Gina fell in love with books very early on. Once she discovered the local library, it was all over. By the time she'd reached 6th grade the local librarian knew her so well, she'd have a stack almost as tall as the quiet girl that would come in every day and leave almost stumbling over with her pile of books. She was rarely without a book in hand, and would get so lost in a story that her mother would threaten to destroy all books if she didn't come do chores–a threat which would somehow penetrate into those fabulous worlds of Tolkien, Cameron, Shakespeare and get her to run and wash the dishes.
Her fierce protectiveness towards real, honest-to-God books–not e-books–is stronger than ever. Librarians are her heroes. Her love affair with books has continued, spills out and envelops everyone around her till they are almost as fascinated and in love with books as she is. Her proudest moment was when her previously "I hate reading" daughter-in-law was driving by a movie billboard and asked, "Can you find me the book that movie was based on? I want to read it." She lives in a house she's restoring with a book-loving friend and books are in every room.
–Gina Ruiz, AmoXcalli
