How’d you come up with the name for your blog?
Well, it wasn't anything ingenious. I was sitting on my bed, looking at my bookshelves, thinking that's where my reading comes from... and from-my-bookshelf was born.
How did you get into book blogging? How long have you been doing it?
I got into book blogging for several reasons. The first and main reason was I wanted somewhere that I could keep track of my reading and my thoughts. I was keeping a hand written journal for awhile, but that seemed too limited to me. After joining LT and meeting other online book lovers, I started discovering the world of book blogging and thought that was just the ticket for what I wanted to do. I've been running my blog since late 2007.
What do you do in real life aside from reading and blogging?
I work as a graphic designer/product manager for an independently owned telephone book publishing company. I'm basically in charge of every aspect of the production of our directories from layout to art to handling production with our printer in Chicago. If I'm not reading, chances are I'm at the movies. I love to go to the movies.
I love the movies too...wish I had more time to go. =)
What has been the most challenging thing about blogging for you? What has been the most exciting?
The most challenging aspect of my blog is keeping up with it and all the other blogs that I follow or want to follow. I'm jealous of all the blogs that have scads of readers, followers, contests and whatnot, but I just don't know how they find the time! I'd love to post more than just my reviews, but my life keeps me busy enough right now.
The most exciting thing about blogging has been the people that I get to meet through my blog. I've made some great lifelong friends and have even gotten to know people from all over the world. Book bloggers are such a diverse group of people from everywhere! I also like how my blog has also given me access to interacting with authors. If it weren't for my blog, I'd have never met these new friends and authors!
What has been the most challenging thing about blogging for you? What has been the most exciting?
The most challenging aspect of my blog is keeping up with it and all the other blogs that I follow or want to follow. I'm jealous of all the blogs that have scads of readers, followers, contests and whatnot, but I just don't know how they find the time! I'd love to post more than just my reviews, but my life keeps me busy enough right now.
The most exciting thing about blogging has been the people that I get to meet through my blog. I've made some great lifelong friends and have even gotten to know people from all over the world. Book bloggers are such a diverse group of people from everywhere! I also like how my blog has also given me access to interacting with authors. If it weren't for my blog, I'd have never met these new friends and authors!
I know what you mean! Its so hard to keep up on all the great blogs I like to read. Plus they tend to be hazardous for my wallet and Mt TBR. I also LOVE LOVE LOVE the interaction with authors....makes me giddy every time I meet or chat with one. Its like...wow...you wrote a book and you are speaking to me? I feel so special. (and yes I am an uber dork) lol
Where do you get most of your books?
To be honest, my book shopping probably comes equally from Amazon (used books), B&N.com (normal book shopping) and a local book store, Schuler Books (for when I need that book RIGHT NOW and can't wait for it to come in the mail).
What’s your favorite genre in books?
I'd have to say it's a fairly decent tie between superhero graphic novels (if that can be considered a genre...) and fantasy.
Are there any genres that you refuse to read?
Westerns, romance and angsty teenage vampire/werewolf/angel/supernatual being du jour dramas. But there are always exceptions to any rule.
Are there any books you have been a book bully for? (ie one you’ve liked so much that you practically beat people over the head just to get them to read it)
The last book that I was like that for was Gail Carriger's Soulless. LOVE IT! I bought 7 copies to give to friends and pestered others relentlessly until they read it. Remember? lol
Yes I do remember...my arm still hurts from all the twisting...but it was worthwhile in the end as I loved Soulless
as well.
Where do you get most of your books?
To be honest, my book shopping probably comes equally from Amazon (used books), B&N.com (normal book shopping) and a local book store, Schuler Books (for when I need that book RIGHT NOW and can't wait for it to come in the mail).
What’s your favorite genre in books?
I'd have to say it's a fairly decent tie between superhero graphic novels (if that can be considered a genre...) and fantasy.
Westerns, romance and angsty teenage vampire/werewolf/angel/supernatual being du jour dramas. But there are always exceptions to any rule.
Are there any books you have been a book bully for? (ie one you’ve liked so much that you practically beat people over the head just to get them to read it)
The last book that I was like that for was Gail Carriger's Soulless. LOVE IT! I bought 7 copies to give to friends and pestered others relentlessly until they read it. Remember? lol
Yes I do remember...my arm still hurts from all the twisting...but it was worthwhile in the end as I loved Soulless
as well. Book you most want to read again for the first time?
