Meet Us Monday: Katrina Kruse

Happy Monday tumblrs! Katrina Kruse, Adult Marketing Manager here in Boston, takes you behind the scenes in the world of HMH with another installment of our weekly staff surveys.

What do you do here at HMH?

I am the adult marketing manager for birds, words, curds, and murds.  This translates into a lot of branding initiatives as I cover field guides, the American Heritage® Dictionary and related titles, all of our cookbooks and mysteries as well.  When Harcourt and Houghton Mifflin merged they asked me to work on mysteries and I said I would only do it if I could fit it into my job title, hence murds. 

What is your favorite HMH book of all time?

Growing up my favorite books were the Edith books by Dare Wright, especially A Gift from the Lonely Doll. Edith is a Kathe Kruse Doll (It is rare to see your last name on a product when your name is Kruse) and Mr. Bear was the same Steif bear that I had growing up. As an adult I appreciate that the stories and photography are great in these picture books. I was so happy that Houghton reissued these books right around the time I started working here.

What is the last non-HMH book that you read?

I am constantly reading cookbooks. Right now, Anjum’s New Indian is what I am reading before going to sleep.  For fiction I read The Love Song of Monkey by Michael Graziano a few months back and it has stayed with me. 

What’s your favorite at-work diversion?

It is a tough job, but someone needs to stay aware of all those cooking blogs out there. So reading the blogs and commenting on people’s cupcake photos from the Hello, Cupcake Facebook page are great diversions.

Can you share a little anecdote about the office?

Kind of more an out of office anecdote but I have gotten to do some amazing things in my job.  For the field guides I have gone birding with some of the best knows birders in the US and seen some amazing species of birds that I would never have seen on my own.  I have gone out birding with Don Kroodsma and his parabola with headphones attached listening to the birds in an area instead of using binoculars.  My favorite field trip has been going “bugging” at night and finding Katydids and other insects with Lang Elliott.

Do you have a favorite poet/poem that has special meaning to you?

I love the new Symborzka collection, Here.

What was the last book you read that wasn’t set in the U.S.?

I am currently reading The Hangman’s Daughter a thriller set in seventeenth-century Bavaria.  It is the perfect summer read filled with corruption, suspected witches and the devil, murder, and forbidden love – What more could you want in a book?

What’s your favorite word?

Tintinnabulation, it is not a word I get to drop into conversations much but I love to say it.

What’s your biggest food guilty pleasure?

I think eating should be filled with appetizers and fruity drinks.  You get great variety, can share with friends and have fun.

If you could jump into an HMH cookbook, which would it be?

Perfect Recipes for Having People Over by Pam Anderson.  This book is filled with great recipes for low stress entertaining.  I like having friends over but I tend to freak out over what I cook.  This book calms me down.

If you could jump into an HMH nature book, which would it be?

I would jump into the upcoming Peterson Reference Guide to Behavior of North American Mammals.  This book is filled with such amazing information such as the fact adult porcupines will get together and dance for exercise, US armadillos can’t roll into perfect balls but they can walk underwater for up to four minutes, and possums must fall over on their right side while mating if they want to conceive.