Tuesday, September 15, 2009

BBAW Interview Featuring Jenn of Bibliolatry


Today is the day for Book Blogger Appreciation Week blogger interviews. Here on Boston Bibliophile, I'm featuring my interview with Jenn of the great lit fic blog Bibliolatry. If you haven't been over to her blog, you need to- it's awesome! I love her articles and reviews of literary fiction and more. And if you visit her today, you'll see her interview with me!

1. Why did you decide to start blogging about books?

I started my blog back in November, 2005. At the time, I just wanted to spread the word about my favorite books. Sometimes I'm so amazed and awed by a book that I just want everyone I know to read it. Unfortunately, I don't know anyone in my "real" life who reads as much as I do, and they don't want to hear me talk endlessly about another book. And so my blog was born.

2. What kind of books do you usually review?

I stick mostly to literary fiction, although I enjoy good "spooky" reads (anything ranging from horror to mystery to science fiction) as well. I will occasionally read poetry and, to a lesser extent, nonfiction.

3. What's the best book (or your top five books if you want) so far this year?

Yeah, definitely not falling for that "best book" trap, because then I'll be here forever deciding. In fact, I can't even do top five -- if you don't mind, I've got six. My favorite books so far this year have been Angelica (Arthur Phillips), The Little Stranger (Sarah Waters), Drood (Dan Simmons), Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier), and Julian(Gore Vidal). The sixth book is The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins), which I just finished this morning. I don't often read YA fiction, but I couldn't ignore it any longer, since I've heard so many people rave about it. I'm glad I listened - it absolutely blew me away.

4. Have you always been an avid reader? If not, when did you become one?

Yes, I'd say I've always been an avid reader. My grandmother swears I was reading by two, and I'm biased enough to believe her. When I was very little, reading was always my favorite thing to do. (Well, that and play My Little Pony.) As I got older, the Sweet Valley High and Christopher Pike books kept me enthralled. They were so much fun to read.

5. What's your favorite bookstore?

I feel like a creep for writing this, but I'm a big online shopper. So, I have to say it's a toss up between Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Amazon is cheaper, but B&N gets to my door faster. Plus, now I have a Kindle, so I really don't ever have to leave my house. Bravo for the anti-social little me.

6. What's your favorite time of day or week to read?

I wouldn't say I have a favorite time to read, since any time is good if I'm really into a book. However, if a book is dragging or if I'm tired, I generally can't read in the evening or else I'll doze off.

7. Do you find you're reading more as a blogger? Or about the same? What about genre? Do you read what you've always read, or has blogging influenced your reading choices?

Sometimes, blogging actually slows me down. That's why I haven't been updating as frequently as I did a year or two ago; I was spending more time online than I was between the pages. After awhile, reviewing came to feel like a chore and even reading felt less fun. When I pulled back a bit on the blog, I felt more like reading. Otherwise, I'd say I read as much as I always have.

I wouldn't say blogging has influenced my reading choices as much, either. I still read what I want, and if something doesn't interest me, I'm not wasting my time. This goes for the ARC's that I occasionally get, which is why I probably haven't been getting too many of them recently.

8. What blogs do you like to read?

An easier question might be what blogs don't I like to read. My Google Reader is crammed with blogs, and I feel like I have so many unread posts that I can barely skim through them all.

I can't begin to list my favorite bookblogs - the list would be too long, and then I'd leave someone out that I'd feel bad about. In terms of "normal" blogs, I have to say I'm addicted to OhNoTheyDidnt and GoFugYourself for my celebrity addiction, I Can Has Cheezburger and FAIL Blog make me laugh way harder than they should, and PostSecret makes me cry nearly every single Sunday. I do cry easily, though.

9. What are your other hobbies?

Well, I have 3 dogs that I treat like my children (yes, I'm one of those annoying people), and I also enjoy walking and doing pilates. I also like to crochet, but I haven't been doing much of that recently. I also enjoy baking (not so much cooking).

10. Is there something else about yourself that you'd like to share? (optional question!)

Let's see, I'm obsessed with Britney Spears, the Olsen twins (for the fashion, not the movies), LOST, and scary movies. Sometimes I think something is wrong with me. I blame Christopher Pike.

9 comments:

gautami tripathy said...

Great choice of books, those!


BBAW: Interviewing myself

Molly said...

Great questions - and I have so enjoyed getting to know Jenn better. I too have 3 dogs that I treat like children (along with the 3 children that I treat like children) - so I wouldn't find her annoying at all.

I just picked up Angelica at the library this weekend and am very anxious to read it - especially since she picked it as one of the top 6 books she has read so far this year.

ImageNations said...

thanks for giving me an insight to one of my favourites bloggers. I would be following.

Heather J. @ TLC Book Tours said...

LOL – Jenn always makes me laugh! Thanks for the interview, especially that last question. :)

bermudaonion said...

What a great interview. Her answer to your last question made me chuckle!

Anonymous said...

Great questions and interview!

Anonymous said...

Great interview. She reminded me that I forgot to include Christopher Pike as one of my favorite childhood authors. Loved him.

Anna said...

Another new-to-me blogger! I will be checking out her blog as soon as I finish typing this comment.

Great questions, Marie. I read Angelica a while back, and I enjoyed it, too.

--Anna
Diary of an Eccentric

Dawn @ sheIsTooFondOfBooks said...

Jenn has been blogging for 4 years?! I wonder how many book blogs were around then ... the number seems to have quadrupled this year (or, I'm just more aware ... that's probably it).