Fannie Flagg's Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe
I read this at a very trying time for me in high school, and I'd love to have that sense of escape to a happier place again. I reread it frequently, and that sense is still there, just not as fresh anymore.
I still haven't read that book...or even watched the movie from start to finish. Maybe I should give it another shot.
Do you prefer to read one book at a time or are you a multiple book reader?
I prefer one book at a time, but inevitably I am always in the middle of 2-3.
Who are some of your favorite authors? Books?
Favorite authors: May Sarton, Stephen King, Fannie Flagg, Jim Butcher, Kelley Armstrong, Gail Carriger, Naomi Novik, Meg Waite Clayton, Penelope Przekop, Brunonia Barry, James Dashner - the list could go on and on!
Favorite books: Auntie Mame: An Irreverent Escapade
and Around the World With Auntie Mame
by Patrick Dennis, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg, Howards End 
by EM Forster, A Christmas Carol
by Charles Dickens, Alice In Wonderland
by Lewis Carrol, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
by L Frank Baum.
Do you do reading challenges?
I try, but I'm really bad at keeping up with them. Even with the challenges I set for myself!
I'm really bad at them myself...but I do try...kinda...lol
What’s the best book you've read in the last month?
Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game
. Absolutely amazing story.
I agree...I love Ender's Game...its different every time I read it too which is such a great aspect of a book.
If you could visit with any characters….who would you chose?
For such drastically different reasons, I'd love to sit and have a glass of iced tea with Mrs. Threadgoode from Fried Green Tomatoes just to hear some more of her stories, or a cup of tea with Lord Akaldema from Soulless, just because he is so over the top flamboyant.
Lord Akaldema would definately be a fun person to have tea with!! So I'd love to join you on that one.
If you could give up the real world and move into a book, which one would it be and why?
Honestly, the first place that just popped into my head was the land of Xanth, made famous by Piers Anthony. Because basically it would be living in Florida, but with magic. Weird, I know, but there it is.
What books have evoked strong feelings in you? Ones that really touched your heart, made you laugh out loud or made you cry?
Garth Stein's The Art of Racing in the Rain
made me cry like a little kid right in the middle of Millennium Park in Chicago, and I wasn't ashamed about it because the story was THAT good. Anna Quindlen's Good Dog. Stay.
made me cry because her memoir about her black Lab reminded me very much of my own black Lab who I had to put down and I've been told to avoid Marley and Me for the same reason. I just recently read Dawn French's memoir Dear Fatty
which had me laughing out loud through several bits.
Are there any books that you are ashamed/embarrassed to have read? What are some of your guilty pleasures?
Guilty pleasure? Paranormal romance. I don't read it all the time, but occasionally it's good to have a little brain candy. Kelley Armstrong is particularly good.
Do you have a zombie apocalpyse plan? If so, can you share it with us?
If you're going to have to live close to a cemetery, make sure it is an older one. Less chance of the bodies being fresh and able to move around. And definitely not near a cemetery that has war veterans - they are too well trained. Probably it would be best to live on a small island somewhere warm but far enough from land that it would be difficult to get too. Failing all that, keep a baseball bat close and hope for the best.
Lol - Good advice!
Can you be found anywhere else on the net? (LibraryThing, Goodreads, Twitter, etc?)
LibraryThing (I'm most active there), Goodreads (don't use this, really, except to update my Twitter), Twitter, FB
What are 5 books that are on your wish list right now?
Fannie Flagg's Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe
I read this at a very trying time for me in high school, and I'd love to have that sense of escape to a happier place again. I reread it frequently, and that sense is still there, just not as fresh anymore. I still haven't read that book...or even watched the movie from start to finish. Maybe I should give it another shot.
Do you prefer to read one book at a time or are you a multiple book reader?
I prefer one book at a time, but inevitably I am always in the middle of 2-3.
Who are some of your favorite authors? Books?
Favorite authors: May Sarton, Stephen King, Fannie Flagg, Jim Butcher, Kelley Armstrong, Gail Carriger, Naomi Novik, Meg Waite Clayton, Penelope Przekop, Brunonia Barry, James Dashner - the list could go on and on!
