Nonfiction Book Reviews

Today’s post is part of my Tuesday Talks series, where I interview other book bloggers around the web.  This interview is a little different because Carrie not only writes fiction book reviews (complete with reading challenges) but she also does movie reviews.  To top it all off, she also a part of that elite blogging company called Today.com.  That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, she is a fellow Today.com blogger.  Makes you love her already, right?  Because if Today could produce an amazingly cool, sophisticated and yet stunningly humble blogger like me, then you know it’s doing something right.

Let’s get to the interview before someone takes it upon themselves to throw rotten tomatoes at me, shall we?  Here’s the interview in all its glory:

Please tell us about your blog: What kinds of books do you like to review?

I love to read - and I read almost everything: classics, modern lit, YA fiction, juvenile fiction, poetry, short stories, essays, history, mysteries, fantasy, some sci-fi, and historical novels. The only genres I don’t read are self-help books and horror.

I’d love to hear about a favorite book or author that you’ve read recently and why it was your favorite.

I’ve read some really great books in the past few months - it’s hard to limit it to only a few! Here are some titles that stand out:

The Observations by Jane Harris

Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler

Testimony by Anita Shreve

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

If you really want an idea of the kinds of books I like, then check out my list of 55 must-read novels.

Tell me a little about yourself.

I’ve been a voracious reader since my mother taught me when I was three-and-a-half years old. My nose has been in a book ever since. I firmly believe that education doesn’t end when you leave school, and I read not only for entertainment but to educate myself. I’m a homeschooling mom of four, and one of my favorite parts of homeschooling is reading aloud to my kids - which is why I often review juvenile fiction. My daughter is 12, and has started to give me book recommendations - which accounts for a lot of the YA titles I read.

How long have you been reviewing books and why did you start - what was your motivation?

I’ve been blogging about books since I started blogging in January of 2005. It wasn’t really reviewing, though - more just posting my thoughts on what I was reading, and passages that I wanted to remember. As I found more and more book blogs and loved the content I was finding, I started to post reviews - and have been ever since.

If you do not like a book, do you still post about it or do you only post positive reviews?

If I really hate a book, I don’t bother to finish it. If I finish it, I will most likely review it - and I will be honest without being snarky or brutal. As a freelance writer, I understand that the authors behind the books I’m reading have poured their lives into them, and therefore, they deserve to be treated with respect. That said, I will be honest about what I think of a book - otherwise my readers wouldn’t be able to trust me. I simply try to write an honest review without being savage or disparaging the author.

Do you try to review the same kinds of books consistently, or are you eclectic in your choices?

My choices are extremely eclectic. I don’t really have a “niche” in the book blogging world - I review what I read, and I read just about everything.

Are you one to do a lot of reading challenges?  What is a book challenge that you have especially enjoyed?

Until this year, I have only participated in seasonal challenges. Then this year, I went challenge crazy and joined eleven! For the first time, I’m even hosting a challenge - the Essay Reading Challenge, which lasts until the end of the year.

One challenge I’m really enjoying this year is the Outlander Challenge. The object is to read (or re-read) the first seven books in Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series before the next one comes out in September. I’ve read them all before, so this time I’m listening to them on audio book, and the reader, Davina Porter, is absolutely fantastic.

Do you ever do author interviews? and/or Do you receive books from the publishing companies/authors and review them on your site or do you check out from the library/buy all of your books?

I have done a couple of author interviews, and really enjoyed them. The only hard part is when you’re set to interview an author, and you didn’t enjoy their book very much - it can be a bit awkward. I do receive review copies and ARCs from publishers and authors. I also buy (too many of) my own books, and make frequent use of our local public library. I especially use the library for audio books, because the unabridged versions (which are the only ones I’ll listen to) are so expensive to purchase.

I have seen a lot of different styles when it comes to rating a book. Do you rate your book reviews, and if so, what is the point system and how do you determine what you give?

I do rate my books - here’s the system I use:

1 star - If I finished it, shame on me.
2 stars - I wanted to see how it ended, but it was just okay.
3 stars - I liked it.
4 stars - I loved it.
5 stars - It was brilliant and you should read it immediately - in fact, everyone should.

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One of the coolest things about doing these interviews is seeing the wide variety of tastes when it comes to the bloggers.  I do all nonfiction book reviews (obviously) and yet Carrie doesn’t even touch that genre.  It also looks like there are a lot of book bloggers who have really gotten into the young adult world, which is a marked difference from 10 years ago, when the best you could hope to find there was the Sweet Valley High series.

Anyway, if you enjoy poetry, young adult books, and the more serious adult fiction books, then look no further than Books and Movies.  Thanks Carrie - it was fun to have you here!

Havs