New Blogs on The Block: Lily's Bookshelf

Hey Guys! Happy Saturday! =)

As I announced a couple weeks ago (HERE), The New Blogs on The Block Feature created by the wonderful Carolyn of Book Chick City has been transfered to me and will be happening here every Saturday! =)

It's My pleasure to have on the first New Blogs on The Block @ Larissa's Life, Holly from Lily's Bookshelf!

- When and why did you start blogging?

I was on my way home from my holiday travels in December of 2007, thinking of all the books I had read that year and thought to myself, “Why don’t I make a journal that is solely dedicated to book reviews?” So I started a reading blog at Live Journal. It didn’t get much traffic, so I joined a few reading communities over there. There, I stumbled across some bloggers (such as TJ from Book Love Affair) who use Blogger as their main source for writing reviews. Curious, I started poking around and found a strong reading community over at Blogger. The people, as well as their reviews, are awesome, so I decided to make Blogger my reading/review blog home.

- Tell us a little about your blog?

Well, the title is a bit confusing for some. My name in real life is Holly. Lily was a nickname given to me by a dear friend who changed my life in high school. When I created my first blog over at Live Journal, I used the name Lily Child in honor of my friend and it just kind of stuck for my internet purposes.

As far as my blog, Lily’s Bookshelf, is just your basic reading blog. I mainly do reviews of books that I have recently finished. I include a summery, review, cover art commentary and an overall rating given in a number of apples (one to five, five being the best). I try to include a trailer of the book, links to other reviews of the book, or recommendations for other books, whenever possible.

- Are there any features on your blog you would like to highlight?

I have 2 features that I regularly use. One is an end-of-month review, known as Reading Reflections. In this feature, I post a list of books that I have read throughout the month, with a link to each review. I also determine which book I most anticipated, which was the biggest disappointment and which book was ultimately my favorite read for the month. Here is the link to the Reading Reflections of October 2009: http://lillybook.blogspot.com/2009/10/reading-reflections-october-2009.html

*I got this idea from Nancy of Temporary Worlds, over at Live Journal.

My other feature is known as the Book Bundle. In this feature, I display books I recently purchased or will soon read. I post the cover of the book, as well as the summery (usually from the back cover or goodreads.com. I also try to select which book I will most anticipate.

- What's been the high point of blogging so far?

My favorite thing about blogging is the interaction with other like-minded reading fiends. I love discussing a book we have both read, or discovering books I may have not otherwise picked up, had I not read the review! For instance, I read a review for Shadowfae by Erica Hayes over at SciFiGuy.ca’s blog. It was a surprising read. I absolutely loved it! I would have sorely missed had I not read SciFiGuy’s review!

- Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I am 25 and work as a Registered Nurse at a local hospital. I work nights, so if I follow your blog, you’ll most likely get a comment from me at night. :P I love to read and you will most likely catch me at the bookstore on my nights off. I also love music. Some of my favorite bands at the moment are the Silversun Pickups, The Helio Sequence, Radiohead, Cage the Elephant, Muse, Placebo, and…well, I could on and on!

- What's your favourite book of all time?

I honestly don’t know if I could choose one book. The book that had the greatest impact on my life was The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. I was heavily persuaded to read it by a good friend a few years back, and I will always be grateful. I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn’t read it. I would also recommend Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand as well. They really should be read as a set.

I also have several “comfort reads,” which are books that I turn to when I need a to get lost in a good story, or if I haven’t read anything good in a while. I highly enjoyed The Harry Potter series, The Morganville Vampire series, The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris and anything by Neil Gaiman.

- Who are your favourite authors?

Yikes! I have many! If I had to pick a few, I would choose:

Neil Gaiman, Rachel Caine, Alice Hoffman, Charlaine Harris, Chuck Palahniuk, Kim Harrison, Ayn Rand, Stephen King, Margaret Atwood, Suzanne Collins, and J.K. Rowling.

- How many books are on your tbr list right now?

This list is seriously endless. I posted a list of the top 10 books and series I am most looking forward to reading in 2009. You can view the post here!

- Where do you see your blog in a year from now?

Hopefully the same, just with more readers. I love finding new blogs and reading and comparing reviews. I enjoy features, but I mainly enjoy reviews, so I definitely look forward to reviewing more books and discussing them with other bloggers! :)

Thanks for Stopping by Holly!!

If you want to be featured on New Blogs on The Block, all you have to do is email me @ larissa@larissaslife.com

The only pre-requisite is that you have a Book Blog and that you've been blogging for less than 6 Months.

Please email me with "New Blogs on The Block" in the email subject!

Don't Forget!

You can win a SIGNED copy of Blood Magic by Eileen Wilks

HERE