Stephen & Kriti’s Bookish Catch Up

As we get closer to the New Year, I wanted to give a shoutout to my book blogger and buddy read friend, Stephen. Welcome to our conversation about books, blogging, gifting and more.

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Hi Stephen! It is wonderful to host you on the blog again. Thanks for taking out time to be here. 🙂 In 2019, we had discussed reading and I reread that post before coming up for questions for this one. We hadn’t started buddy reading at that point though our first one of The Glass Woman was planned. Do you think your reading and writing practices have changed since 2019?

Thank you so much for asking me to take part again, Kriti! My reading and writing practices have certainly changed since 2019. 

As far as reading goes, I would say that the variety of different genres I frequently read has continued to increase, and I have developed a growing awareness of the need to diversify my reading in several different ways. In doing so, I have discovered countless amazing books and authors whose work I may not have picked up or even been aware of beforehand. Also, I am more inclined to listen to audiobooks than I was a few years ago, and I buddy read books regularly with a number of other book bloggers.

Another change has been how my life has become busier and circumstances have changed as I no longer live with my family, so I have less time for reading than I used to. The same applies to writing, so apart from my blog and professional writing commitments, I write creatively a lot less than in 2019.

How was 2022 as a reading year for you? Was there a genre you gravitated towards?

Overall, 2022 has been a very good reading year! There were some absolute standout books, especially in the historical fiction and fantasy genres. The best book I have read in 2022 is Daughter Of The Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan, which was incredibly captivating, beautifully written, and very intense with well-developed characters. I have read more fantasy in 2022 than in previous years, although I have read a wide variety of genres. My main motivation for 2022 was to get through as many books on my to-read pile as I could, and I have had mixed success!

Do you read one book at a time or do you have many on the go?

It used to mostly be one at a time, but now I usually have a few books on the go. This is mostly due to the number of buddy reads I do, and also reading in different formats. The most I can read at any one time is three.

Do you decide your next read in advance?

Yes! Unlike a lot of book bloggers I am totally not a mood reader, so I base my decision on which books I am most looking forward to reading, choosing one that has been on my unread pile for some time, or if it is a genre I have not read recently. I like to change genre for each book I read, just to keep things interesting and different.

I recently did the #MidnightsBookChallenge and noted books that kept me up. Can you name a book that kept you up at night? 

A lot of books are responsible for keeping me awake for longer than I should be, but one that sticks in the memory is a thriller called The Lies We Told by Camilla Way. I remember that because I happened to read a really unexpected twist and thought, ‘how could I go to sleep without knowing what happens next?!’

How did you develop a reading habit? 

For so long I had enjoyed reading, but did not read as much as I wanted. What really inspired me to start reading frequently was taking part in the Goodreads challenge for the first time and then starting my blog, and my love of reading has just increased ever since!

Is there a character in one of your books you would like to meet?

I would say Xingyin from Daughter Of The Moon Goddess. She is such a fantastic protagonist and I loved just about everything about her.

How do you discover books? What are the latest books you have added to your TBR?

I mostly discover books by reading other book blogs, recommendations from friends, and by visiting bookstores. My most recent visit to a bookstore saw me add some more books to my TBR! These were The Psychology Of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas, The Ghost Woods by C.J. Cooke. The last book recommended by a friend that I added was The Kingdom Of Back by Marie Lu.

The Psychology of Time Travel is one of the first books I reviewed on the blog. I hope you enjoy it! How do you keep track of your reading?

I keep track of my reading using Goodreads. I have been meaning to create a spreadsheet of all the books I’ve read since the start of 2018 (when I began book blogging), but have not done so yet. It will happen!

Since blogging is something we share, I wanted to ask you about it. I love your blog and seeing you read books I want to dive into always helps solidify the appeal of those books to me. I trust your recommendations. How long have you had your blog?

Thank you so much, Kriti! I’m so glad you enjoy reading my blog posts. I have had my current blog in its current form for almost five years, having started in January 2018. I’m planning a series of posts at the start of 2023 to look back on my best reads and bookish life during that time.

I love your blog, too. You write such a variety of posts and shed light on books and topics I have not encountered much before. How long have you had your blog?

Thanks Stephen. 🙂 I started the blog in May 2019. Similar to you, it helped become a more regular reader. Do you have a posting schedule for the blog? 

Yes, I usually post on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 10am UK time. On Saturdays it is book reviews and on Wednesdays it is everything else, ranging from book tags and lists, to discussion posts. The only exception is in December, where I post much more frequently as I look back on my reading year.

How have you integrated being active in the blogging community with all your other commitments?

With difficulty! I have a lot of other commitments, namely working full time and also being the editor of a magazine, so I often need to be mindful of how I use my time. I plan ahead with my blog posts and often spend parts of my evenings writing reviews, and I make time to stay relatively active on bookish social media. 

But as I have become busier, I have found it increasingly difficult to keep up with other blog posts, so I just do this occasionally whenever I have a spare moment. That does make me feel bad as there are lots of wonderful bloggers posting amazing content. I do hope to be more active again in 2023.

The holiday season is around the corner. Do you exchange Christmas gifts with your family and friends?

Yes I do, mostly to my close family and a few friends. However, I send messages to or exchange cards with a lot of people, including friends or former work colleagues. I think Christmas is an important time to reach out to others and let them know how much I appreciate them. I’m expecting to receive a few more books than normal this year, as it is hard to think of anything else I’d like!

How do you pick a book to gift someone?

I often decide based on a person’s favourite genre and the types of books I know they like. I have found that trusting my instincts has often worked well when gifting books to others. How do you decide, Kriti?

Apart from my instinct, I usually keep an eye out for books that they might have mentioned which I can’t lend to them.

Is there a book you read this year that you will always think of fondly?

My favourite book I read this year is Daughter Of The Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan, which was magical and spellbinding in just about every aspect, so I will definitely think of that one very fondly – especially as that was a buddy read where both me and the other person were enthralled from beginning to end. Two other books I must mention are Ariadne by Jennifer Saint and The One Hundred Years Of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin. The latter is quite sad in some ways, but also really uplifting.

What are your favourite reads of the year?

The Girl and the Goddess by Nikita Gill is a book I can’t stop raving about. It has poems about Hindu goddesses that I grew up with and the book offers me the comfort of home every time I read it.

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Thanks for hanging out with me, Stephen, and readers! Check out Stephen’s blog and find him on Twitter, Goodreads and Instagram.