Friday Meet & Greet - Celine (guest blogger)

Friday Meet & Greet is back! Yay :-) 

FM&G is a weekly event hosted by me, where each week I introduce one of my all-time favourite authors, an author whose book I'm currently reading or who I think might interest you, who I am currently or was working with and here comes the twist: fellow bloggers from all around the world as well.

My guest for this week is a fellow blogger - I met her during the Wonderfully Wicked Read-a-thon and she's been one of my bookish best friends ever since. Please welcome  

Celine from Nyx Book Reviews.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Hi everyone! My name is Celine, an engineering student from the Netherlands. My not-so-secret passion for books started when I was six and learned to read. I would sit on the library floor and read every children's book they had. My addiction only became worse when I discovered the book blogging world (: When I'm not reading, I'm playing computer games with my friends (I'm a terrible nerd, LOL), writing a story, watching TV or playing piano.

When did you start blogging?

I started blogging in april 2010. That's a long time ago, when I think about it! I had just discovered all those amazing book blogs out there, and I though, I want that too!


How did you come up with your blog's name?

Oh, that took me quite a while. When I first started blogging my blog was called "Celine's Random Updates". It was pretty awful. I wanted something more neutral. Something that let people now immediately that I wrote about books. I came up with naming my blog after a mythological creature, as I review a lot of paranormal books. When lurking on Wikipedia, I came across an obscure Greek goddess, Nyx. It was short, dark, mysterious.. Everything I wanted in a name! Nyx Book Reviews was born.

Why have you decided to start blogging?

I have always liked to talk about books. However, most of my real-life friends aren't that avid readers. I needed an outlet for all of my bookish ranting. A blog seemed a great way to do that, and meet some awesome people with the same interests while doing it!

Do you find blogging easy? What do you find most challenging about it?

Is blogging easy... I would have to say no. I find reviewing very easy. When I've read a book, I know exactly what I want to say about it. The hardest part of blogging for me is to post regularly. I'm a bit lazy. It's very stressful to have to come up with something interesting to say every day. That's why at one point, I took a few month's break from my blog. The stress to read all of my review copies, to have the reviews done on time, the blog tours, the memes.. It was just too much. I'm back now again, and taking it easy. I'm more of a casual blogger now, and I like it (:

What's your favourite genre?

Oh, I hate this question! I read to many genres to pick just one. I love young-adult books, epic fantasy, paranormal romance, urban fantasy, horror, steampunk, historicals, the occasional classic... Just about anything really. As long as it's a good story, I will probably enjoy it.

Who are your favourite authors / why?

Just like my favourite genre, it's hard to pick a favourite author. I'll just make a little list of authors I incredibly enjoyed reading: Terry Goodkind, Kelley Armstrong, Kim Harrison, Diana Peterfreund, Gail Carriger, Karen Marie Moning, Libba Bray, Patrick Rothfuss... And if Vicky has anything to say about it, I will probably be able to add Agatha Christie to my list very soon! (:

Name some of the bloggers whom you look up to and why?

A few bloggers that have always awed me are the "big" names like Parajunkee and The Story Siren. Another awesome blog is Book Lovers Inc., they have a lot of great interviews and all of their giveaways are international. I think I follow about a hundred blogs now myself, all of which I think are wonderful.

What advice would you give to people who are interested in starting a book blog?

It's your blog, you can put on it whatever you want. Don't feel like you have to post every day just because a lot of other bloggers do. I tried that; it didn't work for me and made me unhappy. Blog the way you want. And don't worry about followers; if you participate in some fun events, they will come. 

Just for fun

1. Tea or coffee? Tea! I'm a total addict. If I don't get my morning tea, I am terribly grumpy.
2. Night owl or early bird? Night owl all the way. I absolutely hate having to get up early. I love to read at night, cuddled up in my blankets (:
3. Summer or winter? Both actually. I love the warmth of summer, but winter has the snowstorms so you have an excuse to stay inside and read
4. Chocolate or crisps? I love chocolate, but after we find out I'm lactose-intolerant, I'm not allowed to eat milk chocolate any more. I will go with the crisps then
5. Halloween or Christmas? I'll have to go with Christmas, but Halloween is a very close second! I love to dress up as something creepy, but the coziness of Christmas is just incomparable
6. Cats or dogs? Cats. I love all animals (except for spiders, ugh) but cats are so stubborn and independent. They fit my personality a little bit better than dogs; I'm very stubborn myself too.

Celine's blogging space

► "This is a part of my shelves (I have WAY more books then this, but they are all still in my room at my parents' house)"

► "The couch I do most of my reading on (: "





Celine, thank you so much for joining us today! :) I love your bed and the couch, they seem very cozy! I agree with everything you just said: even though my friends like reading, they're not as obsessed as I am so having a blog is definitely the best way to meet fellow bookworms. I think I'll need to take your advice on being more relaxed. Finishing review copies on time and scheduling your posts can be quite overwhelming at times! Yay for fellow cat lover and tea addict night owls!

And I hope you'll be able to add Agatha Christie to your list soon, haha! *hint hint* ;) xxx

Would you like to take part in Friday Meet & Greet? Feel free to email me at booksbiscuitsandtea@hotmail.com