My name is Tish Oliver and I live in Virginia. The hint of Italian in my screen name is from the glorious three years I lived in Rome when my husband was stationed at the US Embassy there (1999-2002).
I was destined to be a book lover from the time my 4th grade teacher read us a chapter a day, every day. I discovered the local library and never looked back. My first teenage job was reshelving books in that same library and I later got my MLIS and worked for 25 years as a librarian (Children's/YA, Reference, and Elementary School).
My favorites are historical fiction. Britain, Japan, Italy, and the US are my favorite settings. A patron had to practically hit me over the head with Here Be Dragons before I finally read it (the original cover art featured a dragon flying through the sky and I don't love fantasy). I've since become more open to listening to recommendations from others. That's the main reason I'm here.
It's working! I've read several good books recommended on this site in the past couple of weeks.
