Over the next few weeks we’re participating in a work experience program with students from high schools across Melbourne. Here, Kealy Siryj tells us about her favourite books.

How would you describe your taste in books? Do you like romance or adventure, science fiction or history, etc?

My taste in books is quite varied and I definitely wouldn’t consider any specific genre to be my favourite. I will often just read what’s recommended to me by family or friends, whether it be adventure, romance, classics etc. I used to read a lot of dystopian young adult fiction but over the past few years I’ve moved away from that and tried to broaden my taste. Now I will read whatever interests me based on its individual storyline, not the genre.

Tell us about one of your favourite books. When did you first read it? Have you read it more than once? Did you have a different favourite book before now?

Honestly I don’t think I could ever pick one favourite book - there are just too many. However, one book that I really love is The Catcher in The Rye by J.D Salinger which I read last year after a recommendation from my mum. I felt like I had an emotional connection to the story in ways I hadn’t experienced with other novels. The novel’s themes of teenage angst and innocence were so relevant and relatable, yet incredibly frustrating and in this way, The Catcher in The Rye was a massive eye-opener for me. I also really fell in love with some of it’s characters (particularly Phoebe) and consider the book to be one of my favourites.

Do you and your friends share books with each other? What is one your friend has liked, but you haven’t?

I have some friends that I share books with, but we have very different tastes so instead I usually discuss and share books with my older sister. Most of the books I read are recommendations from her and I really love to discuss them with her. While I can’t recall a time recently when we didn’t like a book that the other loved, but we always argue about our views and thoughts on what should/shouldn’t have happened.

Recently, one of my friends recommended the Uglies series, by Scott Westerfield to me. I gave it a shot but something about it felt too familiar and predictable - I guess it was just one too many dystopian novels. However she absolutely loved the series. We really disagreed on that one!

Melbourne has a lot of different literary festivals. Which international authors would you like to see come to one?

I would love to see Nick Hornby, who wrote High Fidelity, which I loved, and How To Be Good, which I’m currently reading. I have a lot of questions to ask him and would be really interested in what he’d have to say.

Another author I’d love to see would be Khaled Hosseini (The Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns, And The Mountains Echoed). Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan and later granted political asylum with is family to move to the United States. He has also worked with the UNHCR and done a lot of charity work in Afghanistan. I think he would be so great to see and interact with at a literary festival as it would be fascinating to hear about of his experiences in person, and learn the inspiration for his novels.

What is a book you’d love to see made into a film?

John Green’s, An Abundance of Katherines would make a great film as it has a lot more potential than some of his other, more popular novels. I’d hope that it would be really true to the novel because I know so many people who loved it.

Another book that I think could make a good film would The Catcher in The Rye but I really hope it isn’t. It has a lot of potential, but one of the things I loved so much about it was that you have to read it to understand. Something about it only being a book makes it so much more special.