My Interview with James Smith @ The Book Base

Yesterday I had the pleasure of being interviewed by James Smith @ the Book Base about being a book blogger and I thought I would share it with you so maybe you can get to know the girl behind the reviews a little better. Enjoy!

Book Blogger Q&A: All Things Historical Fiction

Written on May 29, 2011 by James in Book Blogger Q&A

The thirteenth post in our Book Blogger Q&A series features Taylor from All Things Historical Fiction.
Here are my repsonses:
How long have you been a blogger?
I still consider myself new to the blogging scene since I’ve only been blogging since August of 2010, but I’ve been blogging hard ever since and I really enjoy it. I find blogging to be a very relaxing past time, which allows me to take my head out my textbooks and into something I’m really passionate about.

Approximately, how many books do you read every year?

Well right now I’m working on my bachelors degree in nursing and I consider myself a slow reader so I only average about 50 books a year. I would love to be one of those people who can read 150 to 200 books a year, but no matter how much time I have on my hands I don’t expect to ever be able to read that many.

What were your favourite books as a child?

When I was younger I was so obsessed with horses and horse racing and so my best friend and I were addicted to the Thoroughbred series. We couldn’t get enough of those books and to this day I still have all of the books. I believe there is a total of 76 books in the series. I was also addicted to the Harry Potter books and anxiously awaited the next book to hit the shelves!

What are you reading at the moment?

Right now I’m just finishing up Anne Easter Smith’s latest novel Queen by Right.

If you had to pick one, what’s the best book you’ve read in the last twelve months?

Oh wow! I don’t know if I could only pick one, but I will try to narrow it down to four. I really loved Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, Nefertiti by Michelle Moran, and The Courts of Love by Jean Plaidy.

Who are your three favourite authors?

Oh goodness. Another difficult question. I would have to say Jean Plaidy, Margaret George and Sara Gruen. I would buy any book written by these three authors so that’s how I know they are my favorite authors at the moment. This is always subject to change, because I’m constantly discovering new authors.

Which book has had the greatest impact on your life?

Philippa Gregory’s book The Other Boleyn Girl has probably impacted my life the most because it’s the book that I randomly picked up in the book store one day and it started my astronomical obsession with historical fiction. Ever since I read that book I’ve rarely picked up any other genre. Hence, the reason why my blog is solely focused on historical fiction.

Which book are you most eagerly anticipating?

Oh number one Margaret George’s Elizabeth I. It’s sitting on my night stand right now and is going to be my next endeavor. I’m also really excited to sink my teeth into the George R.R. Martin, Game of Thrones series. I’ve heard nothing but good things about them and I really want to watch the new series on HBO.

If you had to invite some book characters round for dinner, who would you choose and why?

Since the majority of my reading is historical fiction the characters I would choose would be historical figures. I would really love to meet Queen Elizabeth I, Marie Antoinette, and Eleanor of Aquitaine. That would be a very interesting dinner to have three of the most influential women in history conversing together. I would love to pick their brains and ask them what it must have been like to have been in their shoes during their era.

What advice would you give to new bloggers?

My advice would really be to promote your blog any way you can. Be creative and always remember why you started blogging in the first place.

Which other book blogs do you recommend?

My favorite blog at the moment would be Passages To The Past by Amy. It’s one of the best historical fiction blogs out there and she’s always current with her reviews and she has some really great features on her blog.