Happy Thursday!!
I interview a lot of authors, we all do. And it is really a lot of fun, right? But who is it behind those interviews? You!!! So now I want to interview you! This post will run every Thursday (give or take a day due to scheduling) as long as I have people who want to be interviewed! Check out the tab up there in my tab index for this feature. That's where you can check out past interviews, upcoming bloggers, and sign up for your own interview! :)
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Hi Rachael! Thank you for joining me today!
Hey Liz! I am so excited to be here! Thanks for having me!
Hey Liz! I am so excited to be here! Thanks for having me!
Let’s start off with your website, The Brunette Librarian. Can you tell us a little something about it?
I started my blog in October 2011 as a way just to keep track of the huge number of books that I read. I had tried Goodreads before and never could really get into the hang of it. I have a Goodreads account now that I use all the time but pretty much just to keep track of when I start and stop books.
I got the idea for a book blog when I went to a Missouri Library Association’s (MLA) Annual Conference. I went to a presentation on how important book blogging is and fell in love with the idea. I had read a few book blogs before but never taken an in depth look at why people liked them or even maintained them. From the moment I registered my address, I was in love!
And obviously, you are a librarian. What an awesome job! Have you come across any “hidden treasures” in books that the rest of us might not have heard about yet?
AnotherI love my job more than I can ever say. As far as unknown treasures, of course! I’m a huge romance fan so I keep those pretty hot, but the true treasures I have come across are nonfiction titles. I recently read “Orange is the New Black,” a story about a woman sent to prison on a drug charge that had occurred 10 years before. It was an interesting look at the US Prison System and whether our “punishments” are appropriate for the crimes committed. great part of my job is getting to read all of the super cute picture books that come through for the Chilodren’s Department. “Knuffle Bunny” a tale of a little girl losing her stuffed rabbit and “Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late” a story about a pigeon wanting to stay up just a little later than his bed time are both by Mo Willems and are definite favorites. I read both of these this summer to some older summer school kids. The kids had a great time interacting with the story and there is just something really fun about having a bunch of third graders yelling “NO!” to the pigeon when he asks for just a few more minutes. 
Now at the time I’m writing this your website lists you at up around 130 books read for 2012. Fantastic number of books, there! Do you have one or two that you would consider absolute must reads?
I”m up to 154, woot woot! I recently read “On Dublin Street” By: Samantha Young and LOVED it! It’s a sweet romance filled with just the right amount of naughtiness to keep you interested and tells the story of a 20-something single girl living in Scotland. Her family was killed in a tragic accident and throughout the tale she is trying to come to grips with both their deaths and where she is going in life. Add in an emotional romance and wonderful secondary characters and it turned out to be one of my favorite books of the year...so far!
I also really enjoyed “Star Crossed” By: Kele Moon, a romance between an MMA Fighter and his rival’s sister! I can’t NOT talk about one of my favorite authors, Susan Elizabeth Phillips and her newest release, “The Great Escape” that finally reveals what happened to Lucy Jorick when she ran away from her wedding on the back of a motorcycle. Her hero’s name is Panda (bleh) but trust me, the rest of the story is stinkin’ awesome.
What is your favorite genre to read?
If you haven’t guessed it, by far romance is my favorite. I do love a little nonfiction, but its gotta be the right kind, like a memoir or something that grips me from the start.
And I see that soon you are coming up on your one year anniversary for the beginning of your blog! Congratulations! What kind of advice do you have for someone who is just starting out? Anything that you think they should for sure do, or stay away from?
Thank you! I’m incredibly proud to say I’ve almost been blogging for a year...like two or three weeks and we are having cake! Advice...keep with it. It may not seem like a lot but its so wonderful to connect with other readers and share your love of books. You may not have the prettiest blog (I don’t) but its yours and its spectacular!
As far as what you shouldn’t do? DO NOT STEAL other people’s ideas of words. Plagiarism is terrible and causes way more harm than it ever has good. Beyond hurting people, it makes you look like a lazy blogger.
I see in your pictures that your dog, Daisy Jane, is reading Elizabeth Hoyt. Is there any particular reason for that book choice?
Actually there is! Elizabeth Hoyt was having a contest for her newest book and if you took a picture with her book “out in the wild” you were entered to win a gift card from B&N. Glad to say Daisy Jane won but she let me have the gift card!
Here’s a few pictures of my Daisy Jane to share. She’s a six year old dachshund with all sorts of attitude, let me tell ya!
Rachael, when you go to compose a post, how do you go about it? Are you a last minute poster (like myself!) or do you plan them ahead of time?
I plan way way ahead. I have a calendar and try to keep up with stuff...but every once in a while I include something that I wrote that day.
What do you consider the hardest part of book blogging?
Staying on top of the reviews by far - sometimes when you read a book you don’t have an opinion besides bleh. Or you don’t have an original idea that someone else hasn’t said already, so that can be incredibly difficult.
You’ve mentioned that you have no problem steering people away from a bad book, because life is too short to read bad books. What makes a book fit into this category for you?
A book can be bad for so many reasons and just because I don’t like it doesn’t mean you won’t. However, if it can’t keep my attention or the characters have zero chemistry or motivations for their actions.
I think my most disliked book that I have read so far on my blog was “Little Bee” By: Chris Cleave. It was a book club book that we had selected that had promise but never delivered as far as I am concerned. This is what I had to say in November when I read it and I still remember my feeling of sadness as I wrote the words:
“ The story drags on with random references to something that happened on the beach. Throughout the story it is revealed that the Englishwoman had cheated on her husband for most of their marriage and the events of the beach are tortuously released. I felt most of the characters were unlikeable and I just didn't care what happened to them. The story just kept revealing sad things and there was absolutely no resolution. The story just ends, no conflict resolution....nothing.”
On that note, do you ever DNF (Did Not Finish) books from authors? How do you handle that?
I have had a few DNF’s but I usually don’t point them out on my blog unless they were atrocious. Not nice I know but like I said, life’s too short for a bad book and I’m not wasting my time!
You also participate in a couple memes. What type of meme is your favorite?
I love “It’s Monday, What Are You Reading” the most I think - it gives me a chance to get a feel for what everyone is reading for the week. VERY handy for a teen librarian, let me tell you!A lot of us book bloggers don’t have a lot of readers in our face to face life. What is your experience with that?
Since I work in a library, I talk to readers all day long every day. However, the readers I talk with the most are not readers that necessarily read romance. I am in SIX reading groups and we mostly read just general fiction - great for those books and I love talking about them, but I would love to discuss a SEP novel or that new Rachel Gibson book.
And lastly, what can we expect from The Brunette Librarian in the next year?
Hopefully more book reviews and book giveaways!
Thank you so much for joining me today! It’s been really great getting to know you a little bit more!
Thank you for having me, its been so much fun!
The Brunette Librarian - http://brunettelibrarian.blogspot.com
On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheBrunetteLibrarianBlog
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/8739742-brunette-librarian
