My Instagram friend, Karen, has been one of my biggest sources of book recommendations this year. I heard about The Farm from her for the first time and we both read and liked Rob Hart’s The Warehouse as well. I’m so happy to have her over on the blog today to learn more about her year in books, and as you will find, in photos. 😉
Like all posts in the 2019 in books series, remember that Karen’s words are in italics and since this is a bookish discussion, all book links open in a new tab so that you can refer to them afterwards.
Welcome to Armed with A Book, Karen. 🙂 Tell me a little bit about your love for books.
Thank you so much for having me, Kriti!
If you ask my mother, she’ll tell you that as early as 8 months old I was glued to my books. Potty training was easy as long as I had a book in my hand. Lol. I remember always sitting in my room reading. I was an Air Force brat so grew up traveling to different countries. I was always moving and changing schools, and so I had no lasting friends. But my books were my one constant. They were my best friends.
What was your earliest memory with books, Kriti?
My earliest memory of books is reading Secret Seven at my grandma’s place. It belonged to my dad and aunt so it was a book with quite yellow pages. I loved the smell of it. 🙂
Do you participate in the Goodreads Reading Challenge or set reading goals for yourself? If yes, how do you usually chose this goal and what was your goal for this year?
I discovered Goodreads in 2012 and set my challenge to 100 books that year. I bypassed that number so in 2013, upped my challenge to 150 and stayed there for the next 5 years. But, I was struggling to meet 150 books and found myself looking for shorter books and bypassing the tomes so in 2019, I decided that I wanted to enjoy ALL books and set my challenge to 120 books. I just finished 5 tomes in November and I’m on track for this year, so I think I’ve found my comfortable goal.
I love that you have found a comfortable goal to reach! I think I am still finding my comfort zone. I get competitive with myself and push too hard sometimes.
You’ll find it. I understand being competitive with yourself. I was there for many years.
How many books do you typically read in a month, Kriti?
I used to read a couple when I was studying, but now that I am not in school anymore and my evenings are free to do what I want, I can read about 10 a month. What about you?
I find myself reading between 9 to 12 books a month depending on how big the books are. When I’m overworked, and my eyes no longer want to focus late at night, audiobooks have become my go to books.
How do you choose your books to read?
I’m such a mood reader! I scour my shelves for whatever genre I’m feeling whether it be physical, Kindle, or audiobook. For the most part, I’m usually reading sci-fi, apocalyptic, or dystopian, but I do like a good thriller once in a while. If I get a recommendation from my bookish friends that tell me they know I’ll like a book, I’ll pick it up. The Book Thief is one of my favorites which my Goodreads friends insisted I read. My friends know me so well! Bookstagram and Goodreads are huge influences on what books I buy. If I see a friend reading something, I’ll read their review or even the synopsis to see if it’s something I’d like. That’s how I end up finding most of my books. Another place is just seeing a new release from a favorite author. I have so many insta-buy authors.
Kriti, do you plan your books to read? Or do you just pick your next read based on your mood? How do you find books?
I used to pick based on mood but taking up book blogging has led me to plan out my reads a fair bit in advance. I still pick random books, like the Christmas stories I had not planned on reading this month, but most of the books for the month are predetermined.
I get books from NetGalley, authors and then order some from the library or online store if my friends recommend something.
About the books this year
You often post pictures of yourself with authors on Instagram. Are there any particular book signings and author meet-ups that stand out in your memory for this year?
Ha! This was actually a slow year! But there are some that really stand out. Out of the 19 or so I met in 2019, these stand out: Pierce Brown (4th time), Peng Shepard (2nd time), Harriet Tyce was LOVELY and it was an accidental meeting, Steve Cavanagh was SO interesting, and Joe Hill because I was SO star struck!
I just got the list of authors that will be at 2020’s Tucson Festival of Books and I’m thrilled that Blake Crouch, Chuck Wendig, and Kimi Eisele will be there!
Kriti, is/are there any author/s you’d LOVE to meet?
I would love to meet the authors that I regularly talk to – Stephen Zimmer and Erynn Lehtonen. Meeting Terry Goodkind, the author of the Sword of Truth series which I love, would be a dream come true. 🙂
I hope you get to meet your authors. I get so tongue tied when I meet my favorites. Be sure to ask them lots of questions for your blog.
I know it is hard to choose recommendations, especially when we read so many books in a year! If you had to choose, tell me about four books that I should check out and why.
- I think you’d really like The Lightest Object of Being by Kimi Eisele. It’s a soft apocalypse that focuses more on the good. I fell in love with the protagonists.
- The Grace Year was another one that I think you’d like! It’s a dystopian where girls are sent away at the age of 16. It’s a little reminiscent of The Handmaid’s Tale meets The Hunger Games meets Lord of the Flies. I couldn’t put it down!
- I LOVED Wanderers by Chuck Wendig. The premise of this apocalyptic sci-fi is a girl starts sleepwalking and won’t wake up. She’s eventually joined by others just like her. If you liked The Book of M or The Stand, this one’s for you.
- And the last one I’d recommend is Maternal Instinct by Rebecca Bowyer. This one is a dystopian that reminded me of The Farm meets The Giver. I read it in a day!
Kriti, what are your top 3 reads so far in 2019??
I have taken so many recommendations from you this year 🙂
- The Farm was one of my favorites. Reading it with a friend really enhanced the experience and discussion.
- I just finished reading Cinder by Marissa Meyer – it’s a twist on the fairy tales, set in the future after World War 4. I loved it and can’t wait to read the rest of the series!
- Lastly, Crow Winter by Karen McBridge taught me a lot about First Nations culture. It was mystical and real at the same time.
The Farm and the entire Cinder series are in my top favorites. I’ll definitely check out Crow Winter!
Well, this was really fun, and I appreciate you thinking of me for this! There’s nothing I love more than talking books. Thanks again for having me!
Thank you for joining me 🙂
I hope you enjoyed this conversation with Karen! Please let us know what you think and share with your circles!
Ways to connect with Karen:
Next up tomorrow, I’ll have another of my book blogger friend Noly over to learn about her year in books. 🙂
Thanks for reading! ❤️
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