The Love-a-Thon is hosted by Alexa of Alexa Loves Books, Cee of The Novel Hermit, Kristin of Super Space Chick, and Mel of The Daily Prophecy). Follow along on social media using the hashtag #LoveaThon
Here are my answers to the questionnaire sent out by the lovely Love-a-Thon hosts:
Tell us your history with reading. Were you always a reader? Were you a reluctant reader? Was there a book that convinced you to become a reader?
- I’ve always been a reader. My parents and grandparents read to me from the time I was little, and I was extremely fortunate to have parents who bought me a lot of books and fostered my love of reading.
How did you get involved in the online book community?
- I started Ramblings of a Daydreamer in 2010 as an ‘everything’ blog. I planned to talk about my life, my family, etc. As I was visiting blogs, I kept discovering all these blogs dedicated to books, and I thought ‘Wow, a lot of people love to read as much as I do’. I’ve never had many friends who like to read, so it was a whole new experience for me. I tentatively wrote a few reviews, discovered I enjoyed doing it, and the blog slowly morphed into a book blog. From there I joined Twitter and was an active part of the book community there for a long time. I’ve gotten away from it in the last couple years for personal reasons, but I do still tweet here and there, and I love chatting about books. My real passion right now is Bookstagram. It started out similar to the blog - I posted pics of my family, what I was doing, travel shots, etc., and it slowly turned into a purely bookish space. (Side note: I missed posting real life stuff, so I created a personal account, too.) That’s where I feel most comfortable these days, although so far this year I’ve put more effort into the blog than I did last year. I’m starting to recapture the love I once had for blogging that I thought I’d lost.
What’s your favorite thing about the online book community?
- People’s passion for stories. I love that all these people from around the world, who may have absolutely nothing in common except their love for books, all do the same thing: talk about books, promote books, LOVE books. We don’t get paid, most of us don’t set out to get famous, we just want to share our love of books, squee over authors, and discover new stories. I’m always amazed when I see hardworking, dedicated, passionate people doing what they love, whether it’s blogging, Bookstagram, BookTube, or whatever.
What sort of posts can readers expect from you?
- Right now I have a mixture of reviews, bookish discussions, and a few memes (I’ve started doing It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? recently, and I do the occasional Top Ten Tuesday). Last year I started doing a Bookstagram Weekly Digest feature, but it was so time-consuming and I didn’t get much feedback. I decided to start posting some of my favourite bookstagram pics in my monthly recaps instead. I also just started a feature called Bookish Merch Spotlight - my first spotlight was on NerdyGrlDesigns, who makes gorgeous bookmarks and stickers!
What book genres do you talk about most?
- I’m a contemporary romance junkie (YA, NA, and adult), but I have eclectic tastes, so I talk about a variety of books from contemporary to historical fiction to science fiction to fantasy to mystery. Honestly though, in the last year or so, it’s mostly been contemporary.
~Favorites~
- Favorite food? I love pizza and pasta. Visiting Italy year before last was like visiting food heaven for me!
- Favorite color? Blue - any shade
- Favorite things to do apart from reading? I love taking pictures - mostly of books these days, but basically anything else, too. I’m also a TV junkie, and I love to travel.
- Favorite tv shows? Friends, Gilmore Girls, Supernatural, Sherlock, Doctor Who, Downton Abbey...I could go and on.
- Favorite movies? Bridget Jones’ Diary (1 and 3 are my favourites), Runaway Bride, Notting Hill, The Holiday. Romcoms are totally my jam. Oh, and I’m obsessed with Harry Potter, so I have to include those, too. And Disney! Especially Beauty and the Beast and Robin Hood.
- Favorite musical artists? U2, The Killers, Robbie Williams, Adele, Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, Abba, Taylor Swift
~Book Talk~
- Favorite childhood books? I was obsessed with the Berenstain Bears when I was little. From there, it was Babysitter’s Club and Sweet Valley High
- Favorite books read in the last five years? Last year’s favourite was A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro. The year before that my favourites were the Every trilogy by Ellie Marney (Every Breath, Every Word, Every Move). Other faves that I recommend endlessly: Anna and the French Kiss, the Scarlet trilogy by AC Gaughen (Scarlet, Lady Thief, Lion Heart), Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour, My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick, and anything by Lia Riley, AJ Pine, Chanel Cleeton, or Taylor Jenkins Reid.
- Underrated book, series or author you love? Definitely the Every series by Ellie Marney. It’s such a shame books written by Australian authors and released first in Australia often get a lot less attention in North America. I only know of a few blogger friends who have read this series and all of them love it as much as I do. If you’re a fellow Sherlockian, please please please considering picking up Every Breath and giving the series a shot. The basic premise is ‘What if Sherlock was the boy next door’ and my answer to that is: friendship, adventure, danger, and waaay more sexiness than I expected!
- Book boyfriend/girlfriend? Book BFF? Book family? Book Boyfriend: My two longest-running book boyfriends are Etienne St Claire from Anna and the French Kiss, and Roar from the Under the Never Sky trilogy. Book BFF: Alex from London Belongs to Me. Book Family: The Weasleys. I just love them and would love to be part of their big, chaotic family, living at the Burrow.
- Books you want to read in 2017? There are so many fantastic-sounding books coming out this year, and as much as I want to read a ton of them, I also want to focus on backlist books, especially ones that have been sitting on my shelves for ages. At the top of my list: Outlander.
I adored My Life Next Door as well! I have one of my favorite authors that is from Australia, and her books are amazing.
ReplyDeleteLovely blog, Marie, and it's wonderful to meet you.
New Bloglovin follower
Jess @ Fairytales and Books
I think My Life Next Door will always be a favourite of mine. <3 Thanks so much for stopping by and following, Jess!
DeleteI love Sherlock and yeay for another Disney Lover! Beauty and the Beast is my absolute favorite :) I like to listen to Adele and Coldplay too.
ReplyDeleteMel@thedailyprophecy
Yay, it's always fun finding someone with so many things in common! Thanks so much for stopping by. <3
DeleteHi Marie! I'm so glad you're joining us <3 I love Ed Sheeran. His new stuff has been on repeat for me a lot since the start of 2017, and I'm super excited for his new album!
ReplyDeleteHi Alexa! When Ed released his new song yesterday, I listened to it over and over for hours on end lol. I just love his voice. <3
DeleteBookstagram is my passion right now too. I love it so much. I also love how passionate the community is about stories. It so lovely to be around people that love the same things you do. Even if it's just online! <3
ReplyDeleteLori @ Pure Imagination