#5 Follow Friday with book bloggers: Silence in the library

2017-08-25 14:51

Say Hello to the next blogger in the Follow Friday session!

Follow the blogger behind the Silence in the library: http://choccygrl.booklikes.com

Tell us how did your book love begin?

I’ve been reading voluntarily since I could string a decent sentence together. Read adventure books all through my tweens and teens. And crime of all kinds (Golden Age, Police Procedural, hardboiled detectives) in my twenties. Since then I’ve shifted focus to gay romance and comic books, sorry, graphic novels.

On your blog page you write: time spent reading is never time wasted. How much time do you spend reading?

I read every day. If I’ve not taken at least half an hour to enter a fictional world then I start to get antsy. But generally I spend at least 1.5 to 2 hours reading a day. If a book is really good I’ve been known to stay up long past the pumpkin hour to finish it, even though I know I’ll be like a zombie at work the following morning. I’m that kid that had a torch under the bed so that I could carry on reading under the covers after Mum had turned out the light.

What made you start writing about books/book blogging?

The internet. No, I always kept a note of books I’d read, little ticks and crosses in books with titles like ‘100 Crime Novels You Must Read’. Since the internet and sites like this one appeared, it has given me a much better structure to record the things I’ve read or bought (because otherwise I’d end up buying the same book twice). Also, I’m a writer under another name and I know the importance of reviews. It’s not so much what you say (enjoyment is subjective and what I dislike about a book maybe what encourages another reader to pick it up) as the visibility that a review gives to a title. There are a huge number of titles out there and if one of my reviews encourages just one person to buy the book then I’m happy.

Did blogging have an impact on your reading life?

Generally I blog about the books that I would pick up anyway. I don’t tend to step outside of the genres I normally read but ARC reading and Netgalley have encouraged me to try authors or titles I wouldn’t normally consider.

What are you favorite genres? Why are they special?

Graphic Novels. I love the visual aspect of a comic and the different concepts and characters that can be explored in the pages of a comic.

Gay Romance. There isn’t enough queer representation in mainstream writing, especially relationships with a positive message and, more importantly, a happy ending. In mainstream romance it is almost non-existent. Those of us who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, and queer need representation too. And reading those stories shouldn’t be restricted to readers in the QUILTBAG. A well-crafted love story can be read by all, regardless of the sexual orientation or gender of the reader.

How do you choose your next read?

Depends on my mood. Sometimes I use a random number generator. Or only read books beginning with a certain letter. Or I change the setting on my Kindle and read the next book that comes to the top of the page. Or more boringly, I read the books waiting in my Netgalley/ARC folder because I’m aware I owe those people reviews.

What are your favorite book covers?

I like covers with a hand drawn feel to them. I guess that stems from my love of comics.

Which books are you most excited recommending to your followers?

If I could only pick one author’s body of work, I think it would be K J Charles. Historical stories with gay characters. But I would say take a chance on gay romance. It’s been unfairly tagged as erotica by all and sundry simply because it is two men falling in love but these stories are as varied as the spectrum of colours in a rainbow.

What’s your reading spot?

I’ll read anywhere. But especially like to read in the garden.

A paper book or an e-book?

I have more than one e-reader now. Partly because some of the books I buy aren’t available in paperback, generally ebooks are cheaper, and I really don’t have the space, because I don’t live in a library. Gosh, I’d love to live in a library. An old one with one of those ladders on wheels.

Three title for a dessert island?

OMG this is impossible. It’s like trying to pick your favourite child. Spectred Isle by KJ Charles, The Princess Bride by William Goldman, & Are You Dave Gorman? by Dave Gorman.