BBAW Interview - Lost in Books



I had the pleasure of interviewing Rebecca from Lost in Books this week. She has an awesome blog, just started blogging this year and already has 183 followers. She did something quite unique this past year and put together a list of bloggers who share their names with other book bloggers. Plus, she also put together a list of those bloggers who have unique names. Very impressive.

Rebecca loves reading about different cultures and every Saturday hosts "Take Me Away Saturday" in which she features a new country each week. Some of the countries
"Take Me Away Saturday"


visited so far have been Turkey, Chile, Japan, Sioux Nation and this week is concentrating on the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. She highlights several books to read over the course of the week. And coming up in the next three weeks are the Asian country of Vietnam on September 19th, Peru on September 26th and New Zealand on October 3rd.

She also has a weekly feature called 20 Questions in which we get know other bloggers and Rebecca asks a wide variety of questions ranging from reading habits to reading accessories.



I had a lot of fun reading her blog and browsing the archives. You can really find out a lot about a person. So let's here from the beautiful Ms. Rebecca.

Tell me a bit about yourself, Rebecca. What is the one thing no one knows about you that you'd like to share.

First, the usual things- I am 29 and a pre-kindergarten teacher. Some people may not know that I have a chronic illness, fibromyalgia, which makes life challenging, but not depressing. One thing a lot of people may not realize is that while I love books set in other cultures, I am also big on humanitarian issues. If I did not have fibromyalgia, I would be working with children in third-world countries and countries recovering from war to help them rebuild their lives.

The one question everyone would like to know is what made you decide to start blogging and how long have you been blogging? Is there a particular person who influenced you or the book blogging community in general.

I have been blogging since January 2009. I stumbled upon the site BlogHer and found Sassymonkey there. She was blogging about books and book challenges and since I love books and reading, I clicked through. I fell in love with what I saw! Bloggers sharing their love of books and challenging themselves to read outside of their comfort zones and the blogs were so much fun to read! I decided to take part, too. I had recently had to quit my job to take care of my father and I needed something to distract me from my caretaking duties once in a while. Blogging did that for me. It also helped me after he died. I could not imagine not being a book blogger now. I love it and strive to be better all of the time. I really thank Sassymonkey for bringing me in!

What is your earliest reading memory?

I have a vivid memory of when I was a preschooler and my father sat me in his lap and we would read the newspaper together. We would find letters in my name and look at the pictures and he would read the comics to me.

I've noticed you are a big fan of James Patterson. What attracted you to his writing and his books?

Several things, actually. First, I love the fast pace of the books. Something is happening all of the time. Right away you are drawn into the adventure. There is no slow, boring set up, he sets it up in a way that you don't even know it's happening half the time. Second, I love that he has short chapters. It makes me feel like I am really making progress in the book, which is important to a reader with ADD, like me. It also encourages me to read one more chapter sometimes. I can read 5 more pages but when I look and the chapter is 18 pages long or 25 pages long, I put down the book knowing I won't make it that far. Third, he has a good formula and well-thought out characters and it just works for me. I learn things reading his novels- about genetic mutations, about detectives working with cops on the beat, about serial killers' minds. I love it.

What other genres do you like to read?

I am a pretty eclectic reader, and since becoming a book blogger I have widened my scope even more. Now I have Tasha from Heidenkind getting me to read romance novels and Amy from My Friend Amy got me interested in YA novels. Nymeth interests me in fantasy books and every blog I read gives me a book that I add to my ever-expanding TBR list. The only genre I do not really read and I do not have interest in is certain Christian Fiction and vampire/zombie books. I know, I know, it is blasphemous to say that to some, but I just cannot get interested in it!

I've noticed the book that you've read the most and seems to have stuck with you is the Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. How many times have you read it? I've never read the book myself, so what is it about the book that resonates with you?

I have read it twice, maybe three times. I love Kingsolver's writing style but I love the characters she has created- a family with very distinct personalities. I also love that it takes an ordinary American family and drops them into the middle of the Congo. The culture shock, the children blending and mixing in with the people there, the father's mission work, the romance of a daughter with a boy from the village, the heartbreak of the youngest daughter, the parents slowly losing their minds. The best part is all of the questions that the book will make you ask about yourself. I just love it.

