Guest blogger Amanda!!
Welcome to Amanda! Our first reviewer as a guest blogger.
What age did you start reading? How did you become a reviewer for Romance Junkies?
I started reading when I was three years old. My mom always read me Dr. Seuss and made it a point to read at least a few books to me a day. The first book I actually read all by myself (and didn’t understand a word of by the way) was Gone With the Wind. The librarian kept laughing and telling me there was no way I’d be able to read it, but I did and when I took it back, she couldn’t believe that I’d read the entire book. I think I was five then. I started reviewing for Romance Junkies when I couldn’t find a review house that fit my needs. A friend of mine sent me the link to RJ and after reading their info on the website, I was hooked. I’ve since left other review houses and devoted all my time to RJ. I get the best books here, made some great friends and had non-stop laughs along the way.
What is the best part of reviewing?
Meeting the authors. I’ve met some of the ones I’ve been a huge fan of for years which is incredible. Some of us have become friends and we swap books. Some have joined my yahoo groups and we sit around and talk or swap emails daily. Do you remember one of the first romance titles you read? I’m not sure of the title but I do know it was either Nora Roberts or Jude Deveraux. What are some of your auto-buy authors? Do you have a favorite genre? What has changed since you started reviewing? Definitely Kate Douglas, Sunny, JR Ward, Kim Harrison, Kelley Armstrong, Michele Bardsley. My favorite genre is kind of a cross between two. Paranormal and erotica. Since I’ve started reviewing, I’ve discovered new and amazing authors and really learned to never judge a book by its cover. Just because you don’t like what the cover looks like, it doesn’t mean the story won’t be amazing. How do you have your TBR pile? Do you have it all on a bookshelf in order or is it in piles all over the place? The bookshelves I have are completely full. I also have books in boxes and inside drawers lol. I’m a bookaholic. From ebooks to print, I have a total of about 1000 books to be read. It’s insane and I drive my mother (who I live with) crazy. Everytime she turns around, there’s more books. I try to keep the shelves organized by erotica, paranormal, para/erotica or just fiction. I also keep an Excel Spreedsheet of all the books I own by author for both ebook and print.
Do you share your books with others? Do you have rules such as not turning the pages over or bending the binding? If you bend my pages or crack the spine in half, you will never borrow another book from me lol. I loan my books out. I actually run a book exchange with a few authors and other friends of mine. It keeps the cost of our buying frenzies to a minimum. Do you have any pets? How about photos of them? I have a puppy. Her name is Layla (Eric Clapton fan). She’s six months old and a TUB! We’re not sure what she is but she’s beginning to look a bit like a boxer. Here are some pictures. The black dog is a husky mix and his name is Hank. He belongs to my mom.
What books are you dying to get that is coming out in the next couple months?
JR Ward’s new release, Kate Douglas has some new Wolf Tale installments coming out. Basically I’m trying not to order or buy anymore books until I get my stack whittled down a little. What blogs and/or myspace pages do you frequent regularly? I have my own blog where I post all my reviews, both for RJ and reviews I do just on the books I read for pleasure. Here’s the link if you’re interested in checking it out. My friend Heather and I (my lifesaver) update it weekly with all my new reviews. She does all the graphics and links to the author’s websites and booksellers for me. http://willowxand25.blogspot.com/
Have you ever been to a booksigning? If not who would you love to go meet at a booksigning?
Personally I haven’t, but a friend of mine from RJ went to one and ran into Sunny and Kate Douglas. I had reviewed a book for each of them and was totally in awe of both. So she tracked them down, told them they had a stalker from RJ and wondered if she could get their autograph for me. They laughed when they found out it was for me and signed away. Later on, after emailing them my HUGE thank you’s, we emailed back and forth and still stay in touch. They are truly wonderful ladies and I would pass out if I met them lol.
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Susan-I would be honored to review a book of yours. I’m always looking to discover new authors. I am an addict. I’m just finishing a review batch of twenty books so I’m going to take a short break before diving back in lol. I need to read a few of my own before my shelves cave in! I’ll look for your books on our list! Take care!
Hmmm this is a tough one. I read so many books lol.
I’d have to say for non-fiction it would be Jenna Bush’s Ana’s Story. This was a heartbreaker based on a 16 year old mother with AIDS. She became a teenage mother and Jenna Bush traveled with her on her journey of raising a daughter with the posibility of the HIV Virus. Ana is supposed to be writinig her own continuing story soon.
As for fiction, I’d have to say Gwen Master’s After All These Years. This was a phenomal story about a woman who’s husband died during the war during a bombing. When she’s approached by a man, she finds him very familiar. There’s a lot more to this story but I just wrote the review and I don’t want to give away how it turns out. The book is out in March and I’m still reeling from the impact of it. Gwen is a wonderful author.
Hi Amanda, book reviewer par excellent, it’s nice to learn all about you. You really are a book lover. I hope I have more books out soon so you can review them.
Happy Friday Amanda!
What is the last book that you read that left a big impression on you?