Book Tag: Meet the Book Blogger

I was looking for book tags and such to help with content on here, and I came across this fantastic book tag about meeting the book blogger! I thought this would be a great chance to say a bit more about me, so here we go!

Rules:

Thank the blogger who tagged you
Mention the creator Lauren @ Lala’s Book Reviews
Tag as many (or as few) people as you’d like
Have fun and get to know one another!

Introduction

Introduce yourself!

For those of you who don’t know, I’m Elle – a reader, reviewer, writer and editor. I review books both for my own blog here, and I co-run Divination Hollow Reviews, which is dedicated to horror and dark fiction. I also do freelance editing.

Something most everyone wants to know…do you have any pets?

Yes! And she is the absolute best. I adore this cat with my whole heart, even though I’ve kind of always been a dog person! She’s about 15 now – my BF found her as a kitten, and although I’ve known 2pac since we first met almost 5 years ago, we only moved in together in November, so she hasn’t been ‘mine’ until very recently. She is lovely – all she wants is to sleep, eat, and have attention!

What is your favourite thing to drink?

I have to admit, I do enjoy Jack Daniels and Coke. But most of the time, it’s got to be a latte (done properly, with syrup!) or Beanies flavored coffee.

What is your favourite season?

Autumn! (Fall if you’re in the US) There’s Halloween, and it’s not too hot nor too cold, and my birthday is November 12th which is kind of that sweet spot between Autumn and Winter. Oh! And Bonfire Night. I love it.

Do you have any special talents?

Probably my editing! It’s one of those things I didn’t think I was exactly ‘great’ at until I did some beta reading work, and the main feedback I had was “you’re not beta reading, you’re editing.” Friends encouraged me to switch to editing, and I’ve always had excellent feedback on it!

Blogging

When and why did you start your blog?

So, a long time ago, before I had this blog, I actually did have another blog, I think it might have been shortly before I went to university or perhaps just after? I did it because I wanted somewhere to talk about books, and I ended up getting arcs (even though I didn’t know what they were called then!) from writers I had connected with on FictionPress. Without a digital books device however, I was reading stuff on my laptop, and struggled with it. I stopped blogging due to time constraints, but back in 2016 I found myself wanting a space to once more talk about books, and possibly other things. I posted a little, but struggled with maintaining it. However, in the last couple of years I’ve kept with it more, and I absolutely love doing it.

What is something that you wish you knew about blogging when you first started?

How friendly the overall blogging community is, and how willing they are to help others! I feel like I’ve definitely found my footing more on social media now, and I’m more aware of the community around me. It’s great, and full of lovely people!

What has been the hardest part about blogging?

Trying to get posts out frequently, and coming up with content! I really like book tags, but I’m nervous sometimes to use them if I haven’t been ‘tagged’ as such. I really enjoy things like my Dreaded TBR posts (another book tag!), but sometimes if I’m caught up with reviews I do spent a while trying to think of what my next post should be. Sometimes, too, I miss days when I’d normally post simply because of time constraints. But I have learned not to put too much pressure on myself, and to just focus on enjoying what I do here rather than worrying about stats and numbers.

What has been the most rewarding part of blogging?

Being able to talk about books and other people reacting! Again, the community and finding new friends is a major plus side of blogging, and every ‘like’ or comment I get on any post makes me smile.

Do you write your posts ahead of time or write them the day of posting?

Ahead of time! I try to not do posts last minute, though sometimes I occasionally need to for blog tours! But mostly there’s at least a day or so between me scheduling the post and going live, if not longer!

Reading

Who are your top 5 favourite authors?

Ooo, that’s difficult! There are so many, I could probably break them down by genre! Anyway, I’ll do my best to list the 5 I’ll instantly buy any new release from.

S. H. Cooper
N. K. Jemisin
Angie Thomas
Laurel Hightower
Elizabeth Lim

What genre do you read the most?

Horror. Largely due to being involved with Divination Hollow and receiving arcs for the website. Second to that is Fantasy, YA and Adult. I just love losing myself in a good Fantasy book.

What genre surprised you by how much you love it?

I guess I’ve been reading more Romance books recently, and absolutely love YA Romance way more than I thought I would! The same with YA Contemporary in general, too. But I think in the last few months, when I have picked up a Romance or similar book, I’ve really relished the warm, fuzzy feeling that comes with it, alongside those heartbreaking moments that have you really tearing up.

Which popular book didn’t live up to the hype for you?

I can’t think of ones that I saw a lot of hype for that I was disappointed by, so I must be getting my ‘hype’ from the right places, but one book I was super excited for yet ultimately disappointed by was The Testaments. It just didn’t match up to what I expected, and I felt it was almost treading the same ground we’d seen in dystopian YA years ago.

Who are some popular authors you haven’t read?

Leigh Bardugo is the first who springs to mind. In Horror specifically, I am yet to read some of the older, popular writers – Ramsey Campbell and Clive Barker, for example. There are definitely many more.

What upcoming release are you excited to read?

I think it might be out in the US, but I pre-ordered ‘Darling’ by K. Ancrum and I am so super excited for that one!

Do you listen to music while reading?

I always used to, but don’t anymore. Probably because the main time I had music on while reading was during my commute to work, but in recent years I haven’t really had a commute – either a walk to work or a quick bus ride!

Where else can we find you online?

Divination Hollow, for starters, which I co-run. And I’m on Twitter and Instagram, @elleturpitt.