Love-a-Thon Interview Swap with Jess from A Novel Thought
The Book Blogger Love-a-thon is a lovely event hosted by Katelyn and Alexa to show fellow book bloggers some love. They have a lot of stuff going on today, so check out their blogs for more Love-a-thon posts.
As part of the event I’m interviewing Jess from A Novel Thought.
Nyx Book Reviews: Hi Jess, welcome to Nyx Book Reviews. Could you tell us a bit about yourself?
Jess: Hi Celine, and thank you so much for having me on your tour. I am originally from South Africa, and moved to the UK with family when I was 14. Since I was little I’ve had a love affair with books. I love the emotional journeys book can take you on. I studied English and American literature at Uni which was such an amazing course and I really miss it! I am still hoping that I can break into the Publishing Industry one day!
What made you decide to become a blogger?
To be honest it was quite a quick decision I made. I hadn’t really thought about it for long. I had been missing studying on my Uni course, and then I was reading the ‘I heart’ series from Lindsey Kelk. I was inspired by her protagonist, Angela, who became a freelance Blogger in New York. It just seemed so exciting and a great way to work on my writing skills whilst getting involved in the literary world. It was all a completely new world to me, especially using Twitter! And I started out with only a few family members as followers. I can’t believe how it has grown now! It’s so exciting.
You’ve been blogging for five months now, what do you think of blogging so far?
I absolutely love blogging. It has opened up my library so incredibly – I have been given the opportunity to read books and find new authors that I would not have known about had I not joined this world. I find the support, encouragement and friendship in the blogging/literary/Twitter world so overwhelming. Everyone is so friendly and helpful, and I have met so many amazing, beautiful people. I couldn’t imagine ever not being part of the blogging scene now. Sometimes it can get difficult trying to fit in reading/reviewing with my full time job, but I always make time as reading is my passion and I never want to let anyone down.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with other starting bloggers?
First I would advise them to plan! Keep track of all the reviews you get involved in and always try get ahead of your reading and allow yourself sufficient time to review a book. When I started it was like a whirlwind as everything picks up so quickly. It is so important to keep on top of everything you’re getting involved in to make sure you never let anyone down. Secondly I would say to maintain a strong presence on Twitter. The community of book bloggers and authors and readers on Twitter is absolutely incredible, and you can meet some really brilliant and influential people.
What is the best book you read in the last few months?
This is such a tough one as I’ve read some great books. If I limit it to the books I’ve read in 2014 so far, there are 2 books that I’d have to mention: ‘Where Petals Fall’ by Melissa Foster and ‘Something Yellow’ by Laura Templeton. They were two very emotional novels both based around the mysterious disappearance of a young girl. But they both developed in such different ways and had very different themes and issues running through them. I can’t decide which I enjoyed the most, but I couldn’t put them down.
Which book would you never pick up, and why?
To be honest I’ve kind of drawn a blank on this one… I imagine there must be one, but I really can’t think of a specific book I wouldn’t pick up. There was one book they tried to get us to read in school called ‘Oranges Aren’t the Only Fruit’ and I really struggled to read it. I only read about the first chapter and I just couldn’t go on. I don’t say I’d never pick it up again as I might find it very different now, but my memory of trying to read it means I’d be very reluctant to pick it up again.
What book is your all-time favourite?
I’m afraid I have to leave this a little open, as I really struggle to pick one book that is my favourite of all time. As I read so many books I find that my favourite is always changing when I find a new book that I really enjoy. I find that books spark different emotions in me and connect with me in so many ways, that my favourite is often the last one I read to really touch me through it’s story. I really don’t know that I can pick one.. I’m sorry!
Would you rather read one book (an awesome one) for the rest of your life, or spend the rest of your life reading hundreds of mediocre books?
My instinct is to say I’d go with the one awesome book, but I may have to go with the hundreds of mediocre books – everyone’s opinion of the quality of book can be very different and I would feel the need to read the hundreds just in case there’s a little gem in there that hasn’t been spotted!
Thanks for answering my questions! (:
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