#ArmedWithABingo Feature: Timy

This month’s #ArmedWithABingo feature is reader Timy from RockStarlit BookAsylum and Storytellers on Tour! It is my pleasure to host her today. 🙂

• Welcome to Armed with A Book, Timy. How’s reading going this year?

All things considered, pretty good. It’s actually a bit weird, because on one hand, back in January I hoped my reading would take a different route, but what I planned didn’t quite work out and I made some decisions which weren’t in the bag to begin with. So in that regard I’m reading more than I expected. On the other hand though, I find myself struggling with reading this year for various reasons. If it weren’t for audiobooks, I’d have less books under my belt than I have at the moment. And I’m not a fast audiobook reader.

• What made you join #ArmedWithABingo?

It really was a heat of the moment kind of decision. I’ve been thinking about joining to a challenge, though I didn’t exactly seek them out. I used to belong to a Goodreads group before I became a blogger and I liked the challenges and games we did and was missing those times. So when Armed With A Bingo popped up on my Twitter feed and I looked at the prompts, I thought “Well, why not? I can do this.” I just had to remind myself that I don’t have to take it too seriously…

• When you first looked at your board, was there a prompt that you were super excited to start first or one that terrified you in some way?

Well, at first glance I saw that there will be a good chunk of prompts that I’ll have no problems with. And then there were a couple which were way out of my comfort zone… As I knew that I was going to have a busy year, the first thing I did was that I promised to myself I won’t force myself to complete the card. Which didn’t quite work out as I’m way too competitive… I also set some other rules for myself, such as that I won’t count books I read for SPFBO. Plus I decided to take the “I’ll put the books on the card as I read them, and won’t let the card dictate my choice of books when I pick them up.” So, I had no preset list, not least because I’m a mood reader, I wouldn’t have been able to keep to a list anyway. 

All that being said, what I knew I’ll have an issue with were: 

• “A young adult novel” (not my usual genre), 
• “A dystopian novel” (I don’t like dystopian, that’s why I initially decided to switch that square), 
• “A nonfiction book” (again, not something I usually read, though I knew I would go for some true crime or some such, the problem is more like the reviewing), 
• “A memoir” (see young adult and nonfiction), 
• “A bestseller book” (now this is interesting, because 1) I have a problem with hyped books…, 2) I primarily read self-published books which don’t often make the bestseller lists, or 3) read new releases via ARCs, so in the end I cheated a bit here but shhh) 
• and last but not least  “A book with a food included in the title” (I just… I don’t like food and I knew this would be a hard one. It was one of the earliest squares I got to clear though).

• How far along on the board are you at the moment? 

I’m doing surprisingly well. I only have 5 more squares to go, and I either already read the books I’m going to put on the board just haven’t reviewed them yet or will read them soon (hopefully, I’m counting on an ARC which will fit the “A book longer than 500 pages” square). In the end I did end up planning ahead a bit as competitiveness overtook me, lol. I think my only issue is still the nonfiction book, because although I listened to a couple of those on audiobook – I’m currently listening to one about the history of Forensics – it’s just not a genre I usually review, you know. One thing’s for sure though, it definitely will be one about true crime in one way or another. 

I also have a dedicated page on my blog where I keep track of my bingo card: https://starlitbook.com/armed-with-a-bingo/. You can find all of my reviews linked there!

• Apart from #ArmedWithABingo, are you taking part in any other challenges?

Not at the moment, no. I’m generally not a challenges person. Besides, I have more than enough of those, lol. I mean, my hands are quite full with SPFBO and Storytellers On Tour and life to have the energy to join other challenges too. My reading is already more determined than I’d like with SPFBO taking up half of the amount I can read. I need at least the illusion of freedom to pick the other half. Though, I just joined to an online book club dedicated to Muslim authors, because they are planning to read The City of Brass in September – October which I happen to have an audiobook copy of and been planning to read it anyway at one point. I never did a read-along or took part in a book club so it’s going to be an interesting experience. And I can also put that in the “A book with a color in its title” square, hah! That was the last square I needed a book for… (and yes, I’m cheating a bit here too).

• Apart from an avid reader, what are your other interests? 

I’m afraid I’m pretty boring when it comes to interests. Reading, writing and jewelry making (beading, to be precise) were always my go to entertainment. Some video games occasionally, though I’m more of a casual gamer preferring hidden object games and point-and-click stuff these days. And let’s not forget the collecting of panda stuff (I have a huge giant panda obsession) and polishing my crown. Just your regular queenly stuff, you know. Seriously though, nowadays blogging, reading, and managing Storytellers On Tour takes up most of my free time. I try to carve out more time for coloring too which is a great way to relax and live out my artistic needs. Plus, I love to go to rock concerts, though this year I had to give that up due to obvious reasons. Which is a shame. I miss going to shows. I also love traveling which is another thing I couldn’t do this year as much as I planned to. I was lucky though as I got to visit friends in the UK just before the pandemic hit AND go to a gig or two. So at least I have some good memories to carry me on.

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Find Timy on: RockStarlit BookAsylum | Facebook  | Twitter  | Instagram |  Goodreads

Timy is the co-founder of Storytellers on Tour so if you are SFF author or reader, check them out too: Storytellers On Tour | Twitter | Instagram

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Are you part of the #ArmedWithABingo community and want to be featured as you progress through the board? Let me know. 🙂 Spots are open for November and December!