Saturday Spotlight - The Lost Entwife

Today I have with me a fun blogger who loves reading and the library! Read more about Lydia below.

Name: Lydia
Nickname and/or blog name: The Lost Entwife
Blog URL: http://thelostentwife.net

Tell me a bit about yourself.

I'm a 33 year old single gal living in Georgia. For my "job" I help my ex-brother-in-law with the raising of my niece and nephew (it's a long story!) and I wouldn't give it up for the world. I've also been playing piano since I was 4 years old and love playing everything from classical music to Disney songs for my niece to dance to.

I started reading around age 4 as well. I was home-schooled most of my life, and am the eldest of nine children so our big outing each week was to the library. My mother, in an attempt to keep track of the books, would only allow each of us 2 books! But I would sneak out more than that. I'd usually check out 5-6 and hide them in my bag, my shirt or wherever I could until I could get home and run up to the 3rd floor to my room. I've usually have them read in just a few days.

Today I am always pushing my library's 75 book checkout limit. I have them organized by piles and stacked in the series order (if there are series). I read them all in time for me to bring them back and never have to worry about late fees! I usually average about 35-40 books a month.

When and why did you start your blog?

I actually started my blog as more of a family blog in 2007. It wasn't until a few months ago that I really got into GoodReads and began to seriously review books. I've been getting more into my stride and decided for a New Years Resolution this year to purchase my own domain and make the leap. I love reading, clearly - and I love recommending books. I'm a shy person and I've found that the more diverse my reading, the more I find myself at ease talking to strangers that I meet. I wanted to provide an outlet for people who might not know what to read outside of their usual genre to go to. My friends have told me that they love how I write about how the book made me feel and a general summary without ever giving anything away.

What is your blog all about? Any cool features you want to share?

Books, books and sometimes life! I've joined several challenges, I am hosting one giveaway a month this year and I am hoping to start getting some Author Chats going!

What are some of your favorite genres and/or books currently?

Oh man, that's a rough one. I love literary gothic type books. The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon was one of my more recent favorite reads. I also really liked The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan which is an apocalyptic YA read.

How do you find out about the books you read?

I actually have a post series on how I select books! I use everything. I take pictures of books in B&N with my cell phone and then upload them to put them on my "to-read" list. I use GoodReads, Amazon recommendations, the library's lists of what's new and their list of debut authors. I use friend recommendations and I read a ton of other book blogs! Two of my favorites are http://j-kaye-book-blog.blogspot.com/ and http://bookjourney.wordpress.com/.

Any tips or advice for those starting or thinking about starting a blog?

Look around at other blogs in the genre you want to start and just start experimenting! My blog changes almost daily as I find new widgets and plugins to add, and I love playing with it! And it's really not that hard. If you are a brand spankin' new beginner, use a program like blogspot or wordpress.com and just play around. Promote your blog on Twitter and Facebook and get your friends to start reading! They'll help spread the word.

Giveaway alert!
Lydia is currently giving away a copy of The Magician's Elephany by Kate DiCamillo. Make sure to enter on her blog. Hurry because it ends February 28th at 9 pm EST!


Thanks for stopping by Lydia and telling us more about your blog!

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 dragonzgoil (at) gmail (dot) com.