Today's guest is
Carol, the alien terror that sleeps dead and dreaming at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. She also posts at
Book Reviews Forevermore.
How did you discover Goodreads?
My parole agent suggested it as part of the restraining order obtained by certain brick-and-mortar booksellers.
What have been your most memorable Goodreads experiences?
The time I stayed up all night instant messaging one of the top 25 reviewers, we fell in love, met up in Vegas to be married by fake-Elvis, but lost our money for the license at a poker game.
Name one reviewer not in the Forbes 25 that people should be aware of.
Me, clearly. And she'll probably be shocked, but
Carly's reviews are amazingly analytical and often lend me insight on my reading. She's one of my checkpoints.
What was your initial reaction to Amazon buying Goodreads?
Blasé, blasé. Soon everything will be owned by seven different multinational corporations. It had absolutely nothing to do with my buying a Kindle Paperwhite. Really.
How many books do you own?
More than can fit in a breadbox. I know you are only asking to case my fantasy collection. Forget it--I have a large Rottweiler.
Who is your favorite author?
From A to Z:
Ben Aaronovich,
Ilona Andrews,
Peter Beagle,
Steven Brust,
Guy Gavriel Kay,
Catherynne Valente,
Roger Zelazny. Non-fiction:
David Quammen.
What is your favorite book of all time?
If I say Connie Willis’
To Say Nothing of the Dog, will you delete my interview? Seriously, it’s one of my favorite comfort reads. Adrienne Rich’s
Dream of a Common Language. I also re-read
Kate Daniels series. Sara Gran’s
Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead.
What are your thoughts on ebooks?
Ambivalent. They are my new late-night addiction and I’m thankful they have no calories. I find myself perusing on-line sources looking for deals. I do love being able to go anywhere with a library in my purse. However, I am now even worse at human interaction.
I also enjoy the feel of a book in my hands, and the way each book can individuate itself physically-the texture of the paper, the shape of the font, the heaviness of the book, stiffness of the binding. E-readers lose that part of the reading experience.
What are your thoughts on self-publishing?
Again, I'm ambivalent. One one hand, not enough self-publishers take time to thoroughly examine their material. I don't enjoy reading books that read like something I wrote in high school, and its annoying to have to sort through a lot of chaff to find the value--rarely will I read a self-published work. On the other hand, I like that there is an avenue available that circumvents the big publishers.
Any literary aspirations?
Only after I get fired from my current job.