How fun is this Blog Friends Forever Hop!? I’m so excited to be a part of it! Thanks so much to Erin, Jaime, Kassiah, and Meg for hosting! Visit our lovely hosts at Swoony Boys Pocast and Fiction Fare. Today I’m interviewing Jess from Literary, etc.! I was her secret sister last round, and we have become the best of friends. I thought it would be fun to feature her for my stop!

1. Tell us a little about your blog!
Back in 2012, I met a few readers who were all into a book series (and no it wasn’t Fifty Shades. LOL) and it was a fun talking to them about books. A few of us decided to create a book blog and I was a blogger there for about 4 months. I left due to differences in direction and I really liked blogging so I decided to go on my own.
As for the name Literary, etc.? Oh dear…I struggled with a name after I left the previous blog (the name they are using, I came up with it). I went through a series of names before settling on Literary, etc. because I wanted the blog to be a little about everything associated with books. Whether it is a recipe appearing in a book or a painting or even an adaptation of a book, I wanted a place that went a little further into a book.
December 19th will mark 3 years blogging at Lit, etc. This past year I haven’t blogged as much as I would have liked to, but every blogger goes through their ups and downs. I’m starting to move away from ARCs and read what I want to. I have a large TBR pile that I’d really like to tackle.
2. What is your proudest blogging moment?
Proudest blogging moment? Finding myself quoted in a book five months after I’d been blogging on my own. I picked up a copy of Jessica Lemmon’s Hard to Handle (the second in her Love in the Balance series) and there I was quoted. In fact, if you pick up a few of Lemmon’s books, that quote is still there for Tempting the Billionaire along with the old wordpress.com url!
3. What’s your favorite book EVER? Why?
My fall back response is Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind because I adore the film and am collector of all things GWTW. Plus the film is special to me because I first saw it with my grandma (my father’s mother) and she loved the film! She often said it was her favorite film and it’s something we shared. She passed away last December and GWTW will be forever tied to her.
In reality, I love Gaston Leroux’s Phantom of the Opera (so different from the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical that most of us know) and it’s a pity that more people haven’t read the book. It’s a detective type novel where Leroux was inspired by real life events and you’re on this journey to find out who Erik really is. There’s a torture chamber, unrequited love, and redemption.
Kid me would say Scott O’Dell’s Island of the Blue Dolphins! I adored that book! I checked it out of the library every chance I could and would rent the movie often. Sadly, I don’t have a copy of the book. It’s about a young girl stranded on an island off the coast of California where her brother dies. She has to learn how to hunt and basically support herself. She tamed a dog that she names Rontu.
4. Take this quiz: https://www.bookbrowse.com/quiz/. What’s your reading personality? Do you agree with the result?
I got: The Serial Reader
You may read a lot or a little, but either way you’re a publisher’s dream, because once you discover a favorite writer you stick with him/her through thick and thin and eagerly await the next in the series; but even you need to discover some new blood from time to time!
Oooh, that’s pretty spot on! I do have my favorites and have been known to go back to read an author’s entire backlist once I discover them. Lately, I find myself not clamoring to buy book x in series y as fast as I used to. I now tend to wait and sometimes I worry if I’m losing interest.
5. What is your ideal reading situation?
Ideal reading situation is a large comfy chair with a blanket next to window where it’s probably raining, snowing, or just plain cold. A large cup of hot chocolate or tea is on the table next to me where I get lost in the world I’m reading. Hopefully I’m being transported to Regency / Victorian England where I can help solve a mystery or am falling in love with a mysterious Duke! Failing all that, my bed is pretty ideal for reading where I just turn off the lights and read in the dark.
6. Say you won an all-expense paid night out with your favorite author. Who would it be, and what would you two do?
All expense paid night out with my fave author? Oh dear…I’m going to say Charles Finch. We’d go to England and would traipse around London where we could walk in the footsteps of his gentleman detective, Charles Lenox. Afterwards we could sit in a pub and have a few pints talking about anything while I enjoy a good steak and ale pie with a side of mashed potatoes and a serving of peas (can you tell I’m what I’m craving? LOL).
7. What are some of your hobbies outside of reading?
Lately, I’ve found a passion for cooking. I’ve always enjoyed it, but I find myself recording shows off the Food Network. I love Ree Drummond (aka the Pioneer Woman) and sometimes I disagree with the way she makes something! For example, she did a recipe for red enchiladas and used powdered red chile (nothing wrong with that), but then included a can of tomato sauce. I was shouting “no” at the television. Red chile pods are so easy to use and I wished she had used that. I only use a can of tomato sauce when the chile sauce is extremely hot to tone down the heat. Her recipe wasn’t using it for that and she also used bell peppers (ewww, no). Or this one time she made green chile enchiladas (what’s with me and enchiladas?), and used a can of enchilada sauce. Again, it’s easy to find canned green chile and using a can of cream of mushroom would have produced a much tastier enchilada. Just simply use a blender and blend the green chile and cream of mushroom to make the sauce.
I also collect postcards. I love to receive them and go to antique shops to see if they have any used postcards. I have someone’s entire trip to Europe in 1914 (before World War 1), written on the back of postcards. Every place they went to, they’d write what they saw. I have no idea who they are, but it’s pretty neat to see the world at that time through their eyes.
8. What would you say is your best characteristic/personality trait?
I think my best characteristic is smile and friendliness. At work, the Veterans always mention my smile and how they love it. Historical romance author, Celeste Bradley once told me my smile was like an angel’s (and I have no idea what she means! I mean, have you seen the smiles on some of those creepy angel statues?).
9. What’s your favorite dessert? Snack food? Drink?
Favorite dessert is cheesecake or key lime pie and I admit, it’s because of the graham cracker crust! Snack food depends on what I’m doing. If I’m taking classes, I love sunflower seeds! In general it’s popcorn (popcorn with slices of cheddar has been my dinner more often than I care to count). As for drink-I can’t say no to a good scotch (I wrote my entire master’s thesis drinking it! LOL). In general, I love a good iced tea.
10. I know you enjoy traveling. What’s been your favorite destination, and where do you hope to go in the future?
My favorite place to date was the Isle of Skye in Scotland! Portree is the capital and it was so quaint! I didn’t spend much time there, but did check out a bakery and I still dream of the baked goods! Glencoe in the Highlands was hauntingly beautiful. In 1692 Clan MacDonald was massacred by members of Clan Campbell on behalf of William III because the MacDonald’s didn’t pledge their support to William. I still can’t find the words to describe what it felt like being in the glen where this horrible event took place.
As for future travel, I’m actually in the midst of planning a trip to Europe with one of my besties! We keep adding where we’d like to go and we need to cut back because I doubt work will let me take off for that long of a time period! One can dream right? I do hope to be back in Scotland next Christmas / New Year’s and say hello to my dear Glasgow (I miss her so much!). In late February, I’ll be in Denver and maybe Dallas in April. I know BEA is in Chicago this year, not sure if I can make that happen, but we’ll see!
Note from Jana: Jess, I really want to go on your Europe trip! I miss it!
In the spirit of blog love, I’ve got some giveaways for you! The first one is a hop wide giveaway, which will have three winners. The second one is hosted by me, and it’s for a book off your wish list! I did this once before, and it was so much fun!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Visit the other blogs who are posting with me today!
Mostly YA Lit
Bookstacksamber
Books in My Suitcase