Blogger Spotlight – INTERVIEW!

Hey Guys!
So today I have the charming Rachelia here for her interview.
Hopefully this will give you a good view on this wonderful girl!
Enjoy!

Tell us a little something about yourself!
Well, my name is Rachelia and I’m 22 years old. I’m currently a student, although I won’t be for much longer – I leave for England at the end of the month to finish my history degree up this fall! I’ve also got an interest in politics, Aboriginal and gender issues. But my real passion? Books and reading of course! I love love love being able to curl up with a good book (new or old), and a couple of yummy cookies and tea. I can just bliss out right there while reading, and forget about the stress of school and life. It’s a great escape, and cheaper than heading down to the Bahamas for a week once a year!! Other than reading I also love playing with my family’s two adorable dogs Buddy (a pure bred pug) and Bella (pug and cavalier king charles spaniel mix), watching TV (from Supernatural, Flashpoint, Food Network to oldies but goodies like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Gilmore Girls, Veronica Mars), and occasionally crafting. 

How long have you had your blog?
About 10 month now… WOW, has it been that long?! My first post was in December of 2011 but it wasn’t a review – my first review was posted  January 3, 2012. 

Do you enjoy running your blog?
For the most part? Yes. I love interacting with other bloggers and readers, as well as the occasional author. It feels great when someone reads a book based on your review or recommendation! However, I have went through a few months of book blogging slumps, and I really hate formatting my blog, and things like that. But overall I wish I had started blogging MUCH earlier because I really do love it!

When you started, did you ever think that it would end up the way it has?
Not really! I wasn’t too sure what to expect, but I’ve really been embraced by a small group of fellow bloggers (like you Faye!) that I just adore, and it has been an amazing experience. Recently I was nominated for a Bloggy Award for Best Breakout Blog which I NEVER expected! It has been a wonderful, surprising experience. 

Is there an interesting background story to the name of your blog, if there is, tell us!
I woke up with the name of my blog in the middle of the night – I don’t know, is that interesting? haha. I had been trying for about two weeks to come up with a name and it just came to me, and was perfect because books do provide a comfort, an escape and are familiar and can be a security blanket!

As we’ve got this far without mentioning it, why not tell us a little something about your blog, what you post, how it runs, who you cater to, etc.
So far I have taken a pretty laid back approach to blogging so far – anything goes! I don’t just read strictly YA, I also read adult fiction, some non-fiction. The one category I don’t really read as of right now is middle grade fiction. 

Do you participate or host and blog memes? If you do, which is your favourite?
I do participate in some memes such as the Recommend A… meme hosted by Shanyn of Chick Loves Lit on Mondays, and Waiting on Wednesdays. However, while I LOVE doing these memes and exploring other’s posts, I think my favourite meme to read is Broke and Bookish’s Top Ten Tuesday. I haven’t participated though because I can never come up with enough things, and doing Top Five Tuesday each week just seems… sad, haha.
Also, while it is not really a meme, I host Required Reading every Sunday on my blog. It’s a round-up of my favourite bookish links that I enjoyed throughout the week. I created Required Reading as a way to spread the bookish love in the community, and so far, I’ve had a great response. A few other bloggers have also started doing their own posts on Sundays which I love because it means I can find more articles and great links!

What is the best book you read in 2011?
I wasn’t blogging in 2012, and read a small amount of books, but the ones I did read were great. Ugh, this is a hard decision, so I’m listing a few… The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, The Birth House by Ami McKay, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson , Hourglass by Myra McEntire, and The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson.

What about in 2012?
I was able to narrow this one down a bit more because there were three that have just stood out so prominently as favourites to me this year. Hands down I’d say The Fault in Our Stars by John Green as the best book I’ve read but it’s closely followed by Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood and Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein!

What is your favourite book genre?
I read a variety of genres, in both YA, adult, and non-fiction, but my top 3 genres would be contemporary, historical fiction and paranormal!

Quick Fire Round
ebook or hardcopy?
Hardcopy (although I love my e-reader)
ya or adult?
I’ve been reading more of it lately, so I’m going to say YA
vampires or werewolves?
Vampires!
chocolate or vanilla?
Chocolate!
harry potter or twilight?
HARRY POTTER!!
four or peeta?
I haven’t read Divergent yet (… that’s who Four is from, correct?) but I’ve read 2/3 of the Hunger Games books so I guess I have to say Peeta… even though I didn’t really like him :|
series or single?
Ahh, a tough one! Right now I’m going to say singles – I’ve read some awesome ones this year!
blogger or wordpress?
I like the functions of WordPress, but design of Blogger. My blog is currently hosted on Blogger so I’ll go with that :)

And finally,
Is there anything else you would like to say about you or your blog?
Just that I’d like to say thank you to all those who have supported me and my blog along the way, including you Faye! You’ve all been so wonderful and I’m glad I decided to join such a wonderful community :)

Thank you for your lovely answers Rachelia! It’s been great getting to know you better! If you just read this interview and are still not following her, what are you waiting for? GO FOLLOW HER NOW!