BBAW - About Melwyk - The Indextrious Reader...

Hello everyone!  Welcome to Day 2 of the Book Blogger Appreciation Week!  Hope all had a good time yesterday looking around at new blogs and finding out what 5 books (or more) described each blogger.  Harry Potter probably won the contest, but so many books shared, lots of them new to me.  It was great!

Today is Interview Another Blogger Day - if you so choose.  I'm happy to have been paired with Melwyk of The Indextrious Reader.  She's a librarian from Southern Ontario, Canada and we discovered several things we have in common.  Really an amazing number of things.  We decided to answer the same questions, so you'll find my answers on her blog here.  And away we go.....

Melwyk says...

1.  I notice you’ve been blogging for a long time – how did you originally get into the blogging world and what was different about it then as opposed to now?

I started my blog in the Spring of 2006 – in fact, my 10 year blogging anniversary is coming up! Blogging was still relatively new then, and there weren't so many of us – I felt like I knew of most of the active bloggers at that time.  I agree with you that there was a lot of excitement over ARCs and free books, although I wasn't nearly as excited by that as many others were, being a librarian and surrounded by free books every day... :)

I found that there were ups and downs to blogging, kind of a cycle of blogging a lot, and then having long fallow periods.  I never intended to blog as a money-making venture, so started with no 'goals' or expectations for myself, and I've continued that way, only blogging when I want to.  I'm not fussed over my number of followers etc., I just keep blogging because I love books and like talking about them to other readers.

I also enjoy discovering things through other people who have different tastes than I do, and find some reading challenges are fun this way – although something else I've learned in 10 years of blogging is not to over commit to reading challenges, as then my reading starts to feel like a chore rather than just a joy.  I think newer bloggers are more active in challenges than long-time ones, but it is also harder to find a large community for a challenge now simply because there are so many more challenges and bloggers than there were previously when a specific reading challenge would take over all the blogs.


2.  We’ve both worked in libraries – what is your favorite part of being a librarian?

There are lots of satisfying elements to my job, including finding information for people that will make their lives easier, whether that's community information or technology help and so on.  But on a personal note, although it may seem stereotypical, I do love sharing reading best!  Not every librarian works directly with books or readers, but my path has given me that chance.  I'm very invested in Readers' Advisory, a library term that covers all of our services focused on connecting readers with books.  Whether that is book lists, blogging, displays, book clubs, or conversations and suggestions directly to readers, or even working with new technology to improve all these areas, it's my favourite part of the job.  I'm a part of our provincial association's committee on Readers' Advisory, and I love that I can help provide training and inspiration to librarians as well as our patrons.

It's also great seeing all the new books and the upcoming catalogues – it feeds my professional life and also my own book blog!


3.  What is the one book that you’d put into every patron’s hands if you could?  Or several books?

Oh my, this is a tough one.  I really focus on a patron's needs, and their likes and dislikes when I'm suggesting books – the number one rule of Readers' Advisory is “it's not about you!”  That said, if I was given the chance to push some of my own favourites, I think I'd pick a recent novel, Birdie by Tracey Lindberg, because it's wonderfully written and is also told from a really important perspective.

If I added any more titles, this answer would get far too long, so I'll stop there.


4.  I love reading books that have vivid settings, almost like another character.  What setting from a book would you visit if you could and tell us the book it’s connected with.

Do you ever have that feeling when you remember being somewhere, and when you're trying to recall where it was, you suddenly realize that it was a book?  No?  It happens to me all the time.  And it drives me crazy if I can't place it.

I do have a couple of go-to locations; one is from Thomas Hardy's Return of the Native – there's a scene when one of the characters is standing in a field with no-one around for miles, overlooking a pond.  It feels very quiet & calm, very sunny and still.  When I feel stressed, I think of that spot.

But for a place to actually go and visit, I always think that Avonlea or Redmond or Four Winds from the Anne of Green Gables series would be a lot of fun to hang out in.  All the people are interesting, and there is always some kind of picnic or social going on...


5.  What do you do when you’re not working or blogging?  Other hobbies or interests?

Working and reading/blogging does take up a fair amount of my time, but my other big passion is sewing.  I love sewing garments -- only for myself, though, I don't want to sew as a business for anyone else.  I am now learning embroidery as well. I find sewing quite mathematical and challenging, in a good way.  It is also a time-consuming hobby, though...I just wish I had more hours for it all!


6.  Lastly, and I think this should be part of every set of questions, what’s your favorite ice cream flavor?  Describe vividly.  LOL

Ha, good question!  I am going to sound very dull here, but my absolute favourite ice cream flavour is vanilla!  A nice, rich variety with just a hint of vanilla is perfect on its own but also makes a great base for any other toppings you want to add, and that's where my obsession with chocolate usually makes its appearance.  Hot fudge on vanilla ice cream is perfection.  Okay great, now I want some.

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Melwyk, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts on these questions!  I love the fact that you are learning embroidery.  How relaxing!  And I especially like your answer to the last question - I meant it when I said it should be part of every quiz.  Vanilla ice cream with hot fudge, yum, yum, yum!!  I had a good time with today's part of BBAW and hope you did too.  Everyone, go visit Melwyk's blog, The Indextrious Reader.  You know you're dying to know what flavor of ice cream that I love!

Tomorrow's topic is what books we've found and loved by reading other blogs.  Bet no one has anything to say about that!!!  Ha!  Ha!