BBAW: Interview Swap with Bookworming in the 21st Century

For the Book Blogger Appreciation Week, I’ve been given the privilege to interview Kristen from Bookworming in the 21^st Century. Kristen’s blog reviews mostly young adult fiction so if you have a thing for YA, then head on over to her site. She’s already on my Google Reader!

I also found out through the interview that both Kristen and I are getting married on the same date! How cool is that! LOL...

Kristen, thanks for taking the first step to initiate the interview. It was truly a pleasure to 'meet' you. I’m so glad we managed to do the interview swap despite the fact that we did it last minute! :) … Plus, good luck on your wedding preparations.

What’s your name?
Kristen

Do you use an alias?
Bookgoil

What’s your blog name?
Bookworming in the 21^st Century

Your blog URL?
http://www.bookworminginthe21stcentury.com/ 

Can you give a quick bio about yourself?
I’m a 24 year old elementary school librarian. I just started that job this year and I really love it. I love reading and especially reading Young Adult books. I’ve worked in a public library and a college library before as well- can you tell I like being surrounded by books? I’m getting married on October 24^th this year to the man I love. He also likes to read- but mainly adult sci-fi and fantasy. (I’m trying to convince him to do some guest reviews on my blog right now.) No pets, but we want a dog eventually.

What’s on your nightstand right now?
Right now, Willow by Julia Hoban and Anastasia’s Secret by Susanne Dunlap are sitting on my nightstand.

When did you start your blog?
I started my blog on June 9^th of this year. So I’ve only been blogging about 3 months now.

What is your favourite genre and/or genres?
I love Young Adult books and really tend to read fantasy, sci-fi, paranormal, and historical fiction.

Who is your favourite author?
I have a ton.. but Francesca Lia Block really can’t be beat. I’ve read every single one of her books.

What’s your favourite book of all time?

That’s a tough one. Probably Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens- the ultimate action-adventure book.

What book do you wish you could read all over again for the first time?

The Hunger Games- it was such a stunning read.

Have you ever “Faked It”? As in pretending to have read a book but not? For school possibly?

Definitely.. for school mostly. I never got through Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad and I gave up on Into the Wild.

Name & describe your blog features:

Well, I review books first off. I participate in a ton of memes, a few of which I created. What are you reading Mondays, Teaser Tuesdays, Waiting on Wednesday, Link a Contest Thursday (created myself!), Friday Finds, and Saturday and Sunday Spotlights (created by myself as well..).

My Link a Contest Thursday are a great way to find out about contests as well as letting other bloggers give their contest some promotion. It’s also easy to manage because I use Mr. Linky.

I started Saturday and Sunday Spotlights because I LOVE finding new blogs. Especially less known ones. So, I figured I’d start with Saturday Spotlights and then it exploded into a ton of interedted bloggers and I made it a weekend special- Saturday AND Sunday Spotlights.

Describe your review system:

I actually need to revise my review system a bit. I have a 5 rose system, but I rarely get down to 3. Right now, it’s basically running like this:
5 Roses: Loved or enjoyed the book, highly recommended.
4 Roses: Some flaws, but good read.
3 Roses: I didn’t like it, but someone else might.
2 Roses: Not sure how I got through that book- *cough*Skimming*cough*
1 Rose: Gave up. Completely.

How is your blog unique from other blogs?
I am an update-a-holic. I love posting and I love getting the word out there about other things going on in the blogging community- such as contests, cool sites, and more. I try to read and review promptly and I’m always trying to “fix-up” my blog. I like to show my enthusiasm on my blog and hope that shows through on my posts. I’m probably the calmest person around, so I don’t get worked up about much and there’s rarely anything negative written on my blog.

How do you market your blog?
Well, I run a lot of contests and I sue twitter a TON. I also love being interviewed, note yet another interview… I finally created a button that people can use. But, I really think my main marketing strategy is friendliness. I try to get chatting with other bloggers, authors, etc. and so far it seems to have worked. (Note the crazy amount of followers I have…still don’t know where they all came from *swears blogger is broken*)

Can you give us 3 tips about content?

1. Be honest when reviewing, but make sure you add something good in there as well.
2. Proofread- I know, I hate doing it too – but typos are painful to read and will make people less likely to follow you.
3. Make sure you’re saying something meaningful- not just “it was good”.
   

Can you give us 3 tips about blog promotion?

1. If you can, run a contest. It can be for homemade bookmarks or something small if you can’t afford books or types of giveaways.
2. Put yourself out there- find some blog lists like the YA Blogosphere and get yourself listed so people can find your blog.
3. Comment, comment, comment. I know whenever I see a new name, I have to check out who it is. So keep commenting and you’ll find some new blogging friends following you.