BBAW: Interview with Abby (the) Librarian!

The best part about Book Blogger Appreciation Week is getting to "meet" new bloggers. When I signed up to interview another blogger, I was happy to be partnered with Abby of Abby (the) Librarian. I've been reading her blog regularly since we traded interview questions, and she's already added to my daughter's to-read list!

Here's my interview with Abby, and please visit Abby's blog to read her interview with me!

How long have you been blogging, and what prompted you to start?

I have been blogging for almost 2 years (since October 2007) and to be completely honest, I started so that I could participate in MotherReader's 48-Hour Book Challenge. Seriously, I started reading kidlit blogs as professional development while I was in grad school and it's such a great community that I wanted to be part of it!

Tell me 5 things about you that I wouldn't know just by reading your blog.

- I grew up in and currently live in Louisville, KY and have also lived in Bloomington, IN and Palatine, IL (a suburb of Chicago). Louisville is where my family is and I'm happy to be back home, but I don't know if I'll stay here permanently.

- I have a younger brother who is a landscape architect.

- I know how to play the flute, though I rarely pick it up anymore. I was a music major at a performing arts high school and briefly entertained the thought of becoming a professional musician, but I didn't have nearly enough drive to be serious about it.

- In college I majored in psychology because I was interested in it. I minored in speech & hearing science and took four semesters of American Sign Language, though I don't remember a whole lot of it now.

- I worked at Barnes & Noble for six years during high school and college and briefly held a full-time position as a Children's Lead before I went back to school for my library degree. It was really fun being around all the new books (and the discount was pretty good), but it was not fun being on my feet all day long.

If you could be any character from any book, who would you be and why?

I would totally be Jo March from Little Women because I really admire her passion and talent for writing and because I always wanted to be in a big family. Is it terrible that I never finished the book, though?

Which of your reviews is your favorite? Which book was the hardest to review?

Ohh, it's so hard to pick favorites! But My review of Chains is one that I'm proud of. It's a book I loved and I hope I got across exactly why.

As for which book was the hardest to review, I always find it harder to review a book I didn't like. I do it because it's important to me that my blog represents my honest opinion and because I'm a firm believer that every book has its audience. Just because I didn't like it doesn't mean that everyone won't. So, I'm going to say that my review of Going Bovine was one of the hardest I've written. So many people loved it, but I just didn't.

Name:

1 book that made you cry

A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly makes me cry every time I read it.

1 book that made you angry

Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta made me angry because I was so confused in the beginning. I literally wanted to throw it across the room (but it was a library book, so I did not...)

1 book you couldn't put down

As You Wish by Jackson Pearce was so delightful that I didn't want to put it down. Usually I get great satisfaction upon finishing a book, but As You Wish is one that I wouldn't mind reading on and on because it was just lovely and fun.

1 book so good you wish you wrote it

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead is just beautifully crafted and it brought back memories of the books I read during my childhood while still remaining relevant to today's kids (in my opinion).

1 book you wish you wouldn't have wasted time reading

The White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean. Obviously it has merit since a whole committee of important people decided to give it a Printz medal, but I disliked it the whole way through and only read the whole thing because my boss asked me to determine if it was appropriate for our junior high section.

Thanks, Abby! It's been a pleasure getting to know you.

Visit the Book Blogger Appreciation Week site to check out other blogger interviews!