I’m thrilled to welcome Kate from The Quiet Knitter to the blog today to talk about book blogging.
below is her self-bio;
We’ll start with the easy questions and then see where we go from there!
How long have you been book blogging and what prompted you to start?
It’ll be roughly 2 year this August that I’ve been book blogging – doesn’t time fly?! It all started as finding a use for my time while my baby napped, I stumbled upon some book blogs when looking up reviews of books and was amazed at how well written they were and how appealing they made the books sound. I’ve always been a huge reader and recommended books to family and friends so with their encouragement I started book blogging as a way to record my thoughts on the books I’d read and it all took off from there.
Tell us a little bit about your blog, what will blog readers find there?
The Quiet Knitter blog has a wee bit of most bookish things in all honesty, I am a huge crime thriller and police procedural fan but I do like to read historic fiction and contemporary fiction from time to time. I like to think of it as a little eclectic but never dull.
What’s your favourite part about book blogging?
The wonderful community out there of book bloggers (and authors, publishers etc). There is a wonderful group of bloggers (in particular #blogsquad) who are some of the nicest, funniest and most helpful people I’ve been lucky enough to “meet”, and I like to think that I’ve formed some great new friends through chatting with these guys.
What has been your highlight since you’ve started?
I’ve recently been quoted in a few books, and one publisher even quoted me on the back cover of a book – talk about starstruck! I phoned my husband at work to excitedly tell him…poor love had no idea what I was wittering on about until I sent him photos!
If you could carry on blogging but could stop doing one thing (that’s maybe a necessary part of the process now) what would it be?
Oooh this is a tough one, perhaps I would opt for being able to say no more often. Sometimes an email will ping through for a book that’s not really something I would read, or perhaps I’ve already got plenty of reading material but I feel rude saying no to people and feel that I’m letting them down. The curse of being too nice according to my mam!
What advice would you give to anyone who is considering starting a book blog?
There are so many other bloggers that would probably do a better job in answering this question, I’m still quite new to it all but I guess I would go with:
Read the books you want to read, don’t feel you have to say “yes” to everything (see above!) and be yourself. Yes, there are some amazing blogs out there, but it’s important to find your own voice and be you. Find a style that works for you and embrace it.
How much time does it take up?
I try to do my blogging in the evenings once the wee one is asleep, so a couple of hours each evening to write up reviews and schedule posts etc. I do try to take notes when I read so it’s just a case of setting up the post and then expanding on my scribbled notes.
What are your reading habits like?
I try to read when I can, my kindle is usually near by and I have been known to have it propped up on the arm of the chair whilst I’m knitting. I generally have a tree book on the go as well as an ebook – but always completely different types of books. At the moment I’m reading “a witty and inventive assortment of words for lovers of classical music” in tree book form and on my kindle I have a spy thriller.
What state is your TBR (To Be Read) pile in?
It’s pretty huge at the moment, I’d probably say it’s as high as Ben Nevis!
What do you drink while reading?
Sometimes tea, but usually water (tea has a habit of going cold).
Where’s your favourite place to read?
Curled up in the corner of the sofa surrounded by all the squashy cushions and the dogs.
What book would you recommend, that gets little attention, that you haven’t really seen talked about? And why, what is it about this book that you love?
There are a few that I think would fall into this category, but I think in this instance I will opt for “The Bird Tribunal” by Agnes Ravatn. It’s hauntingly brilliant and quite unlike anything I’ve read before. Definitely a book worth checking out.
Thanks so much for taking the time to answer these. It’s been a pleasure having you.
My absolute pleasure, it’s been a delight to natter with you 🙂
You can find Kate on her Blog | Facebook | Twitter
Margot Kinberg says
It’s always so nice to meet other bookish folk! And I know just what you mean about the wonderful world community of book bloggers. I feel the same way…. Thanks, both.
Lynne LeGrow says
I so enjoyed reading this post as I’ve been a follower of Kate’s for a while now. Also, I was very happy that she mentioned “The bird tribunal” as it is probably my favourite read of 2017 so far.
Caryl says
Ahh Kate is so lovely. Great interview with one of my favourite bloggers.