Take Me Away Saturday is such a wonderful idea and I hope to get involved in it soon. What gave you the idea? Do you like to travel and have you traveled to any of the other countries?

I love other cultures and I love books that teach me about other cultures, whether it is nonfiction or fiction. I wanted to share this love with my readers. I would love to travel, but have not been anywhere yet, which probably accounts for some of my fascination, I don't know. I will be making a trip to India and London in two weeks which will be my first visit to another country! I am so excited!

I noticed in your "about me" that you mention being a volunteer and a humanitarian, but it's something you don't talk about very much. So I just have to ask. What kind of things do you volunteer for. Also, what cause is the closest to your heart.

I have not been able to volunteer much this year, unfortunately. Working with children is where my heart is. So are people who have been through traumatic events like war, genocide, rape, torture, and need help to get their self-esteem back. I would love to work with women and children in countries like Ecuador, Uganda, or Sierra Leone.

As an aspiring writer myself, I'm interested in what you are working on now. What types of things do you write: Poetry or novels? Are you working on a novel and what's it about?

To be honest, I have had a lot of trouble writing this year. After the death of my father the most writing I could get done was to just type in my blog. My creativity had drained out of me because of all of the stress and grief. However, I have recently begun to write a little again. I am trying to have it as a regular feature (though it is not now) but I have Scribbles of a Wannabe Writer and I have started a story there. I would like to continue to add more to it.

We seem to have something in common. We will both be having milestone birthday's in November. I'll be turning 50 on the 21st and you'll be turning 30. What date is your birthday? And what do you plan to do for your birthday.

Yay for November babies! My birthday is on the 15th of November. I was told by my friends that I must have a big party for turning 30. So, I guess I will plan something, lol.

What do you think about turning 30?

I think turning 30 is a little bit unsettling. I thought I would have accomplished a lot more by now. I am leaving my twenties behind and this is serious business now. I don't want to have my 40th birthday come and be thinking the same thing- what have I done with the last 10 years?

What do you have planned for your blog for the big event?

For a celebration on my blog I am planning BIG giveaways. I have been saving up books for a while and I have a couple of other secret ideas in store too. So make sure you come by because it will be fabulous!


Thank you, Rebecca. It has been a pleasure! Click over to Lost in Books to see my interview.

11 comments:

  1. What a great interview! The Poisonwood Bible is one of my favorite books too and for much the same reasons. I'm sorry to hear about your difficult year but I do hope that you can get back to writing soon.

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  2. I do not recall how I discovered Rebecca's blog I have read all of her posts since the day I found it.
    To me this is the most sincere compliment one book blogger can pay to another-thanks for the interview -I enjoyed it.

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  3. Great questions, Robin! And it was great to know more about Rebecca. I too like her Take Me Away Saturday feature.

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  4. Grast interview! I enjoyed getting to know Rebecca.

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  5. Gotta love Rebecca! I'm so thrilled that she mentioned THE POISONWOOD BIBLE - it is one of the best books out there. And I have a November birthday too - the 4th. :)

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  6. Excellent interview! This is my first time to visit your blog and it's very impressive. I will be checking out Rebecca's interview with you next.

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  7. Love this interview!! Rebecca is quite awesome and she puts so much of herself into her blog!!

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  8. I learned so much about Rebecca in this review, Robin. You asked such good questions. I have been a follower of Rebecca's blog for a few months and thoroughly enjoy her. I'm happy to meet you through her interview of you.

    I'm closer to 60 and chuckled at Rebecca's response to turning 30 - "this is serious business now." I remember that feeling when turning 30. I remember the devasting feeling of turning 50 and realizing that over half my life was over.

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  9. Thank you everyone for the compliments! I just wrote everyone a separate comment reply and then Blogger lost it. Boo!

    I enjoy being a book blogger and I am so happy to be part of this community. Thanks for the great interview swap, Robin! I enjoyed getting to know you.

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  10. Great interview! Have you decided which romance novel you're going to read yet, Rebecca? :)

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