How do you like to read? Paper or electronic? One book at a time or simultaneously? Morning or night?

I read constantly when I’m not with my family or working — and sometimes even when I’m with my family, if my husband is already asleep (he is right now: shhh) or if I am breast-feeding my son and I need to be quiet, as if I make a sound or move he will sweetly get distracted and want to talk (O.K. — babble) and play. Sometimes, though, he will stare into my eyes while he’s eating, and I would choose that moment of connection over any book, really over anything. I read both on paper and electronically, though more of the latter now that I am picking up my 2-year-old daughter and 8-month-old son, sometimes simultaneously, so I try to limit how much I lug around in my bag.

What book might people be surprised to find on your shelves?

Marc loves science fiction, and candidly, “loves” seems rather too mild a description. “A Wrinkle in Time” endures 25 years after my first reading as a true favorite for me, but since I tend toward contemporary and historical fiction, and nonfiction, with some plays and poetry, I think my friends might be surprised to see all the science fiction on our shelves and on our Kindle. But, I guess after reading this, it won’t be a surprise any longer! And after writing this, I think I need to rediscover what made me love science fiction so much as a younger reader. Will ask Marc for recommendations when he wakes up. Currently it is 2a.m., so sleeping is a very reasonable thing to be doing right now.

What’s the best book you’ve ever received as a gift?

The Tom Stoppard play “Arcadia,” the first written work my husband ever gave me. Many years later we saw it together in New York, and I’ll always remember holding his hand as I sat next to him reading it, overwhelmed by feelings sparked by him, his gift and the play itself, and then holding his hand as his wife as we watched.

Who is your favorite fictional hero or heroine? Your favorite antihero or villain?

Meg Murry, from “A Wrinkle in Time,” had a powerful effect on me when I first encountered her. Her resilience, open heart and adventurous spirit still inspire me. I hope that Charlotte and Aidan will indulge me in reading “A Wrinkle in Time” with them when they’re a bit older. About 10 years after I read “A Wrinkle in Time,” I read Dorothy Dunnett’s Lymond Chronicles. Philippa Somerville, who grows up throughout the series, similarly possesses an extraordinary capacity for survival and adaptation, coupled with an enormous heart full of love. She’s also clever and kind, regardless of her perilous circumstances. Her kindness eventually extends to herself as well as others. I reread the Lymond Chronicles a few years ago after I finished my doctorate, and it was pure joy. My favorite villains are those vanquished at the end (if not earlier in the book) — trite no doubt, but no less true for being trite.

What kind of reader were you as a child? Which childhood books and authors stick with you most? What books do you enjoy reading with your own children?

I’ve always loved to read — by myself, with my parents, now next to my husband and, most of all, with my kids. When I was a child, it felt like I read every book I could find — though of course I know I didn’t. I remember devouring Encyclopedia Brown books, Harriet the Spy adventures, Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys mysteries, often in the Booker Elementary library cross-legged in the corner. I’ll never forget sobbing over “Watership Down,” “Bridge to Terabithia” and “Where the Red Fern Grows”; thankfully, those tears fell at home, on top of or underneath my comforter. I remember thinking once — I believe after “Where the Red Fern Grows” — that this is why the blanket on top of my bed is called a comforter. That felt like a profound realization at 10.