Readers Writes - Mickey Reed aka 'I'm a Book Shark'

Mickey

I always think people who spend a lot of time reviewing books must quickly become discerning readers or drown in a sea of requests from authors desperately seeking reviews for their titles.  I'm therefore always interested in chatting to reviewers to learn about their reading likes and dislikes.  Today's interviewee is is reviewer Mickey Reed, whose blog is I'm a Book Shark and who kindly agreed to let me put her in the spotlight this week.

Firstly, I'd love to know a little bit about how or why you became a reviewer (and which came first, the reviews or the blog?)  How do your reading commitments fit in with your lifestyle?  

I have posted my reviews for books on Goodreads for as long as I’ve known about Goodreads. My husband asked why I wasn’t trying to get paid for writing reviews for a paper or something, and in Googling that I discovered book blogs.  I read whatever I want and post those reviews to the blog. Lately it’s been a blog for promoting other books as my reading time has decreased dramatically.

You must receive numerous requests for reviews - how do you choose which books/authors to take on?

I do get quite a few review requests, even though I’ve mentioned that I won’t really be able to take any on right now.  Quite honestly I don’t really read too many of the emails either. I don’t have much time to read, but I do skim all of the emails to see if anything catches my eye. And I do keep them all in case I want to go back and accept a request.

For me a 5* review means a book is literally 'unputdownable'.  How do you 'measure' a good book?  

A 5-star book keeps me guessing, makes me laugh/cry, sucks me in, and never lets me forget. It’s memorable and treasured. On my blog, books rarely get a 5-star review. I’m very picky, but when you earn it, I let the world know.

How do you feel if you really like or thoroughly dislike a book you've agreed to review?

I’m so happy when I’m pleasantly surprised by a book I’ve taken on to review. It’s happened a quite a few times. Then there have been those times when I just can’t get through a book. If I’ve agreed to review it but couldn’t stand it, I usually will still review it on Goodreads but not on my blog. Just my policy.

Do you receive feedback from writers or other readers on your reviews?

I get comments about my reviews, sure. But no one has ever told me to change my format or anything. I love having discussion, so if anyone ever has a question about my reviews I’d love to chat!

Do you know if your reviews influence the success (or otherwise) of a new title?

I’m not sure. I’ve had people buy books because of my reviews, and I’ve had people say they won’t pick up a title because of my reviews. But I don’t think my little blog will make or break a novel. :o)

Now some more general questions about reading   Did you have a favourite book or author as a child?

I would always go to the library and pick up Lurlene McDaniel’s books even though she made me cry every single time!

What is your happiest reading memory?

I wish I could truly remember reading Pride and Prejudice for the first time, but I do remember going back to it at different points in my life, rereading passages that made me giggle or get all sappy. 

What was the first book you remember reading independently and really enjoying?

Summer Sisters by Judy Blume. However, I recently went back to it and discovered that my tastes had dramatically changed. Haha.

How significant was reading to you as a child?

As a child, I enjoyed reading. I was good at it, so I kept on doing it. I was curious and loved to learn, so it helped me achieve many things.

How important is reading in your life now?

Now, reading is an adventure, an escape, and a journey. It opens me up to new worlds. Plus, I’d love to just be a fly on the wall somewhere, and it really allows me to be that for these characters.

Have you ever wished you could change places with any character from a story?

I don’t think I’ve truly wanted to change places with any character, but I’ve loved books so much that I’d wish to live in their world, be friends with the characters, and fit right in.

What are you currently reading and in what format (hardback, paperback, e-book)?

I’m actually listening to the audio book version of Moby-Dick for my English class.



Do you think the young of today read enough, and if not, how might you try to encourage them to read more?

I think some do, but many don’t. We live in a fast-paced, technologically advanced world. It’s easy to just watch the movie instead. I’d love for them to read more often, and perhaps if they discovered a world they could get lost in, they’d enjoy reading more too.


Do you prefer print or e-books?

Quite honestly I prefer print. I do read e-books, and I don’t mind reading them at all. But nothing beats the brand new book smell. Ahhh. :o)


Do you think e-books will ever totally replace print?

I think they might, which would be incredibly sad. But the newspaper still exists, so there is hope!

Do you think books transfer to films well?  What is your favourite/worst book-to-film transfer?

It all depends, which is a lazy answer, but it’s how I feel. Some books do and some books don’t. My favorite book-to-movie versions are The Help, Shutter Island, True Grit, Shopgirl, The Princess Bride, Water for Elephants, Silver Linings Playbook, and Pride and Prejudice (almost any version). My least favorites are the Hannibal movies (I love them on their own, but not as book-to-movie versions), PS I Love You, Twilight, The Lucky One, and My Sister’s Keeper. I mostly like film versions when they are cast well and agree with the book.

Is there a book you know you'll never read or found impossible to finish?

I’ll probably never read the Fifty Shades of Grey series, but I never say never ;o) Books that are impossible to finish to me are the poorly edited ones.

Do you think there is anything new and exciting in modern fiction, or has it "all been said before"?

I think there can be new and exciting in modern fiction. We just need some writers with great imaginations. I’m sure they’re out there! We just need to discover them.

Thanks Mickey - that was every bit as interesting as I knew it would be.
Why not pop over to Mickey's blog to get to know her better?  Just click on the image below.

