Be My Guest: Bree from 1 Girl 2 Many Books

I visit Bree's blog pretty much every day. She's a super fast reader (I'm jealous of how quickly she gets through books!) and always has new, thoughtful and in-depth reviews up. She's made me want to read so many books - including Good Oil and Holier Than Thou by Laura Buzo, Speechless by Hannah Harrington, Mary Bennet by Jennifer Paynter, Paper Chains by Nicola Moriarty and The Wild Girl by Kate Forsyth. She's also awesome to chat to on Twitter and Goodreads.

 

What are we eating and drinking at this party?
It’s stinking hot here (I never thought I’d say this, but I’d really like to wave summer goodbye and say hello to autumn) so definitely drinking something summery/fruity with LOTS of ice. So daiquiris or pina coladas maybe (virgin or alcoholic, we have both!). And there’s chocolate, because there always has to be chocolate! And Weis Bars! All of the Weis Bars.  

What part of the world do you hail from, and what's something not many people would know about that place? 
I’m from a town on the Mid North Coast in NSW… it has a secluded nudist beach that you may stumble upon because it’s part of a walking track that goes from one end of the town beaches to the other. Oh and Toni Collette likes to holiday there. 

Tell us one random fact about yourself.  
Every year I buy this amazing new diary with the aim of writing in it every day. And yeah, that lasts for about 2-3wks before it gets sporadic and then….nothing. I have a stack of unfilled diaries!   

What do you do when you're not reading/blogging?
 Look after my two boys (who are 4 and 1), take photographs, write and if I can get a spare hour or two to myself then I have to admit, I am a total sucker for shopping. One thing I am not doing is housework.   

What kind of books do you read, and what is your ultimate favourite? I read a fair bit of everything except for non-fiction. I do read some but 99.9% of my reads are fiction. Probably what I read the most is contemporary fiction and YA. My most favouritest book ever is To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Timeless – and even reading this for school couldn’t ruin it for me.   

Describe your blog in three words. 
How I feel.  

What is your favourite thing about your blog/blogging?  
My favourite thing about blogging is actually other bloggers! It’s a lovely added bonus of getting my thoughts down to find people who feel the same way about books.  

What post or review are you most proud of, and why? I think probably my review of Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta because it’s a miracle that it made sense after the way that book affected me.   

What are your top three favourite book blogs, and why?  
Really, Belle?! Just 3? I have close to 100 that I read every day including this one of course! I actually try to answer this question differently each time I’m asked because of the fact that I do read so many! I love Shannon over at Giraffe Days – her reviews are always very insightful and detailed and she always has me adding books to my TBR pile. The girls at The Broke & the Bookish for their fun lists and interaction and Lauren over at The Australian Bookshelf. We like a lot of the same types of books and it’s always nice to discuss them and get some different perspectives.   

Can you think of a time another blogger's review made you actually buy/borrow/read a book?
To be honest, there are a lot of reviews I’ve read that have made me purchase a book! It’s probably how I acquire at least a third, if not more of my books. But I think the one that comes to mind recently was a review of The Rosie Project, by Graeme Simsion. And I loved it.   

What were the first and the last books that made you... 

 -Laugh. First one that I can remember really laughing my ass off in was One For The Money by Janet Evanovich, many a year ago. The last one was The Rosie Project.
 
-Cry. First would be Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian, and the most recent is probably Paper Chains by Nicola Moriarty.  

-Throw it across the room in fury. I don’t like to throw books but reading In The Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje for school made me pretty mad. And the fury has lasted until this day because I cannot pick up another Ondaatje. The most recent one was Regan’s Pride by Diana Palmer. I get mad just thinking about it.
 
-Push it onto others. I’m a notorious book pusher. I push lots of books onto everyone but I probably started with the early Stephanie Plum novels because I loved them hardcore 12 or so years ago. Most recently - The Girl In The Hard Hat by Loretta Hill.

 -Stay up til 2am reading. I used to do this a lot when I was a lazy uni student. Now that I have little people who demand attention each morning, not so much. The last book that I remember doing this with was Good Oil by Laura Buzo.  

Thanks for being my awesome guest Bree!