About TUL

The Uncorked Librarian » About TUL
Meet Christine The Uncorked Librarian white brunette female in a pink dress holding a book and glass of champagne

Hi, I’m Christine Frascarelli! Welcome to The Uncorked Librarian with books and movies to inspire travel.

See where to start, never miss a new book release, and diversify your reading – from an MLIS-degreed rogue librarian and her fabulous team of traveling book sommeliers.

Do you want to enhance and inspire your travels with books and movies? Are you hoping to read more diversely in a vibrant online book community? If you answered ‘yes’ to many of these questions, The Uncorked Librarian is for you. You will have a hilariously fun new community filled with fierce book discussions, and um, our cats. OK, and maybe some F-bombs.

Read about working with us | See how to contact Christine

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Who Are Your Book Sommeliers?

Christine Frascarelli
(pronouns: she/her/hers)

Owner, Writer, & Lead Editor

Christine Graphic with illustrated white brunette woman with long brown hair in pink skirt and white top next to gray and white cat on purple luggage with thought bubble with travel destination icons in it
Christine Frascarelli, a white brunette female wearing a gray dress and sitting at a table with a pink cocktail and a stone wall behind her

Christine is a small business owner and rogue librarian traveling the world one book and plane ride at a time. She cannot resist adopting all of the homeless and old kitties. Olives stand no chance against her. Her top food groups include wine, charcuterie, and um… wine. Raisins are lies and such a waste of grapes.

Living with Ulcerative Colitis – and being immunocompromised – is quite a challenge, which is part of the reason Christine created TUL. Her goal is to extend the library past its four physical walls. Books can literally transport you anywhere, and she wanted reading recommendations to be easy to find.

Christine owns and manages both The Uncorked Librarian and Uncorked Asheville, a local Asheville travel site. She is the person responding to all of your messages.

A Few Uncorked Facts About Christine:

  • Never-Tire-Of Wine: Oaked Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, Riesling, and Petite Syrah
  • Beloved Beer: Oktoberfest, ESB, Lager, and Kölsch – no hops, please
  • Favorite Book: That’s a ridiculous question
  • Top Breathtaking Country: Iceland
  • Most Memorable Library: The Long Room At Trinity College
  • Best Literary Travel: Meeting Wayan from Eat, Pray, Love in Bali and bookstore hopping in Scotland
  • Favorite Local Bookstores: Malaprop’s (Asheville, NC) & M.Judson Booksellers (Greenville, SC)
  • Undergrad: BA in English & History with a concentration in South Asian history from Smith College
  • Grad School: MA in Library and Information Science from USF Tampa
  • Greatest Achievement: United States Fulbright Fellowship Indonesia, 2009-2010
  • Best Place Ever Lived: Depok Timur, outside of Jakarta, Indonesia
  • Currently Live: Asheville, North Carolina

Thomas Cucinella
(pronouns: he/him/his)

Editor

Tom Graphic with illustration of white brunette male in pilot outfit with gray and orange cat, luggage, pilot hat, orange book, and passport with plane in background

Christine’s husband, Tom, helps edit articles and newsletters, travels with Christine, and lets her take his photo while eating… most of the time.

However, he works a full-time job as a commercial airline pilot, a job he knew he wanted before he was 12 years old. Tom has a BA in Aeronautical Science from Embry-Riddle.

Tom enjoys building model airplanes and traveling to Italy; he can swim like a fish and drive a stick, a talent lost on Christine in the Sicilian vineyards. However, he’s absolutely rubbish at driving on the other side of the road…

Meet Our Writing Team

Christine The Uncorked Librarian white brunette female standing in front of the Castle of Light National Library in Riga, Latvia
When your library is as giant as the Castle Of Light – The National Library Of Latvia – how will you know what book to read next? We got you!

Jeremy Paterson
(pronouns: any)

Contributing Writer

Jeremy Paterson Graphic with white short-haired brunette person sitting in brown armchair reading a book with a cat next to them
Jeremy Paterson Bio picture with white male with long redish-brown hair wearing a gray hat and dark shirt in front of laptop with bookshelf in the background

Jeremy is an autistic writer, hobbyist, and movie buff, as long as that movie is Labyrinth. Since leaving the corporate world behind in 2018, he has read more books than he thought possible. True to his British upbringing, his first instinct in any given situation is to put the kettle on.

Dagney McKinney
(pronouns: any)

Contributing Writer

Writer Dagney McKinney white female with light brown hair wearing a purple shirt and smiling
Dagney McKinney Graphic with illustrated white brunette person with hair in bun sitting in gray armchair reading a book with slippers off on floor and orange cat rubbing against chair

Dagney is a neurodivergent writer and book nerd who is drawn to all things weird and macabre. She also loves anything to do with fast cars, unhinged anti-heroes, and salt. When she isn’t working or reading, you’re likely to find her eating Indian food, playing board games, or hiding out somewhere dark and quiet, stuck down an internet rabbit hole. The easiest way to win her over is through cats and camels.

Tori Curran
(pronouns: she/her/hers)

Contributing Writer

Tori Curran Graphic with illustrated white blonde woman holding young child's hand and both having backpacks and hiking boots
Tori Curran Explore with Tori white, blonde woman hiking with backpack and young child on back in carrier

Tori is a children’s librarian and mom to two boys living in New York. She’s an avid traveler, nature enthusiast, and writer, encouraging families to get outside and start exploring the world. When she’s not hiking or traveling, you can find her lost in a historical fiction book, watching Bravo reruns, or obsessively decluttering her home. Tori is the owner of the family travel and adventure blog, Explore With Tori.

Sheree Strange
(pronouns: she/her/hers)

Contributing Writer

Sheree from Keeping Up With The Penguins, short black hair woman holding an orange stripped book, Frankenstein
Sheree Strange Graphic with illustrated person laying on couch in green pants and white shirt reading a book with small brown dog on the ground

Sheree is a writer and book reviewer living on the land of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation (known as Sydney, Australia). She has been reviewing books on her blog, Keeping Up With The Penguins, since 2017. She reads books of all kinds and shares her thoughts on them all across the internet. Be sure to check out Sheree’s full writing portfolio here.

More TUL Contributors

Let’s Connect

Let’s keep it real: Christine would rather be reading than posting on social media… Email is the fastest way to catch Christine for a direct conversation at [email protected].

Did You Know We Have A Sister Blog, Uncorked Asheville?

Uncorked Asheville North Carolina Travel Blog logo with illustrated white brunette woman in green dress holding a champagne glass and sitting on cliff overlooking blue, gray, and green mountains with green trees

If you love bookish and tipsy travels, you might also swoon over our hometown of Asheville, North Carolina. Meet The Uncorked Librarian LLC’s sister site, Uncorked Asheville where residents – potential, new, and seasoned – as well as travelers can experience Asheville like a local.

Uncover the best spots for food, drinks, and hiking around Asheville, North Carolina. Never stop chasing those waterfalls…or beer. Be sure to join our Asheville FB community, Discovering Asheville.