Featuring Marie of The Boston Bibliophile

Please welcome Marie, who blogs at The Boston Bibliophile!  I'm so excited she is visiting today!

What's the meaning behind the name of your book blog?
I picked Boston Bibliophile because it describes where I live- Boston, a city I love- and who I am- an inveterate book lover! 


How long have you been blogging?
I've been blogging since 2007 or about 7 years in August.


Tell us a bit about your book blog. What makes it unique?
I think what makes my blog unique is my own voice and point of view. I have a strong personality and strong opinions and I'm not afraid to share both. I think readers come to me first because there's a book I reviewed they want to read about, and stay because they like my style. I blog the way I live- pulling no punches!


What genres do you write about most, and why?
I mostly write about literary fiction and works in translation, because that's what I most enjoy reading and read the most. I have occasional forays into crime fiction and nonfiction too.


What's your earliest memory of reading?
My mother saw me reading to a group of nursery school children when I was 3. I don't remember that but I love the story.


What was the first book you read over and over, or the book you've reread the most?
The first book I read over and over was Madeline, by Ludwig Bemelmans. I'm a redhead so I loved a book about a mischievous redhaired girl. I've probably read Jane Eyre the most times, and Jane is like an adult version of Madeline without the red hair.


Writing in books: Yes or hell to the no?
Yes!


What's your favorite place to read?
My favorite place to read is the coffee shop near where I work. It's quiet (when I go) and they serve great lattes. I can't read at home; I fall asleep!


Do you have any reading accessories you can't do without?
Just that cup of something hot and caffeinated.


Finish the sentence: My bookshelves are...
Overflowing!


My TBR pile is...
Enormous!


What's a book that's changed your life?
Possession, by AS Byatt, introduced me to modern literary fiction. I wouldn't be the reader I am without it.


One book you like that no one else seems to, or vice versa?
I love the book Gestures by HS Bhabra. I think no one else has ever read it!


To DNF or not to DNF?
Definitely DNF. I don't do it often but when it's called for, it's called for.


What's one book that intimidates you?
The Bible intimidates me.


If you could go to any literary destination, where would you go?
Paris!


How about non-book related hobbies? What do you do when you don't feel like reading?
I love to sew at home and exercise at the gym. I have an Etsy store called Pandora's Craft Room and I sell bookmarks and other things there.


What's your favorite book to movie adaptation?
I loved the most recent adaptation of Jane Eyre, starring Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender. I didn't anyone could be a better Rochester than Timothy Dalton but Fassbender gave him a run for his money.


What are 3 of your must-read blogs?
You've Gotta Read This!
Diary of an Eccentric
Care's Online Bookclub

What is your reading personality? (via quiz at http://www.bookbrowse.com/quiz/)
The Eclectic Reader

You read for entertainment but also to expand your mind. You're open to new ideas and new writers, and are not wedded to a particular genre or limited range of authors.


Thank you for joining us today, Marie!

Remember to check out Marie's blog, The Boston Bibliophile, and leave a comment or question below!

Featuring Kristen of BookNAround

Today please welcome Kristen, who blogs at BookNAround.

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What's the meaning behind the name of your book blog?

I quit working a lot of years ago now to stay home with my kids but quickly discovered that stay-at-home mom is a complete misnomer. Even now that my kids are older and much more independent (one's even driving!!), I still find myself out and about, or booking around, much more than I ever expected. Plus I like plays on words so it seemed perfect.

How long have you been blogging?

6 1/2 years now.

Tell us a bit about your book blog. What makes it unique?

The blog is mostly book reviews although occasionally I throw in posts from my chaotic life. Sometimes I might even over-share. But even in my book reviews, I try to incorporate a little about me, to make it personal. Oh, and I'm appallingly long-winded. :-)

What genres do you write about most, and why?

Fiction of all types because that's what I've always read the most of in my reading life. Now that I do reviews as well as writing up books I've chosen on my own, review books are pretty heavily weighted to fiction as well, or at least those that are offered to me are.

