Sunday Spotlight - Read Now Sleep Later

Today, I'm featuring a friend of mine from over on Goodreads! She had a blog going for a while and was neglecting it up until the end of this past summer. She fabulous and you guys are about to learn a bit more about her.

Name: Alethea
Nickname: frootjoos
Blog URL: http://www.readnowsleeplater.com

Tell me a bit about yourself.
I love to read! I started reading when I was three--my mom says I woke her up one morning by reading her random facts about moths and butterflies from the Singaporean newspaper, The Straits Times. My grandfather started me early with the classics: Little Women, Robinson Crusoe, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Through the Looking Glass is still my favorite). My mom got me hooked on mysteries and romance: Nancy Drew. My mom got me hooked on mysteries and romance: Nancy Drew when I was 7, Agatha Christie when I was 10, and Regency romances when I was not much older than 12. My Aunt Debbie was the sci-fi/fantasy influence: John Bellairs (which I lost in a move many years ago, and am still struggling to collect them all again), J.R.R. Tolkien, Anne McCaffrey (actually I was the one who got her hooked on
those!). I've also been a bookseller for about 10 years. I hope to be a librarian someday, or maybe even an author! (Or both!) Also, I use a lot of exclamation points, which according to Terry Pratchett is "a sure sign of an insane mind."

When and why did you start your blog?
I used to blog a lot over at diaryland.com, then fell out of the habit for a few years, but since joining GoodReads I can't seem to stop talking/writing/updating about books. This summer I thought I'd better channel all of this book-loving energy into something I can share and save. I thought about the title about a year ago after staying up for almost 3 days straight to read Maria V. Snyder's Study series. Don't get me wrong, I *love* to sleep. And if I'll put off sleeping to
read something, it must be good!

What is your blog all about? Any cool features you want to share?
I love reading (did I say that already?) and I've found that I've become impatient with writing book reviews, so instead of crafting a full review of any book, I'll pretty much just give you the bullet points. Going off the GoodReads star rating system, I start most books off with 3 stars (I liked it enough to start reading it) then add or subtract stars depending on how I liked the book, giving reasons as I go.

What are some of your favorite genres and/or books currently?
My favorite genre is now Young Adult--there are so many great authors and books blossoming in this area right now! I particularly enjoy sci-fi/fantasy, dystopian/utopian adventures, and anything that examines social constructs like gender roles, marriage, family, etc.

How do you find out about the books you read?
I find a lot of them on GoodReads through my friends, and most of the time I get Advance buzz at work through the Ingram catalog (one of our book distributors). I've put way too many on my To-Be-Read shelf, though--I hit 1000+ books already! At the rate I'm reading, it'll take me 10 years just to get through the current TBR shelf. But I can't resist adding a book on, because I hate forgetting a title that's piqued my interest.

Any tips or advice for those starting or thinking about starting a blog?
I've been working in retail for a very long time and so have developed a pretty thick skin. I think new bloggers need to keep that in mind--that there are some not-so-nice people out there who may react negatively to the things that you blog, especially if you give a bad review to something that they like, and ultimately all you can control is your own reaction. If you flame back, they win. If you give up and stop blogging, they win. The best thing to do is delete their comments, take a deep breath, and keep blogging! That said, there's a line between giving a bad review and just plain trashing a book. If I have to tell someone a book isn't good, I do try to be tactful about
it and give the reasons why I didn't like it. I don't just go off on an unsubstantiated tirade. Be honest, be polite, and be patient. And if that doesn't work, keep a box of chocolate bonbons in the freezer for emergencies. ^_^

Thank you Alethea for taking some time to be interviewed! Love your blog and keep it going girl!

Are you a new blogger too? Or just getting back into the swing of blogging? Do you want to be featured on my blog? Shoot me an email at bittahsweetharmony@yahoo.com.