Favorite books: Auntie Mame: An Irreverent Escapade
and Around the World With Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg, Howards End by EM Forster, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, Alice In Wonderland by Lewis Carrol, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L Frank Baum. Do you do reading challenges?
I try, but I'm really bad at keeping up with them. Even with the challenges I set for myself!
I'm really bad at them myself...but I do try...kinda...lol
What’s the best book you've read in the last month?
Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game
. Absolutely amazing story. I agree...I love Ender's Game
...its different every time I read it too which is such a great aspect of a book. If you could visit with any characters….who would you chose?
For such drastically different reasons, I'd love to sit and have a glass of iced tea with Mrs. Threadgoode from Fried Green Tomatoes
just to hear some more of her stories, or a cup of tea with Lord Akaldema from Soulless, just because he is so over the top flamboyant. Lord Akaldema would definately be a fun person to have tea with!! So I'd love to join you on that one.
If you could give up the real world and move into a book, which one would it be and why?
Honestly, the first place that just popped into my head was the land of Xanth, made famous by Piers Anthony. Because basically it would be living in Florida, but with magic. Weird, I know, but there it is.
What books have evoked strong feelings in you? Ones that really touched your heart, made you laugh out loud or made you cry?
Garth Stein's The Art of Racing in the Rain
made me cry like a little kid right in the middle of Millennium Park in Chicago, and I wasn't ashamed about it because the story was THAT good. Anna Quindlen's Good Dog. Stay. made me cry because her memoir about her black Lab reminded me very much of my own black Lab who I had to put down and I've been told to avoid Marley and Me for the same reason. I just recently read Dawn French's memoir Dear Fatty which had me laughing out loud through several bits. Are there any books that you are ashamed/embarrassed to have read? What are some of your guilty pleasures?
Guilty pleasure? Paranormal romance. I don't read it all the time, but occasionally it's good to have a little brain candy. Kelley Armstrong is particularly good.
Do you have a zombie apocalpyse plan? If so, can you share it with us?
If you're going to have to live close to a cemetery, make sure it is an older one. Less chance of the bodies being fresh and able to move around. And definitely not near a cemetery that has war veterans - they are too well trained. Probably it would be best to live on a small island somewhere warm but far enough from land that it would be difficult to get too. Failing all that, keep a baseball bat close and hope for the best.
Lol - Good advice!
Can you be found anywhere else on the net? (LibraryThing, Goodreads, Twitter, etc?)
LibraryThing (I'm most active there), Goodreads (don't use this, really, except to update my Twitter), Twitter, FB
What are 5 books that are on your wish list right now?
The Replacement
by Brenna Yovanoff
by Brenna Yovanoff Lucy
by Laurence Gonzales
by Laurence Gonzales 
by W. Bruce Cameron 
by Fannie Flagg 
by Tony DiTerlizzi Ticket to Anywhere (hee! I made the list)
Author Gail Carriger (I have to agree with you here, Carriger's blog is A-Mazing!)
Beth Kephart Books
The Dashner Dude - author James Dashner's awesome blog
The Boston Bibliophile
Thanks for stopping by David! To learn more about David - or to just see all the awesome books he reads be sure to check out his blog - from-my-bookshelf.
The Dashner Dude - author James Dashner's awesome blog
The Boston Bibliophile
David and I in Salem.
Posts
Westerns! I like him - he's different and that is good. Nice interview.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea and interview. Orbit sent me the first 2 Parasol books. I need to get to them! yay to meeting a new blogger. *going to check out the site now*
ReplyDeleteP.S. Make him do Fragment Friday
Pam - I've been working on getting him to do Fragment Friday!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great introduction to a new to me blogger. thanks for the great interview.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the kind words everybody! And yes, Pam, Gail has been trying to get me to do a Fragment Friday, and I think I'm going to give it a try this week (just don't hold me to that! lol).
ReplyDeleteAnd sorry it took me so long to stop by - I was on vacation last week and didn't have my laptop with me.
Thanks again, Gail, for interviewing me! And be careful, I'll probably be returning the favor here pretty soon!! =)
Happy reading, everyone!