Book Blogger Q&A: The Parchment Girl

The 41st post in our Book Blogger Q&A series features Kate from The Parchment Girl.

Here are her responses:

How long have you been a blogger?

I’ve been blogging for two years and I started my book blog, The Parchment Girl, almost a year ago.

Approximately, how many books do you read every year?

One hundred is my goal, but I usually surpass that by a few books.

What were your favourite books as a child?

I read and reread every Nancy Drew mystery I could get my hands on when I was a kid. I also recall getting lost in Ron Roy’s A to Z Mysteries, the Magic Treehouse series, and The Three Investigators series. Ella Enchanted and Dave at Night by Gail Carson Levine, The Thief Lord and Inkheart by Cornelia Funke, The Island Keeper by Harry Mazer, Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh, and The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin were all favorites (and still are). I also have fond memories of reading The Phantom Tollbooth, Treasure Island, and Alice in Wonderland in elementary school.

What are you reading at the moment?

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

If you had to pick one, what’s the best book you’ve read in the last twelve months?

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. It was warm, witty, and challenging. Lewis was brilliant.

Who are your three favourite authors?

It’s impossible for me to pick out three authors and name them as my all-time favorites, but I will name three who are high up on my (rather long) favorites list: Jan Karon, Joni Eareckson Tada, and Tim Keller.

Which book has had the greatest impact on your life?

The Bible. It’s the most powerful, hopeful message ever written.

Which books are you most eagerly anticipating?

Surprised by Oxford by Carolyn Weber, coming out in August from Thomas Nelson. Dancing on Glass by Pamela Binnings Ewen, coming out in August from B&H, Grace for the Good Girl by Emily Freeman, coming out in September from Revell, and Dry as Rain by Gina Holmes, coming out in September from Tyndale.

Which book character is most like you?

An excellent question to which I have no answer. I have a very hard time making comparisons between myself and book characters and I also read comparatively little fiction, so I can’t really answer that. I will tell you that certain people in my family have called me “Anne” (as in Anne of Green Gables), but I personally think this is an erroneous characterization.

If you had to invite some book characters round for dinner, who would you choose and why?

I would invite Janessa, from Brandilyn Collins’ book Over the Edge. We suffer from the same disease, and I would love to chat with this character about her experiences. I would also like to trade talk with the entire gang from Jan Karon’s Mitford series, especially Father Tim and Cynthia. PJ from The PJ Sugar Series is also a favorite character I would love to meet in person.

What advice would you give to new bloggers?

Read other blogs and study how successful bloggers in your niche do things. Before I launched The Parchment Girl, I spent six months observing book bloggers like The Story Siren (one of the most successful book bloggers out there) and others to find out where they got their review books, what types of posts they wrote, how often they posted, how they organized and designed their blogs, etc. That helped me a lot when I was ready to start my own book blog.

Which other book blogs do you recommend?

There are so many fantastic book blogs out there, but I’ll just highlight a few that I read at least weekly.

My Friend Amy - Amy is a real thought leader in the book blogging community. She writes relevant, though-provoking posts and is the founder of Book Blogger Appreciation Week (bookbloggerappreciationweek.com) and the INSPY Awards (inspys.com) for faith-driven literature.

Books, Movies, and Chinese Food - Deborah is superhuman. Last year she read over 600 books and she also writes great reviews.

Carpe Libris - Judy blogs less frequently, but puts a lot of thought into each of her reviews.

Edgy Inspirational Romance - I don’t read much romance, but I do read Joy’s blog because she writes so well and has such a fun personality. It’s also great for keeping up with the latest trends in Christian romance.

Unputdownables - Wallace’s blog is a new discovery for me and I’m hooked. She writes so well and puts a ton of effort into her blog.

Other book blogs I love are The Overweight Bookshelf, Word Lily, Relz Reviewz, Blogful of Books, deCOMPOSE, Luxury Reading, The Perpetual Page-Turner, Reading to Know, Sophitocated Dorkiness, and a blog I write for–The Vessel Project.

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Many thanks to Kate for taking the time to contribute to the Book Blogger Q&A series. If you haven’t already done so, check out her great blog and follow her on Twitter.