Armchair BEA: It's Interview Time!

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When this year's interview swaps were announced, I was thrilled to see I get to interview Lyndsey (you may know here as teadevotee), who blogs at Amused, Bemused and Confused. Lyndsey and I have quite similar taste in books, and I'm really enjoying getting to know her this year, as we're both serving as voting members for the Indie Lit Awards Fiction category (formerly known as Literary Fiction.)

Let's start with the basics. Why did you start blogging about books?
I was blogging randomly about any old blather for about a year before I decided I needed more of a focus. I went with books because my reviews used to get quite a lot of interest--and because there is nothing I like more than reading:-)

You've been blogging for two years now. What has surprised you the most about blogging?
I was hugely and pleasantly surprised to discover the whole community. I love the way that blogging opens up a whole world of connections to people with the same tastes and sense of humour. It's really fantastic.

I totally agree! The community is one of my favorite things about book blogging. You're quite pregnant right now. How has that impacted your reading habits?
Haha, not so much at the moment. I read several books on pregnancy and then thought, wow, that's way too much information! I did get two useful pieces of advice: 1) read the books on baby care now because you won't have time to read them once you actually HAVE the baby and 2) read as much as you can now full stop, because you won't have time to read anything :) I have started to make a list of books needing concentration that I want to read in June, when I've still got hours to myself.

You live in London, which is one of my favorite cities. How does its amazing literary scene impact your blog?
I am definitely not as good as some of the other London bloggers taking advantage of it--but I absolutely love to spend hours browsing the incredible bookshops. Any visitors to London should definitely visit Daunt Books in Marylebone, The Notting Hill Book Exchange and the London Review of Books bookshop--and that's just for starters!

What is your most treasured literary memory?
I went to the Hay Festival in 2007, which is the UK's biggest book festival and had an incredible time. The days went like this: 1) ace author event 2) ice-cream 3) ace author event 4) ice cream. In the evenings, we were properly hippies with campfire singing and lentils. I'm going again next and CAN'T WAIT.

That sounds amazing. I can't wait to hear how 2011 stacks up! Besides tea and books, what makes you smile?
My Husband, my nieces, How I Met Your Mother, the sunshine, Tina Fey.

What books have you pretended to read?
Hahaha, I don't think I've ever done that!

Really? Impressive! What book do you wish everyone would read?
I wouldn't ram books into people's hands--I just wish people read more in general. I find it so depressing when say they don't have time to read--I bet they have time to watch TV!

Thanks to Lyndsey for taking the time to answer my questions! She moved last week, and I'm in the midst of moving, but we made it work. I'm so excited to be working with Lyndsey as we serve as voting members for the 2011 Indie Lit Awards for Fiction.


As an affiliate, I receive a very, very small commission when you make a purchase through any of the above links. Thank you for helping to support my book habits that bring more content to this blog!

Comments

  1. AnonymousMay 25, 2011 at 3:09 AM

    London is one of my favorite cities too. I will be going for a visit at the end of the summer. I will keep these bookshops in mind and pay them a visit.

    -jehara

    ReplyDelete
  2. Alex (The Sleepless Reader)May 25, 2011 at 8:07 AM

    I hear you on the pregnancy books! My best friend read too many of them, with lots of conflicting information and by the end of the pregnancy she was having what I can only call panic attacks.

    But she lives away from her family and it was her first pregnancy, so I guess she needed some sort of guidance.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AlyceMay 25, 2011 at 10:32 AM

    It's definitely good to read the child care books early. I remember spending hours up at night with a crying newborn, desperately trying to figure out if there was anything wrong with him (and why he was screaming for hours every night). It turned out he got overstimulated easy, so every time we walked the floor with him we were just waking him up even more.

    I wish you both the best of luck with moving!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Carina (Reading Through Life)May 25, 2011 at 11:18 AM

    I love that you spent an event going between authors and ice cream. Totally sounds like something I would do!

    ReplyDelete
  5. AudraMay 25, 2011 at 5:42 PM

    Delightful interview! ABC is a new blog to me but I enjoyed learning about Lyndsey!

    ReplyDelete
  6. MichelleMay 25, 2011 at 11:41 PM

    Great interview! I found I read more when my babies were newborns. It wasn't until they started becoming more active, around 3 months, where my reading time suffered.

    Thanks for participating in our round-robin interviews! They are randomly assigned, so one of my favorite things is seeing who gets matched up with whom. Sometimes the bloggers are complete opposites, and others find a ton of similarities, like in your interview. I hope you had fun and were able to make some new blogging friends!

    ReplyDelete
  7. AndiJune 2, 2011 at 5:32 PM

    I haven't read too many of the interviews from this year's Armchair BEA, but I absolutely loved this one. I already am a fan of Lyndsey's blog and even moreso now!

    ReplyDelete

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