Book Blog Talks: Knowledge Lost, previously known as Literary Exploration

2015-09-08 12:11

Please welcome Michael from Knowledge Lost on BookLikes to BookLikes’ Book Blog Talks!

BookLikes URL: knowledgelost.booklikes.com

Recently your blog received a new blog name! Literary Exploration has been changed into Knowledge Lost. Can you tell our readers why have you decided to make this big change and how did it affect your blogging?

I have been blogging and using various social media sites (Twitter, YouTube, etc) under two different names for a while, Knowledge Lost and Literary Exploration. Knowledge Lost was dedicated to my autodidactic explorations and Literary Exploration was book related. I recently thought it was time to merge all my interests under the one name, in the hopes to simplify my life.

Let’s move back a little bit. Have you always been keen on reading and blogging? How did it all start?

It all started in 2009, I was spending a lot of time listening to music and I came across a book called Hey! Nietzsche! Leave Them Kids Alone! by Craig Schuftan. The subtitle for the book was “The Romantic Movement, Rock & Roll, And The End Of Civilisation As We Know It” and it explored the hidden roots in rock music with the Romantic movement of the 1800s. This changed something in me, I became interested in books and knowledge.

In fact Knowledge Lost was adapted from the title Paradise Lost by John Milton. I decided on this title to symbolise the fact that there is so much to learn and so much knowledge out there that previously was lost to me.

What have you learnt during these three years of book blogging? We bet bloggers at BookLikes would love to hear your blogging golden rules :)

I have been blogging since 2009 now, (BookLikes is just another method to share my bookish love) and I think the golden rule for blogging is to write for yourself. If you are passionate about the topic and just want to talk about it, nothing else really matters.

We can read on your blog that you’re an audiobook fan. What’s so special in audio version of books?

I use audiobooks as a way to experience a book while I am stuck at work. I think there are advantages (and disadvantages) to audiobooks; they can help you get through some difficult pieces of text a little easier, and great for multitasking.

Do you experience the book differently when you’re listening to it and reading it?

I think there are differences, but audiobooks are just so convenient. I try mainly to use audiobooks as a way to get through non-fiction but sometimes you discover a book you want to read and you have a credit on Audible.

Your stats show that you mostly read science-fiction and classics books. Your shelf, however, is a proof of your diversified reading taste with reads all across the genres. Do you have a favorite book genre?

I honestly didn’t think science-fiction would be so high up there. I am drawn to books that explore themes in interesting ways. Literary fiction isn’t really a genre but that is the type of books I enjoy reading. I am also believe there is great literature in all genres, we just have to find it. I am not afraid to try different genres and experience something different.

How do you pick your next book to read? By genre, by author, due to recommendations, ARC requests?

I read on a whim, I wish I was more organised because books from the library and ARCs tend to pile up really quickly, but it just depends on what I feel like.

If you could meet & have a fancy dinner with one author (dead or alive) who would it be and why?

I think my answer will be different every day, but today I think Vladimir Nabokov. He comes across as a grumpy old man but his books are beautifully complex, I would like to get to know him a little more. Maybe get to the bottom of the whole Lolita debate.

Name your favorite authors. Why are they special?

Craig Scuftan (because he got me into reading), Mary Shelley (because I’m obsessed with Frankenstein), Fyodor Dostoevsky is responsible for my love of Russian lit and Raymond Candler gave me a love for pulp crime novels.

What are you reading now?

Bonjour Tristesse and A Certain Smile by Françoise Sagan (my current classic read)
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (a re-read)
Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann (finally reading this cult classic)
Manuscripts Don't Burn by Mikhail Bulgakov (learning more about the life of Bulgakov)