Readers Writes - A Reader's Point of View

            When I decided to seek out readers and question them about their likes and dislikes, I always knew I would ask this particular reader to be my guest.  I know for a fact what an avid reader he's always been; I remember the pleasure of 'reading' picture storybooks with him at the tender age of one; the joy of reading The Elephant and the Bad Baby ten times a night for at least a month; the surprise of finding school books missing from my desk because he wanted to read what my students were reading - even if they were several years older than him; and the total delight of discussing 'real literature' with him from the age of 11 or 12 right up to the present.  Nowadays, however, we have very different reading preferences.  Of course you've guessed that today's reader is my wonderful and totally gorgeous son, Alexander.  I sent him my readers' questions and this is how he responded:

Did you have a favourite book or author as a child?

Without a doubt Terry Pratchett was my favourite author , although I couldn’t possibly pick out a favourite book from his enormous library of works. 

Do you have a treasured book from your childhood?  If yes, what is it?

             It's probably my signed copy of Terry Pratchett’s Moving Pictures.  The whole experience of meeting the author and listening to him give a talk beforehand is one I still remember 15 years later.  I was so impressed by it that it formed the basis of a presentation I delivered to my English class at school the following week.

What is your happiest reading memory?

               Probably discovering and reading The Princess Bride.  It was a book I'd picked up as a random tip from a friend on the internet.  It was a fantastic story and made me genuinely laugh out loud so many times while I was reading it.  It’s probably also one of the books I read in the shortest time – the curse of a good book…

What was the first book you remember reading independently and really enjoying?

               Michael Crichton’s The Lost World.  I had recently seen the film of Jurassic Park in the cinema and I wanted to know what happened next!

How important is reading in your life now?

               It’s still quite important to me.  I mostly like to pick out unusual authors that I’ve not read before, but I wish I had more time to read.  Having a kindle to sneakily hide on your desk at work is certainly a blessing in those dull moments, though.

Is there a fictional world you would love to visit or live in?

                  Any fantasy world dominated by wizards and warlocks who govern by strength of mind and will alone.  If I'm honest, I always feel short-changed that the world doesn’t operate in such black and white terms in reality!  I am however really impressed by the world in the Witcher short stories, written by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, for the way it subverted some of the common fantasy stereotypes and relished a darker approach to the world of magic

Do you think the young of today read enough, and if not, how might you try to encourage them to read more?

               Absolutely not.  I  think the main problem is the lack of variety in what is being read (if anything) by young people today, but at the same time there’s no way to ‘make’ people read; they either have to want to broaden their horizons or not.  Perhaps if the heroes of modern life didn’t make such a big deal out of not being academic or studying (the likes of sports ‘stars’ and so on) it might be easier to convince young people to engage in more intellectual pursuits (although merely suggesting that reading is in the domain of the intellectual is depressing to me!)

Do you have a favourite book or author as an adult?  If so, who/why and have you read it more than once?

               Neal Stephenson is definitely one of my favourite authors as an adult, now that I’ve read everything in Terry Pratchett’s back catalogue.  I can’t say I’ve ever read any book twice, though – there’s always too many more novels to read!  What I love about Neal Stephenson is his elaborate, slower style of prose that reminds me of older writing.  I enjoy more literary, flowing prose that has more in common with poetry than the modern style of writing that's intent on imparting information as soon as possible.

What are you currently reading and in what format (hardback, paperback, e-book)?

               Book 2 of the Mongoliad, which is an historical fiction e-book written by 7 different authors.  The aim is to tell the story of the fall of the Mongol empire in Europe from a split perspective of various Mongol courtiers and European Christian knights.

Do you think e-books will ever totally replace printed books?

               To be honest, no.  There will always be people who want to collect books almost as works of art in themselves, and I think the likes of graphic novels, manuals and technical textbooks will often be more convenient in book format than on devices like kindles.  For the consumer market though, I think it’s likely that e-books will only continue to grow as a market… for as long as people still read, that is.

Do you think books transfer to films well?  What is your favourite/worst book-to-film transfer?

               Not really.  There are a few books that really work as films – The Princess Bride is one such example – but having someone else do the thinking for you really reduces the enjoyment I can get out of a film if I’ve already read the associated novel.

Do you think there is anything new and exciting in modern fiction, or has it "all been said before"?

There are definitely new works in fiction but they are becoming increasingly esoteric in their approach.  My favourite example is House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski which layers 3 different narrative levels together into one cohesive piece.  At its basic it’s easily dismissed as a haunted house/horror story, but the way that story is told is original and intensely clever.  On the other hand, I don’t think written fiction will push boundaries very easily as long as it is so mainstream.  Comicbooks and graphic novels are on the fringe of the medium (and largely dismissed by the mainstream) which allows them to be very ‘modern’ and cutting edge.  Since the vast majority of authors don’t enjoy the luxury of brand loyalty they tend to stray away from being overly quirky or unusual in case prospective readers are put off. 

            Thanks Alex for making time in your busy schedule to answer my questions about your reading likes and dislikes and providing such thought-provoking answers.

            If you're an avid reader and would like to feature in my Readers Writes spot, I'd love to hear from you.  Just drop me an email and I'll send you my list of questions - how many and which ones you choose to answer is entirely up to you!