I’ve been tagged by Judy from Keep The Wisdom (go visit if you haven’t already) to respond to 11 questions about my Blog and my reading habits. So here they are:
1 How did you get started blogging?
Just before I started Blogging back in 2005 a few of my friends had started Blogs so I began commenting on them as well as other Blogs they had links to. It seemed the next logical step to have a Blog of my own. My original friends have mostly stopped Blogging and have moved onto Facebook. I stayed on Blogger.
2 What do you enjoy most about being a book blogger?
Reading other people’s reviews, finding new books or new authors, essentially the communal sharing element of the whole thing.
3 How long have you kept your blog going?
A little over 14 years – so far.
4 Would you say you have a philosophy behind your blog? If yes, please say what it is.
To comfort the disturbed and to disturb the comfortable.
5 What genres do you enjoy reading the most?
Science-Fiction, History, Espionage, Politics and Crime. Plus anything else that piques my interest long enough to pick up a book about it.
6 Who are your top 3 favourite authors?
A VERY difficult question for me. But 3 *of* my favourites are Bernard Cornwell, Alison Weir and William Gibson.
7 Do you also attend reading groups? If yes, how many?
Not yet. Maybe when I retire. I do like the idea of reading as a group but at the same time don’t really like reading to order.
8 If you could invite a few authors over for dinner who would they be-even if you had to resurrect some from the dead?
Iain Banks (sorely missed), Philip Pullman and Agatha Christie.
9 How do you find the books you want to read?
Amazon recommendations, visits to bookshops, accidentally whilst looking for book covers on Google images, seeing what other people are reading, Book Tubers, other Blogs….
10 Do you think authors today are as good as those from earlier years? Better? Worse? Why?
Definitely different. Modern authors are, I think, generally darker, more cynical and more sceptical. The main difference though is speed. Modern books are very fast compared to even 50 years ago never mind in previous centuries. There’s also much more going on and the whole experience is much more intense. All of which, I suppose, reflects how much life in general has increased in pace and volume since the 1960’s. I think giving a modern novel to someone from the 19th century would be a very confusing experience for them!
11 Name a few of the best books you have read this year.
Suffragette – My Own Story by Emmeline Pankhurst
The New Silk Roads – The Present and Future of the World by Peter Frankopan
The Watcher in the Shadows by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
5 comments:
14 years is a long time... i don't think i'll match that with mine; i'll run out of books...
Loved reading your answers! Thank you for posting them. We both started blogging in the same year. People seem to think blogging is outdated but I think they are wrong. So many interesting blogs out there. I especially liked your comparison of books today vs older books and I agree.
@ Mudpuddle: I'm hoping I can manage 14 more... [grin] Can you ever run out of books? Even if you restrict yourself to older editions?
@ Judy: Thanks. I've been asked before why I stay on the older platform. I don't think of it as a problem. There are indeed so many interesting Blogs out there. I do keep stumbling across them. I think movies and TV (and the Internet!) can take a lot of the blame for speeding up books. They seem to need to compete with the instant gratification culture we live in right now.
I started reading your blog back in 2005 when I found you commenting on Naomi’s blog, I think. I started blogging then, (too many deletions and incarnations of my blog) but slacked off when my readers moved to FB. I keep saying I’m going to leave FB and return to my blog, but I haven’t yet. I don’t know where you find the time to read so much and blog. I can’t even find time to work on my novels anymore. 🙁
@ V V: I have the time to read and do the other things not because they are difficult but because I have no life.... [grin].
If I actually *had* a life I'd definitely read a LOT less!
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