This month's Cover-to-Cover interview is with retired teacher Terry Hyland.
A Monroe native, Terry serves on the Monroe Public Library Board of Trustees. Both he and his wife, Lindsay, are active community volunteers. He is a Brewers fan, but is rooting for the Cubs in the World Series.
What are you reading now, or have read recently?
My keen interest right now is all the books that Bill O'Reilly has written, the books about presidents or other leaders and historical events. I am fascinated with him. I have been for five years now. He is a skilled author at bringing out the best in his subjects and answering questions. Especially with the political events going on. I've read every one of them except the most recent one, "Killing the Rising Sun: How America Vanquished World War II Japan." My favorite is "Killing Kennedy."
What else do you like to read?
I've always enjoyed history, and I've always been fond of biographies. I also love sports, and there is an endless supply of great sports biographies. My son, he gives me one for every holiday, every Father's Day or Christmas, a new book about some sports figure because he knows how much I like to read them. He likes to read them too so I pass them back to him. My favorites include Henry Aaron from the old Milwaukee Braves and also Stan Musial from the St. Louis Cardinals and Ernie Banks. There are so many available, you can just continue from one to the other.
Is there a book that inspires you?
Well, any of the biographies I read inspire me from the standpoint of what they achieved, of course. That could be sports, but not always. Anything to do with Ronald Reagan inspires me because I think he achieved what he wanted to as a president. He is still honored today.
Is there a character or figure from a book that you would like to be?
Well, it's an easy cop out to say that I'd like to be one of the sports figures. Henry Aaron was always my idol and I saw him play several times in the old stadiums. A lot of people ridicule Jack Kennedy. I saw him when he came to Monroe and was down at the brewery speaking. I just listened to that and I really kind of idolized him. When all that scandal that came out about his extramarital affairs and everything else, I just had a hard time believing it. But with all that I've read about it now, it's clearly factual.
Were you read to as a child?
No, I really had to do most of it on my own. I was one of eight kids and Dad wasn't home very much, unfortunately. Mom was very concerned about our education and loved all of us equally too, so that wasn't the problem. We had books at home. We have a bookshelf in our house now that my brother made when I was young. I have read all the Hardy Boys because that whole bookshelf was nothing but Hardy Boys. That was our reading; and other than listening to the radio, that was our entertainment. We didn't have a TV yet.
Did you read to your own children?
Yes, I had fun reading to my children. Joseph, the oldest, who's 41 now, was reading Laura Ingalls Wilder books before he went to kindergarten. He loved those books and he was an excellent reader and much better than his father, at that age, definitely. He wanted the Richard Scarry books and we got one and it was really thick. After reading part of it to him, I stuffed it under the sofa. I said "it's done, Jay." I've admitted it to my family since then. Our daughter was not as big on reading and being read to, but we did enjoy books together occasionally.
Do you enjoy audiobooks?
I started getting Playaways at the library a few years ago. That just turned me on. It's such a relaxing thing to walk at the Y and listen to a book. It just takes your mind right to the book and it's an entirely different experience. (Editor's note: Playaways are tiny preloaded players that you plug your own headphones into.)
If you were stranded on a desert island and could only take one book, what would it be?
Well, it would probably be a book that I had been given as a gift, because it would be something I treasure and could remember because of who gave it to me. I probably would have read it before but still wanted it to be part of me. I really relate a lot to the special gifts that people give to me and I may not read them entirely right away, but I certainly enjoy them.
A Monroe native, Terry serves on the Monroe Public Library Board of Trustees. Both he and his wife, Lindsay, are active community volunteers. He is a Brewers fan, but is rooting for the Cubs in the World Series.
What are you reading now, or have read recently?
My keen interest right now is all the books that Bill O'Reilly has written, the books about presidents or other leaders and historical events. I am fascinated with him. I have been for five years now. He is a skilled author at bringing out the best in his subjects and answering questions. Especially with the political events going on. I've read every one of them except the most recent one, "Killing the Rising Sun: How America Vanquished World War II Japan." My favorite is "Killing Kennedy."
What else do you like to read?
I've always enjoyed history, and I've always been fond of biographies. I also love sports, and there is an endless supply of great sports biographies. My son, he gives me one for every holiday, every Father's Day or Christmas, a new book about some sports figure because he knows how much I like to read them. He likes to read them too so I pass them back to him. My favorites include Henry Aaron from the old Milwaukee Braves and also Stan Musial from the St. Louis Cardinals and Ernie Banks. There are so many available, you can just continue from one to the other.
Is there a book that inspires you?
Well, any of the biographies I read inspire me from the standpoint of what they achieved, of course. That could be sports, but not always. Anything to do with Ronald Reagan inspires me because I think he achieved what he wanted to as a president. He is still honored today.
Is there a character or figure from a book that you would like to be?
Well, it's an easy cop out to say that I'd like to be one of the sports figures. Henry Aaron was always my idol and I saw him play several times in the old stadiums. A lot of people ridicule Jack Kennedy. I saw him when he came to Monroe and was down at the brewery speaking. I just listened to that and I really kind of idolized him. When all that scandal that came out about his extramarital affairs and everything else, I just had a hard time believing it. But with all that I've read about it now, it's clearly factual.
Were you read to as a child?
No, I really had to do most of it on my own. I was one of eight kids and Dad wasn't home very much, unfortunately. Mom was very concerned about our education and loved all of us equally too, so that wasn't the problem. We had books at home. We have a bookshelf in our house now that my brother made when I was young. I have read all the Hardy Boys because that whole bookshelf was nothing but Hardy Boys. That was our reading; and other than listening to the radio, that was our entertainment. We didn't have a TV yet.
Did you read to your own children?
Yes, I had fun reading to my children. Joseph, the oldest, who's 41 now, was reading Laura Ingalls Wilder books before he went to kindergarten. He loved those books and he was an excellent reader and much better than his father, at that age, definitely. He wanted the Richard Scarry books and we got one and it was really thick. After reading part of it to him, I stuffed it under the sofa. I said "it's done, Jay." I've admitted it to my family since then. Our daughter was not as big on reading and being read to, but we did enjoy books together occasionally.
Do you enjoy audiobooks?
I started getting Playaways at the library a few years ago. That just turned me on. It's such a relaxing thing to walk at the Y and listen to a book. It just takes your mind right to the book and it's an entirely different experience. (Editor's note: Playaways are tiny preloaded players that you plug your own headphones into.)
If you were stranded on a desert island and could only take one book, what would it be?
Well, it would probably be a book that I had been given as a gift, because it would be something I treasure and could remember because of who gave it to me. I probably would have read it before but still wanted it to be part of me. I really relate a lot to the special gifts that people give to me and I may not read them entirely right away, but I certainly enjoy them.