May's Reader Interview with Matt, Part One

Welcome to Reader Interviews, a monthly feature here at Let Me Tell You a Story.

This month's reader is Matt from Texas. He's an avid reader, blogs at That Crazy Fanboy, and is an all-around great guy who loves YA!  

Matt meeting Veronica Roth

Welcome! Thanks for being our subject interviewee today! :) Tell us a little about yourself. 


Hi, I'm Matt! I am 16 years old and I've been reading since I learned how. I haven't even been blogging for a whole year yet, BUT I'm happy to be part of the community!

I know many of us are happy you are, too! 

What book/series got you into reading YA in the first place, and how did that happen?

I used to hate reading when I was younger. My mom would force me to read books, despite my obvious dislike for them all. But when she started reading Narnia out loud, I was hooked. I quickly finished that series on my own, then moved on to reading A Wrinkle In Time by Madeline L'engle and all its sequels. Then came The Lord of the Rings by the great J.R.R. Tolkien, which took me a month or two. But once I read Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan and The Hunger Games, I was hooked on books beyond return.


Being a "guy" who loves to read YA (let's be honest: this is not as common, sadly), has your enthusiasm over a book ever convinced another guy (who normally doesn't read YA) to try one out? 

Actually, I have influenced quite a few guys to read books they normally wouldn't pick up! To be honest, I'm a popular person in all my groups of friends, and younger kids and even teens look up to me. Because of that, I've been able to influence lots of boys to start reading, because it's super cool and totally awesome! 

Yay for book love! :)

The popularity of social media has made interacting with authors easier than ever for their readers/fans. What social platform do you prefer to use in that aspect the most?



Twitter, hands down, is the best way for a reader to communicate with authors and other readers! You can have conversations, be a part of Twitter parties, and ask your favorite authors pressing questions. It showed me that authors care about their audience in a personal way.



Speaking of authors, I'm just going to come right out and say it: You, Matt, have met a LOT of them. (I may or may not be jealous about this. Okay, okay... I am.) Share three of your favorite experiences with us so we can squee about it with you!

Oh wow, I've been incredibly blessed to have met so many amazing authors! My very first author was Stephenie Meyer. She didn't just sign my book and bid me farewell in the endless line. She looked into my eyes and talked to me. I told her how amazing all her books are and she told me that I was awesome for reading them, as a guy, despite how others hate Twilight. Then she gave me a big hug and we had our picture taken. (Then I kind of met Jake Abel and Max Irons a couple seconds later. Be jealous).

Matt with Marissa Meyer

Marissa Meyer was the most friendly and personal popular author I've met! She answered questions from the crowd, she told us about future plans, she took pictures with us, hugged us, talked to us, and signed as many books and other things that we brought. I've been a fan of hers since the week Cinder was released. I read it and LOVED IT, thinking it was going to be something I enjoyed by myself. Little did I know it would explode into something amazing!

Another great experience was meeting Veronica Roth! She's an amazing woman for conquering her fear of crowds and pictures to do the tour just for us! Although we only spoke for a moment, she was genuinely happy that we loved her books so much. (But she also have me a worried look because I was sort of on a Starbucks high and a social high and I was freaking out like little girl at a Hannah Montana concert). 

L to R: Nat Wolff, Ansel Elgort,
Shailene Woodley, and John Green

Two weeks ago, I had the unforgettable experience of meeting John Green, the one and only. (Along with Shailene Woodley , Ansel Elgort, and Nat Wolff.) John was by far the most inclusive author. He had amazing things to tell the crowd. He made us all feel like being a teenager was the best job ever. Because we're a powerful and passionate bunch! Hearing him speak so much encouragement and be involved in the humongous gathering of nerdfighters was quite possibly the best thing ever (since Jesus and bacon, that is.)


And, the last question for today: Are there any books not yet released that you're looking forward to reading this year?


There are always books I'm excited to read! The closest one right now is City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare! SO WORRIED ABOUT MY FAVS. Then The Murder Complex by Lindsay Cummings is released June 10th! The Revenge of Seven by Pittacus Lore (Lorien Legacies book #5) comes out this October, I think. That series gets better and better every book! But I am most worried about The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan. I SWEAR TO ZEUS, IF UNCLE RICK KILLS OFF MY BABIES I MAY HAVE TO TAKE DRASTIC MEASURES.


Read part two to find out Matt's favorite  book cover of all time, favorite reading snack (which is, sadly, not chocolate), and more, HERE. 


About Matt: Book Blogger, Reader, Friend, Aspiring Author! Jesus, Books, Sports, Friends, Food, Blogs, Awesome!
Find Matt on Instagram: crazy_cato | Twitter: MattCrazy_