiction is also a favorite category of mine, as evidenced by choosing the “Harry Potter” series as my favorite. My mom bought me the first book, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” because she had heard it was popular. At first I scoffed, and then I read it because I was curious. I was 11 at the time, which is the same age as Harry in the first book. Needless to say, I fell in love with the book. Through the years I waited impatiently for the books to come out (there’s seven in the series) and as soon as it went on sale I would spend the next entire day reading the book as fast as I could. I like the series’ outlook on good versus evil, and I grew up with the books. I think they’ll always be in my top five favorite books because they’re a good mix of humor and adversity.

I’m also lucky to have a work friend who enjoys the same kinds of books as I do. Tribune Publisher Scott Schmeltzer and I borrow each other books from our collections, which has been fun. I’m currently reading “Scratch Beginnings” by Adam Shepard, which I borrowed from Scott. It’s an interesting look at using public resources to try to go from homeless to self-sufficient.

Feel free to e-mail me at kelli.lageson@albertleatribune.com with any good book suggestions you have!