Shadow and Bone, by Leigh Bardugo

What brought you to this bookstore?

“I found it on the internet and thought I’d like to come.”

Have you found anything interesting?

“Shadow and Bone, by Leigh Bardugo. It looks like a Russian story. I like Russians.”

Have you read many books by Russian authors?

“I have all of Dostoevsky’s books, and Pushkin, but I haven’t read them. But I’m studying music, and I love the Russian music from the 19th Century: Shostakovich, Rachmaninoff.”

What are you reading?

“The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared, by Jonas Jonasson. The old man lives in an old-people’s home. It’s his hundredth birthday, and all the people in his town are going to throw him a party, but he doesn’t like it. So he escapes and goes to the train station. Then a guy with a briefcase asks him to watch his case while he goes and buys tickets, but the old man’s train comes, and he gets on with the case. When he opens it, he finds there are millions of pounds — the young man was from a gang, and now his boss and everybody start looking for the old man. It’s just funny.”

Is there a character you like, one you identify with?

“Not really. Maybe. There is this man living in his house in a little town, but nobody likes him. They say he’s a bad person. When the old man arrives in his home and tells him his story, he just decides to go with him.” What made you pick it up? “The title. Just hilarious.”

What book has been most life-changing for you?

“The Godfather, by Mario Puzo. I like the thinking of Don Corleone. He’s such a smart man. It made me a more thoughtful person. The book is better than the movie.”

Who is your favorite author?

“Haruki Murakami. I identify with many of his characters. He wrote Kafka on the Shore, which is about a boy who runs away from home because he doesn’t like to be with his father and stepmother. He doesn’t feel loved by them. So he goes on an adventure and arrives at this little town, and goes to the library. There, he meets this boy who kind of guides him in a spiritual way to find his place in the world.”

Do you talk to people about books?

“Yes. I have a couple of friends I talk to, and they’ve given me books. The Invisible Man, by H.G. Wells, was great. The way he tells a story — I don’t know, it’s just cool. I also liked The Time Machine. It was just fun to read — not life-changing, just really fun.”

Do you read any newspapers or magazines?

“Yes, I read a magazine from Mexico City called Algarabia. I get it in Tijuana. It covers a lot of cultural topics and tells stories in a fun way, very sarcastic and ironic.”

How did you get your love of reading?

“My mom bought a lot of books for me when I was a kid. But there was a time when I didn’t like to read at all, from about age seven to ten. Then I bought a book called One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I loved it, and then I started reading again. It’s about three generations in a little town. It’s a magic town — it rains for days and days and days, and people just disappear. But what I liked most was the feeling of being in the little town, and the inventions of the city arriving, the things from the civilized people and how the people would take it in.”

• Name: ADRIEL MAYORGA | Age: 19 | Occupation: STUDENT
• Neighborhood: TIJUANA | Where interviewed: 5TH AVENUE BOOKS, HILLCREST