I met Joy through Goodreads. If I had to describe her blog, thoughts by j, in one word, it would be elegant. Swing by her place and you'll see what I mean.
1. Please, Introduce yourself.
I'm Joy, and I'm a 20 year old book blogger from Sydney, Australia! I'm currently studying media in university, and hopefully will be able to work for Bloomsbury one day. Fingers crossed!
2. Coffee or Tea or Water? Espresso, Drip, Instant, or French Press? Bag or Looseleaf? Bottled, Filtered, Tap or Rainwater?
I love tea and coffee. I usually go for Earl Grey in the mornings and never fail to drink at least one cup of tea a day. When I'm out and about, I usually grab coffee. There's a great coffee cart at my uni where the best caramel lattes I've ever tasted are sold. I am a sucker for their coffees. Fun fact: My first job was at a cafe, where I was able to drink as many coffees as I wanted. I'm not sure if it's because I've had too many coffees in my short life-time, but instead of waking me up, drinking coffee puts me to sleep!
3. Why do you blog about books?
I love reading, simple as that. I never did blog, but as a media student I needed a platform to fine-tune my writing. Starting a book blog sounded like the perfect way to incorporate these two hobbies!
4.What inspired the design of your site?
I wanted a more sophisticated feel to my website - something similar to how a digital magazine website would look like. I like really neat designs, as it gives off a hint of professionalism (ha!). I'm always a little weary of websites that are too cluttered, so I tried to keep that in mind when choosing my themes.
5. What is your favorite thing about book blogging?
Meeting all the wonderful people in the industry! I've definitely met some wonderful bloggers, authors and aspiring writers during my short time blogging. It's wonderful to share your thoughts, ideas and opinions with like-minded people all over the world!
6. How do you decide which books to read?
When I'm really busy, I usually pick books that are shorter in length. I hate reading sporadically, starting a book and not finishing it for ages. Unfortunately, this happens much too often. When I get book review requests, I usually bump these up to the front of my TBR list. I am always grateful to any authors that take the time out to contact me, so I'm always more than willingly to choose to read their books first.
7. How much time do you invest reading and blogging?
Unfortunately not enough ever since uni resumed. I just came out of a four months holiday, where I had plenty to time to read and blog every week. Now I am swamped with course work, a part-time job, extra-curriculars and sports on the weekends. I can barely find the time to sit down a enjoy some quality reading time. This is really disappointing, but I'm trying my best to rectify this.
8. Care to comment on the Alice Hoffman quote: Books may well be the only magic?
I wouldn't say the ONLY magic. Magic is whatever you make of it - there are magicians worldwide that can perform amazing feats and I definitely consider them magical. Books are in a completely different realm altogether though. What I believe Alice Hoffman meant is that books are the only form of magic that is able to transport you to a different place, metaphorically speaking. Reading is the only way that you can really shut out your own life and follow the wonderful adventures of the characters that you're reading about. It may not be the only magic, but it is definitely magical.
9. On a scale of 1-10, how eccentric are you? 10 being VERY…
Haha, I would love to say I am wild and eccentric, but I probably only sit at around a 2 on the scale. :P
10. Is there anything else we need to know about you?
I love rabbits and own one named Mia. (:
Thank you, Joy!