Today is the second day of Book Blogger Appreciation week, and I was lucky to be paired with Jackie of My Ever Expanding Library to do an interview swap.  I hadn’t been to her blog before but when I headed over, I was impressed. Looks like we have some overlap in tastes and reading preferences, and I’d recommend you check out her blog.

1. Tell us about yourself and your blog.

Hi, I’m Jackie from My Ever Expanding Library. I’m a single mom of a wonderful 9 year old girl. We live in Bowmanville, Ontario which is about 40 minutes east of Toronto. I started blogging just over two years ago for a couple of reasons. First, I had won a book on Goodreads.com that mentioned a review of the book being greatly appreciated, so I needed a place to put said review. And, second, I had this to-do list of things I hadn’t tried, like MMORPG’s, and blogging. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about, and, well, here I am, still blogging 🙂 I’m also part of the team at Bookloversinc.com. I picked my blog name because I don’t really get rid of books. The growth is now exponential….to a scary degree.
For the day to day operations at my blog, I teeter between pro-meme and con, sometimes feeling like I’m selling my soul to get followers, sometimes striving to find my unique voice in the blogging world. I chose Blogger way back in the beginning because I had heard of it, plain and simple. In retrospect, in appears WordPress has the better reputation, but I’m unwilling to make the switch just yet. My weeks are up and down with my blog, depending on how much reading I’ve completed or if I’m working on an online course, etc. I’m inconsistent with posting and feel that’s an area I need to address in the future.

2. Tell me something in a story that you’re sucker for. What do you just plain love and look for in a story?

I never really sought out this element, but the more I read satirical books, the more I do source them out now. I’m working on the complete collection of Christopher Moore’s books at the moment. I’ve also enjoyed Molly Harper’s Nice Girls series, Victor Gischler, and… that’s all I can think of right now. I am looking forward to finally reading Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker trilogy, Douglas Coupland, and hopefully more funny writers’ names will cross my path. I love the intellectual quality of these writers. It’s my theory that you have to know an awful lot of stuff to be able to make fun of it effectively.

3. We’ve taken a look at each other’s blogs, and I think there’s overlap in taste. And I love book recommendations! What are three books you’d recommend I read, and why?

Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay – I am a huge fan of GGK and, as such feel, that everyone should read his books. They are nothing short of epic (I say that a lot)! Under Heaven tells a tale of a man in a time and place akin to 7th century China. He has taken on the task of trying to quiet the ghosts of a past war, then all hell breaks loose. Kay writes stories that have so many elements at play that you really get invested in the writing. It’s devastating when they end.

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal  by Christopher Moore – I tell everyone to read this book. I’m not the most religious person but I know enough to understand all the chaos that Biff creates for the Son of God in LAMB. Mr. Moore writes in his notes that even people more devote (than myself) have read and loved this story. For me, it made me laugh till I cried, from beginning to end.

First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones – This was a debut novel, full of humour and interesting characters. I listened to it on audio, and really liked the telling of it in that format. This novel has a different take on what a “grim reaper” actually does. There were a few mysteries going on, some human interest, as well as some potential romance.

4. Give us four random facts about yourself

• I am a diesel emission tester.
• I was once asked to fit a man for a bra (no judgement here, but I didn’t feel comfortable being the one to do it.)
• I’m a 2nd year university student trying to work off the academic warning I received 20 years ago :-p
• I live in an 840 sq. foot, 2 bedroom condo and have 6 bookshelves in my small space (and I need lots more…)

5. What are your go-to blogs that you visit most frequently to get inspiration for future reads?
The blogs I visit for inspiration vary depending on the type of book I’m looking for. My YA source is my best friend, Mel at He Followed Me Home; she tells me all the great YA reads, for sure. When I need romance, I ask Caroline at Book Lovers Inc. (and The Secret HEA Society.) For Urban Fantasy, I ask Melissa at My World…in words and pages. Audiobooks are a relatively new thing for me, but I find great recommendations from Caroline (again) and Sheila at Book Journey. Goodreads and my Google Reader have also added more titles to my TBR than I care to admit.