BEHIND THE BLOG: MEET THE BLOGGER SERIES – Linda from Linda’s Book Bag @Lindahill50Hill

Ever wonder about the person behind the blog?  I mentioned back in January (here) that I would be starting a Meet the Blogger series.  This series will feature some of my favourite bloggers as we go behind the scenes and have them answer the questions!

Next up is Linda from Linda’s Book Bag 

Ex-English teacher, closet writer, gardener and Tea drinker, Linda is a woman of many talents!  Welcome to Clues and Reviews Linda!

Keep reading to see what Linda had to say during her turn in the “hot seat”!

Why did you decide to join the world of book blogging? 

Thanks so much for having me on your lovely blog Sam.

I originally began blogging to share what I’d been reading with others as I love books so much. I had no idea what I was doing but I thought if others could do it, I must be able to blog too. Once I’d started to blog I found a whole new world of authors, publishers and other bloggers that I simply hadn’t realised existed and I was hooked. You could say I’ve become obsessed by blogging now!

What have been your favourite and least favourite parts of being a book blogger?

The best aspect of blogging is the blogging community. Bloggers are brilliant people. They do what they do because they have a passion and I have made some wonderful online and real life friends as a result. I’ve been to exciting bookish events and met authors and publicists whom I’d never have encountered if I hadn’t been a blogger.

I also love the thrill of the postman knocking on the door and a book arriving that I had no idea existed until it turned up for review. There’s something magical about the possibilities that might lie within the pages.

What I enjoy less is the overwhelming feeling of guilt I have when I decline a book from an independent author as I know how much they need reviews but my TBR pile is so huge I would need to read at least three or four books a week for the next six and a half years just to catch up.

I also get irritated at times when I’m on a blog tour and don’t have the materials I’ve been asked to use even by the evening before the post is due to go out. I do have a life and other things to do too and dropping everything to set up a blog post isn’t always possible!

What have been your 3 favourite books to review since you started book blogging?

That’s almost impossible to answer as I have been so lucky to read an array of truly fantastic books. I think the best way to answer is to return to my books of the yea.

In 2015 it was Jakob’s Colours by Lindsay Hawdon and I was thrilled when Lindsay agreed to be interviewed for my first blogging anniversary.  Jakob’s Colours really affected me and I still get an ache in my heart when I think about it.

In 2016 I chose Fionnuala Kearney’s The Day I Lost You as my favourite book of the year. I reviewed it here, but I read it just after my great niece had been still born at full term and my father had almost died from sepsis (he passed away in November from a subsequent stroke) and that sense of grief and loss just resonated with me.

This year so far I have loved several books so I’ll mention The Words in My Hand by Guinevere Glasfurd  as I think it’s an important book about feminism and literacy and is probably not as well known as it deserves.

Have you always been a reader? If not, what got you into reading?

Oh no. I was a really late reader and must have been about 8 when I first read a whole book (Enid Blyton’s The Ship of Adventure) to myself. My sister is 9 years older than me so she always read to me, as did my Dad (especially the Robin Family tales from Mum’s Women’s Weekly) and I have terrible eyesight so I took me ages to learn to read. It wasn’t until I got glasses just before my 8th birthday that I really saw words and could crack on. I remember my reading age was well below my chronological age at 7 and was off the scale beyond it by the time I was 8.

Now the impossible question… what are some of your favourite books?

You’re right, That is an impossible question. My favourite books are usually the ones I’ve just read and really enjoyed. I always cite Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles as I honestly believe that book changed my life, leading to success at A’Level and making me decide to read English at university which in turn led to my career and work all over England, in Paris and New York.

The Michael Bond Paddington books have always featured in my life too from spending all my pocket money on them as a child to being thrown out of a teachers’ centre for laughing too loudly at them to my husband reading them to me in bed and doing different voices for all the characters. I reread them frequently.

If anyone would like to know my recently favourite books they could always have a look here 

Thanks again Sam for hosting me here today. I’ve really enjoyed it.

Be sure to follow Linda on her Social Media!!

Twitter: @Lindahill50Hill