Do you feel an instant connection with someone when you find out you are from the same country? I meet so many people who live in the U.S., so it’s special to connect with Canadians. Lindsay and I connected over Instagram and I’m looking forward to this conversation about books.
Like other posts in this series (see archive), remember that Lindsay’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, Lindsay. 🙂 Tell me a little bit about your love for books.
Thank you Kriti 😊
For as long as I can remember I have always loved reading; my mom always talks about how she used to read to me when I was little and the love just grew from there. I remember spending lots of time at my local library and I would have a book with me no matter what. Once I started working full time after college I got away from reading so much, but luckily I rediscovered my passion last fall and I’m so happy that I did.
One of my fondest book memories is trading books with a roommate at summer camp and reading the others book. I remember it so clearly, I had brought The Sterkarm Handshake by Susan Price and she had Take a Thief by Mercedes Lackey. I ended up loving the Heralds of Valdemar series and I still reread it every so often when I need a comfort read or just don’t know what else to read.
I remember both of those books so well because they had such an impact on me, do you have any memories that you look back on due to the way they shaped your reading?
Little Women comes to my mind. Jo was such an avid reader in that book and I absolutely loved her, and wanted to be her. I think that the novel is one of the most impactful one. It was long but I loved curling up with the book when ever I was home. Though I have not read it in a long time now, the habit of reading was definitely encouraged by its characters.
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?
This year is my first year actually setting any kind of reading goal. Since I had no idea how much I used to read I wanted to set an easy goal so I set it at 52. I did end up quickly passing it so once I reached about 100 books, I increased it to 200; I have since passed that goal so now I’m just tracking any additional books.
My friends always ask how I read so much and I’ll admit that audiobooks definitely help me get through more books. I always have one on the go if I’m driving, doing chores, or crocheting. I also don’t watch a lot of tv anymore so if there is something on that my husband wants to watch he gets to while I read (this works for us because we have such different tastes that the things we like don’t overlap much).
Ready Player One and Sleeping Giants are a couple of my favourite audiobooks so far, do you listen to audiobooks (and if so do you have a favourite)?
I listen to audiobooks! They are great for commuting and mundane tasks like folding laundry. Ready Player One was really good. I also enjoyed Tara Colkin’s The Last Romantics and Jeanette Wall’s The Glass Castle. I get the audiobooks from the library and have found Black Friday to be a great day to get cheap Kindle copies. 🙂
How do you choose your books to read?
I am mostly a mood reader so I will choose books based off of what I am in the mood to read. I do get recommendations from different YouTube channels and Goodreads. I also take part in a book club on Facebook – The Covers – and we have our club read as well as monthly prompts. It can be an adventure trying to find books that fit the prompts especially if it’s not something I normally read.
About the books this year
Were there any books this year that challenged your thinking or you learned a lot from?
I haven’t read a lot of harder hitting reads, but I’d have to say Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult.
Small Great Things made me examine how my own and other people’s thoughts are influenced in regards to minority groups. It is something that I thought I was aware of in the back of my mind, but now it is something that I more actively think about.
I loved Small Great Things as well, and I agree with what you said about it.It had a similar effect on me.
I know it is hard to give 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.
Giving recommendations is so difficult for me, I normally just want to list off all the books that I loved, but that’s a lot. If I had to choose, without mentioning any of the books that I have talked about already, I would say:
- A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer – this is my favourite read of the year so far, I even read it in one sitting. Reason to read: while it is a retelling it does feature a kick-ass protagonist who is not to be underestimated.
- The Renegades trilogy by Marisssa Meyer – Ok I know this is cheating a bit, but I didn’t want to recommend the third book in a trilogy because you have to read the first two before getting to it. It’s a story of revenge vs justice and seeing everything from both perspectives makes you question who is right and who is wrong.
- The Simple Wild by K. A. Tucker – so here is a romance book, but I promise you it’s more than just a romance. It shows how complex relationships and family can be and how sometimes to learn more about yourself you need to leave your comfort zone.
That is such a gorgeous cover! 😍
- The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware – I don’t normally read mysteries or thrillers and when I do I’m normally disappointed, but I loved this book so much. If a book can get me to like a genre that I don’t normally like then I definitely have to recommend it.
There are lots of different elements in books that I enjoy, but I find if a book features food and romance there is a 99% chance that I’m going to love it. Is there any sort of combination that you are drawn to or is almost guaranteed to be an enjoyable read for you?
I have never thought about books this way before! But I think most books that mention libraries will make it to my re-read list.
The Year Ahead
Lindsay, would you change anything, whether it is your reading habits, review routine or reading goal, for 2020?
For 2020 my goal is to read more outside my comfort zone. I do read a lot of fantasy and romance books, but I know there are other great books in different genres so I hope to explore that some more. I also want to write more reviews and maybe even improve on them.
I hope you enjoyed this conversation with Lindsay! You can find her on Instagram (her handle is linsayread). Be sure to share with your circles!
Next up, on the 5th, I’ll have my bookblogger friend Sahi over to learn about her year in books.
Thanks for reading! ❤️
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