ABOUT
Claire Hubble, MLIS
Claire in the Library is the culmination of my favorite things in life: learning, sharing, participating, reading, libraries, theatre, hard work, the influence of countless colleagues, peers, professors, and friends.
When I’m not in the library, I’m seeking out good food, good theatre, used bookstores, and ways to connect with my community in the Chicagoland area. I have a deep love for education, instilled in me by my teacher parents whose dedication to helping others learn has impacted me forever. I genuinely love and value the performing arts, and am constantly working on ways I can continue my library career while championing plays and playwrights.
I know that the performing arts–more generally the arts and humanities fields–can and will save this world if we support them financially, politically, and culturally. Librarians believe every reader needs a book and every book, a reader. I believe every reader needs a play, and every play, a space to perform it. Libraries could be this space: a free, accessible place that fosters community through the exclusively human artform of theatre, music, and dance.
My Instagram profile is private, but you could request to follow me if you’re brave.
Claire’s Favorite Books (right now):
Pass Over by Antoinette Nwandu
This play is inspired by Waiting for Godot and examines the horrible prison of racism. Who deserves your trust… why?
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
First picked up because of my deep love of 7/11. I revisit to remind myself that we all have the strength to be who we were born to be.
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
This could have been any SMG novel. Her antagonists are colonizers, and white supremacy is their fatal flaw. (My copy is signed!)
The Clean House by Sarah Ruhl
Again, could have been any Ruhl play or memoir or essay. Everything she writes I want to read again and again. This play gets more poignant by the day.
FREE FREE FREE FREE by Haleh Roshan
Based on a real, Bay Area anarchist theatre troupe c. 1960s. How do we create real change when we are all trapped in this late stage capitalist hellscape?
Fefu and Her Friends by María Irene Fornés
The seminal, feminist work I would love to witness one day. Thanks be to cool sets with even cooler meanings! (My copy is on loan…)
Les Blancs by Lorraine Hansberry
Though Raisin is her magnum opus, this Hansberry play has themes of Pan-Africanism and examines colonization’s lasting impact.
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
A book not just about writing, but about how to move gracefully through the world (even when you do not feel graceful at all.)
Interested in browsing my shelves? See my personal, online catalog (created and maintained on Google Drive) here. Peruse my play collection here.
Follow me on my StoryGraph (not Goodreads): @chubble
Read Tajja Isen’s 2023 Walrus article for more reflection on why Goodreads is actually not good at all for readers, for books, or for authors.
Claire in the Library 