Books, Biscuits, and Tea

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 another book blogger! If you enjoyed my previous guest posts then you'll definitely enjoy this one too - and we have some great pictures too! So please welcome today's guest,

Monaliz from Mind Reading?

1. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Hi! My nick is Monaliz (real name Satu), and by day I'm an IT support person, by night a terrible book worm. I've read my whole life, and now, when I found the whole book blogging world, it got much worse. When I don't read, I sit on my computer (playing RPG, reading about books, watching TV series/movies, listening music..), make puzzles, knit, play the piano or hang out with my family (husband+daughter) or with my friends.

2. When did you start blogging and why have you decided to start a blog?

I'm a total n00b in the book blogging world. Earlier I blogged about my knits, but last summer (July 2011 to be correct) I had a lazy day at work and I finally started my own book blog :) Since I love books, I love to talk about them too. But I don't really have friends who shares my passion for books, which is kind of sad. But then I noticed that there's a whole other world and I wanted to be part of that, which is the reason for starting my book blog :)

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

It was just this stupid wordplay in my head, first I was thinking "would you mind reading..", then I started to think about mind reading (as in telepathy), and that was all I had in my head for few days. And I had to get it out, so that's the name now.

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

I would have to say no. I'm just so lazy! So it's hard to post regularly. I finally made myself the week schedule, so it's now a little easier. And the other problem is that when I really get into reading, I need to read nonstop and it's really hard to stop and write a review. And I always doubt if my reviews even make any sense for other people. So yeah, it's quite challenging at times :)

5. What's your favourite genre?

Nowadays I mostly read YA, urban fantasy and paranormal romance. Of course, there's sometimes some non-fiction, chick lit, horror, mystery and so on, but mostly the first ones.

6. Who are your favourite authors and why?

That's a hard one. Especially since I usually like series/books, not authors. But if I have to name a few, I would say J.K. Rowling, Stephenie Meyer, Becca Fitzpatrick, Rachel Hawkins, Agatha Christie, Rick Riordan, Jacqueline Wilson, Astrid Lindgren and so on.

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

There's about 50 book blogs I follow now, but I guess I could mention few of them: The first book blog I ever read was Ink and Paper, so Jo was the one who gave me the idea for my blog. After that I found Jodie and her blog Books for Company and she gave me the final push to start my own blog. After that I found Carmel's Rabid Reads and Karina's Nocturnal book reviews , and their blogs just somehow stand out. Of course, Vicky's blog is one of my favorites, it's amazing, how many readers she already has, and I just love the design! :)

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

Just go with it. I still don't really have any idea what I'm doing.

Just for fun:

1. If you could be given any gift, what would it be?
A real piano.

2. Which bad habits, if any, drive you crazy?

Someone eating mouth open, the sound is just awful.

3. Shower or bath?

Shower.

4. Cooking or takeaway food?

Cooking.

5. Do you prefer coffee or tea as your morning beverage of choice?

Coffee. Lots of!

6. If you had to change your name, what would you change it to?

That's a tough one. And this will be a lo-ong answer. My first name is "Satu", which translates into "fairy tale", so "Faye" would be a nice name, if I lived in a totally different country. My second name would stay the same, Kristina, and my surname is from England, so that would probably stay the same, too. Yeah, I have thought this a lot!

Monaliz's blogging space:

(click on the photos to see the full size image)

►"Here's our (my, husband's and daughter's) books and dvds. And my puzzles. Some of the books are missing from the picture, since they're located here and there, around the house.."

►"This is where I update my blog and usually spend huge part of my day (watching HIMYM in the picture)"

►"I read in the living room in the evenings, when I can turn the TV off and my husband is playing on the computer."

►"..and I read in the bedroom when the TV is on :)"

Thank you for joining us today! I have to say, I really enjoyed your answers! :) I know how awful it is not having friends who like reading just as much as you do, I'm in the same boat myself. That's why I started my blog too! And it's interesting because Jodie's blog was among the first I started to follow and seeing her blog for the first time made me want to start blogging too. Your room looks really cozy, I love these photos! Thanks for taking the time to introduce yourself to my readers! Happy reading! :) xxx