On Monday, March 5, Philadelphia's favorite crime novelist, Lista Scottoline, will discuss her latest book, Daddy’s Girl at the Central Library at 7:00 p.m. Ms. Scottoline took a moment to chat with the Free Library Blog and answered some of our most pressing questions:

1. What role have libraries played in your life?

"Libraries have been essential in my life. I wouldn’t be an author but for libraries because I spent so much time in them as a child. My mother hates it but I always tell a story that there was one book in my house growing up - TV Guide. We had a close-knit Italian family with a lot of love and a lot of meatballs. But no books. I discovered my love of reading at the new library, where a group of angel librarians nurtured it, and me."

2. What was your favorite childhood book?

"As for my favorite childhood book, the fact is, I don’t remember any. But as an adult, I spent a lot of time in libraries with my own daughter, and I certainly remember the books I read to her and loved. I really love Goodnight Moon. I also think the series about Francis the badger are terrific. I read them, sometimes even now, just to see the dialogue, which is perfect and clever. I love Dr. Seuss and The Lorax and that whole cast of characters. I think he was brilliant, and you can never beat him for sheer exuberance and fun. The great thing about all these authors is that the writing is so emotive that on every page, they convey what it’s like to feel the joy of being a child in the big, wide world."

3. Who is your favorite fictional character?

"I can’t say who my favorite fictional character is, because I have so many. I couldn’t begin to choose one. That, to me, in a way is the whole point of books and even of libraries. Novels are all about diversity of voice and different and changing characters. I like old people characters, young people characters, black and white characters - all manner of characters and like to write characters that are complex and fully realized and different in many ways."

4. Who are the three authors you think everyone should be required to read-which books would you start with?

"As for the question about who were the three authors that everyone should be required to read, I’m gonna punt on that one, too. I think there is no single book that everybody should be required to read. There are some books that I have loved and given as gifts and felt really terrific about that - I wanted to put that book in the someone’s hand. So my whole approach with the books I read and recommend to others is a little bit at odds with the question. I really hope that people will spend time in the library or in the bookstore and find novels that speak to them. And those will be the ones they adopt and take to heart. And remember forever."

5. If you couldn’t write, what other job would you like to have?

"If I couldn’t write, there’s tons of jobs I would do. I really love life and I really love the array of things you can do in life. In my own life I’ve been a waitress, a playground supervisor, and arts and crafts instructor, a trial lawyer, a mother, and a file clerk. I had a job where I alphabetized insurance renewal forms for three hours every day after school, and you know what? I liked it! There’s lots of cool things to do in this world and if you can get paid for it, all the better!"