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 Becca from If I Could Only Read Faster!
Thrilled to have Becca here today to answer my Behind the Blogger questions! Becca has an amazing blog and an incredible story! Keep reading to see what Becca had to say during her turn in the “hot seat”!
Why did you decide to join the world of blogging?
I was really enjoying reading and writing reviews and as I got to know authors on Facebook I saw how important reviews and word of mouth were for them. I also had a lot of friends that would come to me and ask me for a good book to read so I thought that if I had a blog then I could just point them in that direction and I also wanted somewhere to keep a log of the books that I had read. So I started it for me and thought that some friends might read it now and then when they wanted a book recommendation and if anyone else read it and it helped to promote authors books then that was an added bonus.
What have been your favourite and least favourite parts of being a book blogger?
My favourite parts would have to be when I hear from an author who is thanking me for my review, it’s so amazing to read a book and love it and then get to talk to the author about it on social media, or they might send you a signed copy of their book which I absolutely love. I do also love it when someone tells me that they bought a book after reading my review and how much they enjoyed it, that always makes me smile.
My least favourite part is a bit harder, sometimes I find posting links to my blog posts on Facebook hard as so many groups have different rules and it’s impossible to keep up with them all, and there has been a bit of blogger bashing recently with people saying that we aren’t ‘real’ readers and that has been quite upsetting and disheartening. But, I think that for me personally, I struggle with self-doubt. I often convince myself that my blog is awful and no one likes it and it isn’t doing well and people don’t like me etc etc etc. I can drive myself quite crazy with it on a bad day, but on a good day I am able to remind myself that I enjoy doing the blog and anything else is a bonus and that I am doing the best that I can.
What have been your 3 favourite books to review since you started book blogging?
Oooh, great question.
The first review that comes to mind is A Mother’s Reckoning by Sue Klebold, she is the mother of one of the Columbine killers. I found it a really difficult book to review and it is definitely my longest book review that I have done. I just had so much that I had to say about the book and my review could have been much much longer. I put a lot of my heart into that review and appreciated every comment that the review got. You can read it here Review: A Mother’s Reckoning by Sue Klebold.
I also really enjoyed reviewing The One Memory of Flore Banks, it was such a different book, I haven’t read one quite like it and I just loved the main character and the amazing journey that she went on in the book.
The Mountain in my Shoe by Louise Beech is such a beautiful book, I absolutely loved this book and it is such a wonderful story that I just had to tell everyone about it.
Have you always been a reader? If not, what got you into reading?
I have always enjoyed being emersed in a good book but I haven’t always enjoyed it. Being dyslexic as a child and teenager reading was quite challenging and very slow. When I did my degree I found it so hard to keep up with the reading involved as it took me so long to read things and almost impossible to retain the info. After I finished my degree it took me a few years to get back into reading but then I did a Masters which took the enjoyment out of it again, I was reading so much for the course that I didn’t then want to read for pleasure too. I then had twins and didn’t pick up a book for a good few years after that! But once I got my Kindle I started to read more and more and more, being a single mum on a tight budget I didn’t get to go out socially much so a good book helped me escape a bit. I haven’t looked back really!
What are some of your favourite books?
Goodness that’s hard! It’d be much easier to tell you who my favourite authors are.
I’m going to have to start with the fairly predictable Harry Potter books, I just loved reading them and being taken into a totally different world. I remember waiting and waiting for the next one to come out.
I loved Behind Closed Doors by BA Paris, it totally sucked me in! Evil Games by Angela Marsons was brilliant, I loved the character, Alex, so much! An Impossible Dilemma by Netta Newbound. Also, Into The Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes just blew me away, it was the first psychological thriller that I’d read and I absolutely loved it and it is now my favourite genre, I owe a lot to that book. I could go on and on so better stop there!
Clues and Reviews 
Great answers. Elizabeth Haynes debut would be one of my favourites too although it would be a very long list!
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