August's Reader Interview with Nikki W.

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

This month's reader is Nikki W., my Twitter pal and fellow lover of sweet, churro-y goodness. Welcome, Nikki! Thanks for being here! 

BUT OF COURSE. What are churro and slightly insane friends for?

You’ve been blogging for a couple of years now, so it’s safe to say you’ve done it long enough to know what does and doesn’t work for you. What would you say is the biggest lesson you’ve learned about book blogging/reviewing?

It's a bit hard and I'm going to sound like a hypocrite: but views and comments aren't necessarily all that dictates a good blog (but yes you'll still find me sad if I only get two comments on a post.)


Also? TWITTER IS THE BEST THING. For networking, for squealing with people, for ranting, for pretty much everything.

Most readers have a specific book or series that they can pinpoint as what pulled them into their love of reading YA. Do you have one? If so, what was it? Tell us one thing that you appreciated about it.

I actually credit three books. Goose Girl by Shannon Hale was the first actual YA book I read but...well, I didn't know it was YA. What even was YA? Then there was Stolen by Lucy Christopher which made me realize--oh wow, I can actually CRY because of these words. And then The Iron King by Julie Kagawa because I discovered that THERE WERE A TON OF YA AND YA WAS A THING. (But in order, I loved the fantastical world of Goose Girl, Stolen was just all around heartbreaking and my ten year old self reread that book as much as possible, and The Iron King...well, Ash.)

I completely agree with all of your reactions to Stolen: A Letter to My Captor (as it comes up on Goodreads). Ugh. That book messes you up.

Most recent book that made you laugh:

Finnikin of the Rock. I mean I had SO MANY FEELS, but there are some especially hilarious moments with Finn and Evanjalin that made me giggle if only because the two were adorable.

Most recent book that made you cry:

I sort of kind of made the stupid mistake to read Ruin and Rising, Strange and Ever After, Heir of Fire, and Deliverance (not in that order) back to back to back sooo...just choose one of those and I pretty much cried EVERYWHERE.

Tell us one character you'd never want to be stranded on a desert island with.

Note from Jessica: Nikki basically pointed me to a creepy book as the answer to this question. So, her answer? 

If someone were to borrow a book from you, what would be the first thing they'd notice?

So, uh, ha. Funny thing is I only pretty much lend out my hardbacks. Because it comes with a very stained (okay not that stained, nothing dirty can touch my precioussss) blue book cover that's far too big and baggy for my books. I bought it in sixth grade for my math textbook, if that gives you an idea.

Have you ever connected with a secondary character so much, you wanted to hang out with them in real life? If so, who was it, and what made them so special?

Pretty obvious answer. But Zuzana? Daughter of Smoke and Bone? Who doesn't want to hang out with her, SERIOUSLY. (But also, Puck from The Iron Fey because...well prankster. With magic. Yes.)

What merits a book making its way onto your personal favorites list?

I ACTUALLY MADE A POST ABOUT THIS...set to go up sometime in February. But if it has political intrigue, a road trip, or a vivid world, I'm there. Or anything historical with a lot of nobles because their lives make pretty much the perfect story. Also tearjerkers.

What is your favorite book cover of all time?

Holy crap. Oh, this is hard. My favorite cover changes all the time, so here are three: Outcast by Adrienne Kress, Starry Night by Elizabeth Giles, and Wrong Side of Right by Jenn Marie Thorne.

The popularity of social media has made interacting with authors easier than ever for readers/fans. In a recent Reader Interview, Matt said he preferred Twitter over other social media platforms. Do you agree? Why or why not? 

ABSOLUTELY (if you could tell from my above answer.) It's a surefire way to get a quick and easy answer from someone, almost every blogger and author is on there, and it's easy to keep up with everything. 90% of everything I know (national news, local news, cover reveals, author interviews, author signings, blog tour sign ups) pretty much comes from Twitter! And if I need advice, twitter is always always there.

And... that's it for part one of August's Reader Interview! See you back here tomorrow for part two. In the meantime, check out Nikki at her blog and on Twitter!