What's your earliest memory of reading?

I was three and I ran downstairs to read my mom The B Book by Stan and Jan Berenstain. She was on the phone talking to someone (and she can talk for hours given half a chance) and she thought I'd just memorized the book so she sort of waved me off. Stubborn even then, I read it to her anyway. I'm not sure if it was then or later that she realized I actually was reading and not just parroting memorized words.

What was the first book you read over and over, or the book you've reread the most?

I've had several through the years. As a peanut I read The B Book over and over obsessively (and I still have a copy). As a child, I went back through The Fabulous Flight by Robert Lawson again and again (and I still have my copy). As a young teen, read and re-read Mrs. Mike by Benedict and Nancy Freedman weeping all the while (and I still have my copy). And as an adult, I have gone back to Pride and Prejudice many times because it is so perfectly balanced between social criticism and romance. And yes, I still have my copy.

Writing in books: Yes or hell to the no?

Are you trying to cause me to have a stroke? Never!

What's your favorite place to read?

In front of a fire crackling away in the fireplace at the lake cottage that has been in my family for almost 100 years. Barring that, I'll be boring and say snuggled into the sagging end of the couch.

Finish the sentence: My bookshelves are...

bowed under the weight of my treasures.

My TBR pile is...

more like Mount Everest than a mere pile.

What's a book that's changed your life?

They all do to one extent or another, right? That's why we read. But I think that James Michener's Hawaii, which I read when I was 12, was really the first big book that showed me how addictive a fictional world could be, sucking you in for days and making you not care to rejoin the real world until after the last page was turned.

One book you like that no one else seems to, or vice versa?

I have a surprising number really. I tend to be the curmudgeon at my book club. One of these days they're going to kick me to the curb for my grumpiness.

To DNF or not to DNF?

I'm obsessive compulsive. Finishing is a must.

How about non-book related hobbies? What do you do when you don't feel like reading?

I play tennis several times a week and I used to run and need to get back into that. I also did needlepoint for a long time and scrapbooked and quilted for a while but it's been too long to claim those as ongoing hobbies at this point. Mostly all of my non-reading time lately is still book-related.

What's your favorite book to movie adaptation?

I thought Age of Innocence was very well done. And of course, how can you not mention the BBC's Pride and Prejudice?!

What are 3 of your must-read blog posts?

Sunday Salon: The New Year Edition
Sunday Salon: Books my native habitat
Sunday Salon: Themed Reading

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Thank you for joining us today, Kristen! 

Remember to check out Kristen's blog, BookNAround, 

and leave a comment or question.

Kristin Shafel Omiccioli of my little heart melodies

Today please welcome Kristin Shafel Omiccioli, who blogs at my little heart melodies.

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What's the meaning behind the name of your book blog?

The title of my blog comes from one of my favorite poems, “The Dream Keeper” by Langston Hughes:

Bring me all of your dreams,
You dreamers,
Bring me all of your
Heart melodies
That I may wrap them
In a blue cloud-cloth
Away from the too-rough fingers
Of the world.

How long have you been blogging?

I just hit my four-year anniversary registered with Wordpress... although I only started being serious about regularly blogging (and blogging about books) in 2012.

Tell us a bit about your book blog. What makes it unique?

I think my blog is a little different than other book blogs because I like to include posts on my musical adventures in Kansas City, too, either about my orchestra performances or what shows/artists I've recently reviewed on KCMetropolis.org, Kansas City's online journal of the arts.

What genres do you write about most, and why?

I have been reading a lot of contemporary fiction lately, but I also really enjoy narrative non-fiction on a variety of subjects, especially music, food, travel, history, and memoirs. I love when a book will make me contemplate a topic more, whether that's just learning facts or the history of something, or contemplating an ethical, political, or sociological issue, through fiction or non-fiction.

What's your earliest memory of reading?

This is maybe not my very first memory of reading, but probably the most vivid: I devoured every single Roald Dahl book I could get my hands on in my elementary school's library. I clearly remember exactly where they were in that library—back left wall after walking in, near the windows, lower shelf—sitting on my knees browsing and trying to choose the next one to read.

