And then it all changed magically when I brought my Kindle, which is the most amazing magical device in my life.

Hey readers, I'm Ann Boko, and this is What Should I Read Next, episode 45. Welcome to the show that's dedicated to answering the question that plagues every reader. What Should I Read Next?

We don't get bossy on this show. What we will do here is give you the information you need to choose your next read. Every week we'll talk all things books and reading and do a little literary matchmaking with one guest.

Today's guest is Anna Solazar. Anna is a Colombian who's now living in Peru, and she's been, as she says, absolutely obsessed with reading for her whole life. So much so that her parents had to physically drag her away from bookstores when she was growing up.

I hope a lot of you can relate to that. Here's my conversation with Anna. Anna, welcome to the show. Hello, I'm so so happy to be here. I'm a big, big fan of the show. Oh, I'm so glad to hear it, and I'm delighted to talk to you. Thanks so much for coming on. No, thank you for having me. Anna, I believe you are a first guest, South of the equator. You're in that's a privilege. Now, where are you living now? So I am originally from Colombia, but I come

from Colombia. I'm currently living in Lima, Peru with my husband and our two cats. We wouldn't want to leave them out. Of course not. I'm allergic myself. Please don't hate me listeners, but I love how they are such an important accessory to the reading life to so many of us.

So, I'm glad they're actually a beautiful bookstore here in Lima that has like three pet cats as the most wonderful place where you just go there and sit and breathe and the cats would come and sit in your lap. It's amazing.

That sounds like heaven. I mean, even the meek because I could do it for an hour before I'd start sneezing. That sounds amazing. I would like to. Are you a baby? So, yes, I am. So, if you're ever in Lima, I'll have to take you there.

I've never been. How long have you been living in Peru? We've been here for four years now. Okay. And how is it there? It is. It's very interesting. It's very different. Many people don't know that Lima is actually a desert.

It's actually, I think the second largest desert sitting in the world next to Cairo. So, it never rains here, which is very, very, very strange.

I didn't know that. That was not how I was picturing in my head. It wasn't what I was picturing when it came here either. What brought you to Peru?

My husband's actually originally from Peru, although we met elsewhere. And he had a job opportunity here. So, we decided to take it and come.

Same old story. Yeah, exactly. What do you do in Peru, Ana?

So, I work in marketing in a big multinational corporation. A soft drink brand you all know and love.

But I also, I'm also a food blogger. I write in a vegetarian food blog here. I am a bread baker. And I'm also a yoga lover.

Now, where does reading fit into all that? It fits everywhere. I like it. Tell me more.

I am absolutely obsessed with reading. And I have been for my entire life. What why? When? How? Tell us everything.

So, I actually learned to read before I even started school. I was always asking my mom about what's that letter? What's that letter? What's that letter?

And she started slowly teaching me. So, there's a funny story, actually. I had a book when I was very little.

It was Swedish folk tales, I think. And it has story about a young boy who was very bored because his parents were at work. And apparently he was too young to read.

But in this story, he was much older than I was at the time. And I remember reading that story and saying, this is really stupid. I mean, he's like two years older than me.

How come he doesn't read? And I mean, from their own books have been my constant companion and my absolute obsession. I mean, I used to spend my entire allowance on books.

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