READERSVOICE.COM aims to collect a few interesting reading tips. Elena Naylor is an artist and designer from Lincolnshire, England. One of her designs, Countryside, features a kid playing with her dog on a beautiful snowy hillside in a little town. Other striking pictures include Owl Forest and the whimsical Library Cats. A lot of her art work is for fabric designs, but she also works in book illustration and design, as well as creating her personal pieces every once in a while. Check out Shutterstock for Ms Naylor’s artwork.

READERSVOICE.COM: On your Shutterstock account, you have a lot of designs and illustrations, and they vary a lot in style and mood. Like the moody Radio Telescopes picture and Gothic Angels on a Snowy Roof, to a fun picture of a cat, Kawaii Neko Sushi. Does your type of reading vary a lot, too? Generally what sort of stuff do you like to read?

ELENA NAYLOR: Yes, it does. I enjoy reading a large variety of styles and subjects from children’s literature to science fiction, and existentialism.

RV: One of your illustrations was of H.P. Lovecraft. What do you like about his stories?

EN: I would say that his books are very atmospheric. I like his moody descriptions together with his lack of dialogues. His writing style resembles watching vivid dreams when you are asleep.

RV: What are some of your other favourite fiction books of all time?

EN: I really love books written by Isaac Asimov: all of them. They are clever, unpredictable and can also be educational. His universe, filled with robots and galaxies, can be compared in its complexity to the universe created by J.R.R.Tolkien.

RV: Can you recommend a few non-fiction books or books on art or artists?

EN: It is a difficult question because I have a formal education in art, so most of my knowledge came from teachers. If I could recommend one book for designers and graphic artists alike it would be Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines. This is an incredible reference book which is absolutely essential for any freelancer. If I recommended a non-fiction book unrelated to design it would be The Life-changing Magic of Tidying by Marie Kondo. This book teaches how to notice and appreciate things which spark joy in life.

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