What was the first book you read over and over, or the book you've reread the most?

"1984" by George Orwell. I think I read that at least 3–4 times through 8th and 9th grade... (on my own—not assigned for class!)

Writing in books: Yes or hell to the no?

No—not a fan. I don't care if other people like to write in their books, that's fine, but I won't do it. I also probably wouldn't buy a used book with markings in it. I like to form my own opinions about what I'm reading and notes from previous readers can be influential, I think.

What's your favorite place to read?

I'm not too persnickety about where exactly I read... but I do love to read outside with a cold drink in the summer, and inside curled up under a blanket with a hot drink in the winter!

Do you have any reading accessories you can't do without?

I have a lovely set of new bookmarks my husband got me last Christmas. I've used them all year!

Finish the sentence: My bookshelves are...

... mostly filled with books I haven't read yet. We just moved, and my already-read books are still packed up in storage!

My TBR pile is...

... crazy huge, but thankfully mostly digital now (hooray for Goodreads!).

What's a book that's changed your life?

Wow—heavy question! Life-changing... hmm... well I would say that reading Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore's Dilemma" opened my eyes to what and how I feed myself, and on the fiction side, "The Handmaid's Tale" hooked my heart and soul on Margaret Atwood's work.

One book you like that no one else seems to, or vice versa?

I don't think I've come across a book I like that no one else does, but a couple of books hyped as being hilarious were Bryson's "A Walk in the Woods" and Toole's "A Confederacy of Dunces" and I just didn't find them very funny... kind of mean-spirited humor to me, even. I liked Bryson's writing style and historical context in "AWitW" enough though that I finished and I'll read more by him in the future, but "Confederacy" is one of my rare DNFs.

To DNF or not to DNF?

I used to be totally against DNF, partly because I pretty much only bought books ("I spent my money, I'm going to make it worth it" mentality), and partly because I was lackadaisical about reading for fun when I was a student. But now that I'm done with school, love reading for fun, and have a backlog of TBR books, why spend the time with a book I'm not enjoying? And I am loving using the library more—less guilt for quitting a book since I didn't purchase it!

What's one book that intimidates you?

"Wuthering Heights" by Emily Brontë. Classics always intimidate me, but this one I got from my grandmother years ago—she said it was her all-time favorite—so I extra feel guilty about not reading it yet... but I keep putting it off... sigh.

If you could go to any literary destination, where would you go?

The Cemetery of Forgotten Books (fictional)—I just read Carlos Ruiz Zafón's "The Shadow of the Wind" and loved the concept of "adopting a book" from this location! Of course, Barcelona (where the book is set) would be amazing, too.

I have been to Paris once already, but would love to go back after having read Julia Child's "My Life in France," and one day for sure Ireland (I should really read Joyce's "Dubliners" first, though!).

How about non-book related hobbies? What do you do when you don't feel like reading?

Lots of stuff! I love to go out on the town with my husband and friends, visit family, travel, cook, do yoga, and go on bike rides. Otherwise, I'm a classical double bassist and play in three orchestras, and I attend/review a lot of concerts!

What's your favorite book to movie adaptation?

My favorite book-to-film adaptation is easily "The Godfather" (book by Mario Puzo, film directed by Francis Ford Coppola). I'm obsessed.

What are 3 of your must-read blogs?

The Relentless Reader
Words for Worms
The Book Wheel

What is your reading personality? (via quiz at http://www.bookbrowse.com/quiz/)

I have the "Involved Eclectic" reading personality:

You don't just love to read books, you love to read about books. For you, half the fun of reading is the thrill of the chase—discovering new books and authors, and discussing your finds with others.

You read for entertainment but also to expand your mind. You're open to new ideas and new writers, and are not wedded to a particular genre or to a limited range of authors.

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Thank you for joining us today, Kristin Shafel Omiccioli! Remember to check out Kristin's blog, my little heart melodies, and leave a comment or question.