Picture drawn by Maggie Stiefvater, 2009. Header made by S.F. Robertson, 2010.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Ask Book Chic (17) + Contest!

Before I start today, in honor of World AIDS Day, I wanted to link back to an interview I did last year on Dec. 1 with Courtney Sheinmel, author of Positively which is about a young girl who is HIV positive. It's a wonderful interview and one of my all-time favorite ones. Check it out and also check out Courtney's book which is out in paperback!

I've run out of questions again, and you guys know what that means- CONTEST TIME! I have an extra ARC of Delirium by Lauren Oliver! All you have to do to enter is leave a question in the comments below. You can ask more than one question, but it won't count as extra entries or anything like that. This contest will end Friday, December 10 at 11:59PM EST. So go on and ask some questions; they can be about anything, whether it be personal, blog-related, writing-related, completely out there, whatever! Also, try to skim through the previous Ask Book Chics (each post has an Ask Book Chic label, so just click on that to get all of them) to avoid asking a same or similar question.

Cass asks "If you were to talk to Meg Cabot (again) what would you say?

What inspired "Fragment Friday"? (I WILL start doing them...one day) Why do you believe others will be interested in FF?

How many review requests do you get a week, on average? How about, what's the weirdest review request you've gotten? (Mine is this self-help book, but about money and business)"


1) It's funny that I'm answering this now because just today I had a small email exchange with Meg Cabot. I chat with her that way since I can't see her in person, though she says she'll be at RWA next July in NYC and I am going to do my best to be there so she and I (and maybe some others) can hang out.

But anyway, I was telling her that she should another Boy book (Boy Next Door, Boy Meets Girl, Every Boy's Got One) because those are my favorites. The reason this came up was because someone asked about a 4th Queen of Babble book and Meg was like "Well, I have this idea for something but I'm not sure if it should be for Lizzie (from QOB) or a character from Boy Meets Girl." I think Lizzie was left in a good place and doesn't need to be tampered with, so I demanded another Boy book be written. She said that she was leaning more toward that than a 4th QOB book. So if you're a fan of the Boy series like me and wanted another book, feel free to thank me when a new one comes out a few years from now. Because I made it happen. :)

As for face-to-face, I'm sure we'd chat about tons of things- we have a mutual love for Kathy Griffin, cats, awful reality shows (and good ones, like Kathy's D-List), and much more. I think she and I would have a grand time together.

2) Fragment Friday was inspired from my Fresh New Voice of YA posts where I'd record a vlog and read an excerpt from the two featured books, so it was originally just twice a month in the same week. My blogger friends Susan and Pam really liked that idea and wanted to do it themselves, so they came to me for approval since I was the one who had first started doing them. I agreed and we started Fragment Friday in July of this year.

I think others would want to join in because they can read a favorite section from one of their favorite books or a book they're currently reading and share that with their blog readers, thus hopefully sending them to that book.

It actually started out kinda strong and stayed consistent for a few months but recently, participation has fallen off (one week, no one else did one). This has led me to (HERE'S THE SHOCKING NEWS!) think about cancelling it or just making it once a month and let people know ahead of time the date it will be held. It's a hard thing to do every single week, not like In My Mailbox or Waiting on Wednesday. I'll continue doing it to the end of the year and then in January will either do the monthly thing or not do it at all. I'd still do it for Fresh New Voice, but there would be no Mr. Linky. What do you all think?

3) I don't get as many as you think, probably just a couple. I usually delete them if they don't interest me, which is almost 95% of the time. The reason for this is because of the fact that a lot of them have NOTHING to do with my blog. They're not YA reads, or even MG or adult chicklit. I get self-help, non-fiction, self-published stuff. It's not what I read!


Tara asks "Which do you think takes more time: reading the actual books or blogging about them?

Do you think you would read as much if you did not blog about the books?

Favorite ice cream flavor? (I just gave up sweets. Preoccupied. hehe.)"


1) Definitely reading them. Blogging about them takes maybe half an hour, at least for me. I don't spend days thinking about a book or anything. I just sit down and write out the whole review and set up the post in one sitting. Reading usually does take several days for me, unless it's a really quick read.

2) Yes. I read a lot for several years before starting the book blog, so having the book blog doesn't change too much. I'd probably continue buying the occasional book and borrowing tons from the library. I will say though that having the book blog causes a bit more pressure and I have to schedule books and I do think I read more because of how many books I get every month, therefore meaning I have to post several reviews every week. So maybe not as much because there'd be no rush for me to finish a book, but I do think I'd still have reading time every day.

3) I like the vanilla/chocolate combo, as well as mint chocolate chip. Also, why did you give up sweets? That doesn't seem right to me. I could never do it. I love them WAY too much.

18 comments:

  1. Great answers.

    I'd say a monthly feature, because FF does seem to take a lot of time to film and upload.

    What ever happened to that dude/s on Steph Su's blog about your blogger feature?

    That's not a real question. :| I'm kind of brain-buffed right now, so I'll come back with something.

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  2. I know it wasn't a real question, but what do you mean? lol. I'm confused.

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  3. James, if you could interview one person on your blog (that you haven't already but want to really bad) who would it be ant why?

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  4. *thinks* Okay, here's my question: If you had one day left on earth, what would you read, and who would you read with?

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  5. If you could time travel, where or when would you go to?

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  6. If you could only read 5 books for the rest of your life, what books would you chose and why?

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  7. Thanks for the shout-out today!

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  8. Ummm what is one book you truly regret reading? and why?

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  9. If there was one author in history who you could have lunch with, who would it be and why?

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  10. Hi James, my question is:

    Have you put any books on your Christmas list or like Kristi from Story Siren, do you not get many books for Christmas?

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  11. I forgot to comment on the Fragment Friday news, its a shame you are maybe going to cut it as I enjoy watching it, you are a great reader out loud, unfortunately I don't have the technology to do one myself so I can't participate plus I so would not want to see my face on the screen!

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  12. What are your top 3 favorite books of all time??

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  13. Okay here's my big question....MAC or PC???

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  14. OK, my questions are: Why do you start blogging? Do you ever feel as if it is more a job then enjoyment? and what other hobbies do you have besides for reading?

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  15. My question is: What is the first book you remember reading that you loved? And what book got you into reading?

    Thanks!

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  16. Do you consider blogging a job, even just a part time one?

    Do you have any pets?

    How supportive are your friends and family with your blogging?

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  17. What book would you recommend to younger male readers to encourage reading?

    What do you do with your books when you are finished reading them?

    Would you rather read a blog or see a vlog from other reading bloggers?

    that's it for me...must be late or somethin

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  18. Do you like to buy finished copies of books even if you already have ARCs of them?

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