Today's guest is UniquelyMoi *Dhestiny* BlithelyBookish. She also posts at Blithely Bookish.
How did you discover Goodreads?
Fate? Destiny? Divine intervention? I honestly can’t remember, but it’s been one of the most awesome experiences of my life. I’ve met many amazing people – readers who share my love of books, authors whose words have gotten me through some difficult times, and friends who have touched my life and blessed me in more ways than I can express.
What have been your most memorable Goodreads experiences?
Oh, there are so many memorable experiences! As I said, I’ve made some wonderful friends, friends I’d have never otherwise had the chance to meet, had it not been for Goodreads. But, one of the single most exciting and unexpected things to happen was finding myself on the pages of Forbes Magazine. I mean, seriously? How many people can say they’ve had that experience!?!
Name one reviewer not in the Forbes 25 that people should be aware of.
I can’t. There are simply too many to narrow it down to one, or even one dozen, and there are many others who I feel were more deserving of the mention than myself. The thing is, everyone expresses themselves differently, so reviewers I find amazing, others might find lacking. And the genre being reviewed will determine who I look to. My favorite historical romance reviewers are not my favorite paranormal romance reviewers. The ones I go to for reviews on contemporary romance novels are not the ones whose reviews I’d look for on a romantic suspense novel… I hope this makes sense. So while I’d love to answer your question and name just one, I can’t.
What was your initial reaction to Amazon buying Goodreads?
My first reaction? I groaned (seriously, I groaned) and thought, Nothing good can come of this… That said, I’m keeping an open mind and hoping for the best. One thing is for certain, the Goodreads I joined back in 2008 is not the Goodreads of today. Times are changing and so it’s inevitable that things will change, too, and not always for the best. I don’t know if we, the general membership of Goodreads, have been given all the details of the Amazon deal, so it’s hard to shape an informed opinion. Again, I’m hoping for the best, but only time will tell.
How many books do you own?
I own literally hundreds of paperbacks. At least 300, probably closer to 400. However, I’ve only read about 25% of them. Ebooks? Thousands. Seriously. On Amazon alone my Kindle Library boasts 2,916 books, most being freebies or gifts from friends, family, authors and publishers. Frankly, I think the price charged for ebooks is outrageous and I only purchase ebooks from favorite authors, or books in a series I MUST read. And speaking of ebooks, did you know that according to Amazon, when you buy a book from them, you haven’t actually bought it, you’ve only leased it. And to make matters worse, according to them, they can remove from your account any book they wish, without issuing a refund of the money you paid for said book? I’d like to see them try to get inside my house and “remove” any print book I purchased from them. Five words; The Right to Bear Arms.
Just sayin’…
Who is your favorite author?
I have to pick one? Surely you jest! Well, I can break it down by genre: Romantic Suspense would be Pamela Clare. Paranormal Romance; J.R.Ward. Contemporary Romance; Kristen Ashley, Jill Shalvis, Shannon Stacey, and Bella Andre. Erotica; Cherise Sinclair and Sophie Oak. Historical Romance is the hardest to choose from because as a whole it’s so diverse that I simply cannot name a single author for the entire genre or its sub-genres. That would be like asking me to compare cotton to kumquats! Or something akin to that. But here goes: Pamela Clare (yes, again), Eloisa James, Lisa Kleypas, Sarah MacLean, Loretta Chase, Anna Campbell, Courtney Milan, Victoria Vane, Lorraine Heath… wait! Don’t cut me off! I’m not done yet…
What is your favorite book of all time?
Oh, again with the difficult questions… you must be a sadist! Okay, I’d say my favorite book of all time is the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Yes, I know that’s three books, but really, it’s one story, so whatever.
What are your thoughts on ebooks?
Love them! With, of course, the exception of the outrageous prices and that totally lame “lease” rule. Not cool!
What are your thoughts on self-publishing?
It’s been a blessing and a curse.
THE BLESSING: Some of my favorite authors are self published, and I’m thrilled for them because they pocket a whole lot more $$ for their work than do the authors represented by the big name publishers. And, self published authors tend to price their books more reasonably, which makes me, as a consumer, very happy.
THE CURSE: Self publishing makes it easy for ‘anyone’ to write a book, and ‘anyone’ does. Sadly, many of those books are poorly edited, or the stories not thought out at all. These would be authors are giving self publishing a bad name. If they’d slow down and not be in such a rush to publish, but instead took the time to have someone read their work before putting it out there for the general reading population, they’d have a better chance at success. Plus, I know many people who will no longer read self published works because they're tired of having to wade through the muck to get to the good stuff.
Any literary aspirations?
No. Well, yes. Okay, honestly? I don’t know. I’ve got two stories I’m working on. For me, writing started out as a therapy, of sorts. As a way to safely express my own thoughts, feelings, and experiences through my characters, and giving them the resolutions to life issues I haven't yet attained for myself. It really did start out as a ‘just for me’ thing, but I shared a bit of my stories with a few people and they seem to think I should continue on and consider publishing them. So we'll see. I wish I had the faith in myself that they have in me.
Thanks for doing these interviews, Dan! It's been really fun and interesting to "hear" what everyone's thoughts on these subjects are.
ReplyDeleteRuth