Who Am I Stalking? [11] — Amy @ bookgoonie

Some of you may recognize this feature from 25 Hour Books.  I was in the market for a feature to showcase the book bloggers I simply can’t live without, Tara usually lets me do whatever I want if I pester her enough, and Who Am I Stalking? seemed appropriate. Win-win.  But please, no restraining orders are necessary.  Here’s what happens: every month, I choose a new victim and bombard them with six interview questions: five standard questions, and one specifically for the blogger the giraffe shifters and I are stalking.  Then I share their answers with you.

I’ve known Amy for so long that I no longer even remember how we found each other. (It could be Bout of Books, because I have met a lot of people that way.) But we found each other, and that is the important part. Like all the other Texas bloggers I’ve featured, Amy has a heart as big as her state. (Seriously, y’all, Texas bloggers are some of the best out there. Yes, I said y’all.) She and I have a lot in common with our blogging mentality, and I think this has gone a long way toward cementing our friendship. We have grand plans to have margaritas together some day. Oh! And she did this REALLY AMAZING vlog for my blogoversary celebration in May. I want to throw it back up here because it is JUST. THAT. GOOD.

1. Describe yourself in six words.

Inappropriately Humorous Green Procrastinating Hopeful Pessimist

2. What has been your most exciting moment as a book blogger?

I don’t think I have a single moment. My favorite moments aren’t the ones that even happen on my blog. It is the bookish dialogue that happens on twitter more often than not. It is the friendships and mutual respect. Giving as much as you are taking. Finding friends of all walks of life from all over the world drawn to each other over books. It was great to meet lots of my fave Texas bloggers at ALAMW and Felicia at the Kevin Hearne event.

3. What is the best book that you have read this year?  The worst?

There have been so many. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. It took me through a range emotions over and over again. I think I learned more about living and love from this book than any other.  The worst? I don’t think I’ve read any really bad books. Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer was probably the book I was most disappointed by. I didn’t feel like I had the scaffolding for the world-building expansion that happened and wasn’t content with the ending.

4. Why is reading important?

I didn’t grow up with a nurtured love for reading. But as a teacher, I recognized the need for my daughter to love it. We started with Brown Bear, Brown Bear and then graduated onto Dick & Jane books. When Sid was 3ish, I started reading her the Harry Potter books. This was a special time each night for the two of us. This sparked a passion in both of us. Because of reading, Sid is a great creative writer. She has won the U.I.L. Reading Writing award a number of times, scores almost perfect scores on Reading & Writing state tests and loves to write stories and music. Her vocabulary exceeds my own. When we don’t have anything to talk about, we can talk books. We talk book love, but they also provide a spring board to talk about the hard stuff. Sex. Drinking & Drugs. Suicide. Books can model the problem solving process of dealing with tough situations, if the parent isn’t present. But you combine the power of books with an active parent, you can have a powerful dialogue.

5. What are some of your favorite reviews (or memes, features, discussions, etc) that you have written for bookgoonie?

Yuck. I hate talking about myself. I enjoy my Book & A Movie feature. I love quotable lines from TV & Movies and they spill out of me like I’m Rainman. Sadly it is mostly waisted on my students that are becoming farther removed from the original references. So when I’m reading a book and it sparks a reminder, it is like a little ray of sunshine. I have fun doing it, but thought it might also build a connection for readers that missed any intended references. You don’t want to be the one that misses the joke.

6. If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be? And if you fell in the woods, would we hear you?

I think I would be a mesquite tree. This is a tree from my childhood & is rather a nuisance out on the Great Plains. But recently I’ve seen it in a new light. It has a gnarly ornamental trunk that is perfect for climbing. It is drought tolerant. And of course if I fell, you would hear me. Considering there are thorns, they would poke me and I would screech.

Find Amy here:

Blog | Twitter | Goodreads