November's Reader Interview with Madi (@NeverTrustDucky), part one

November's reader is Madisyn, whom I actually met on Instagram (shout-out to social media!) Thanks so much for being here, Madi! 

Hey there! I’m so happy to be here! J Thanks for inviting me!

How long have you been avidly reading YA? Was there a particular book that got you into reading YA in the first place?

Well, I’ve been into reading for a long time. I loved any book by Wendy Mass, and she had two YA books, Leap Day and Heaven Looks a lot like the Mall. Those were my first two YA books I read, and ever since then I’ve been avidly reading!

You recently went to Yallfest. How many books did you end up getting signed, and what was your most memorable experience?

I believe I came home with 36 signed books. Not completely sure though! It was such of an amazing experience! I went there and was able to meet many of my Instagram followers and friends. I met a ton of awesome people while waiting in lines, and I met a ton of authors. Everyone was so down to earth and awesome, and I’m really hoping to go back next year! Will you be attending Yallwest in Santa Monica? J

Wow, 36??? That's so great! And finally, a west coast event! I would love to go! We'll see! 


Do you have a favorite book quote?

I’m not sure if you’re talking about a quote about books or a quote from a book, but one of my favorite quotes is from Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, “Songs are as sad as the listener.” But then my favorite book quote is from A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly, “I listened as the words became sentences and the sentences became pages and the pages became feelings and voices and places and people.” 

I LOVE A Northern Light! Such a great book!

Have you ever heard a song on the radio/TV and immediately thought of a scene from a book? If so, what was it, and what book did it make you think of?

Oh, yes! All the time! I just thought of one yesterday, but I can’t remember what it was. But anytime I hear Warrior by Beth Crowley, it makes me think of books. It reminds me of any weak (at the time) female protagonist training to like save the world. Often times I think of Tris, but it all depends on my mood and what book I’m currently reading.

Favorite book boyfriend (hard to narrow it down to just one, I know):

This is a very mean, hard question. I hope you know that! I used to keep a list in middle school of all my book boyfriends, but I lost it and acquired many more. *thinks for 20 minutes* This is like such a hard question though because even though I can love a guy, he might be different after the books or if he was in the real world! UGH! Ummm…I probably will pick Jase Garrett from My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick.

Good choice! (Love his big family, too!)

How about your OTP:

OTPS! Well, I honestly have two: Maxerica (Maxon and America from The Selection) for times when people actually want to fangirl with me and understand. But my ultimate OTP is Beth and Derek from Sing Me to Sleep, but no one ever knows who they are and understands and things get complicated.

Okay now I have to add SMtS to my TBR! 

Favorite YA title (as in, the wording of the title itself):

I love the Mara Dyer books. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, The Evolution of Mara Dyer, and The Retribution of Mara Dyer. They’re so obviously in the same series, and they show the actions of the book so well without actually expressing what is happening.

What character would you never want to be stranded with on a deserted island?

I would have to say Professor Umbridge. No one can stand her. She’s crazy and controlling, and I just-no.

If you could be friends with one secondary character in real life, who would you choose, and why?

Ohmigod, Kenji! Most definitely Kenji!  He could totally save my life and help me out. He’s smart. He’s strong. He can be invisible, but he’s extremely outgoing and can make any situation light-hearted and yeah.

(For those of you who don't know, Kenji is from the Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi.)

What merits a book making its way to your favorites list?

Honestly it’s not hard to get 5 stars from me. If a book makes me feel a lot of emotion and I get emotionally attached, I will give it 5 stars. But just because I give a book 5 stars, doesn’t mean it’s my favorite. It has to really strongly affect me, and if I feel like I would spend time rereading it, it would be a favorite because I don’t have time to reread books.

If someone borrowed a book from you, what would be the first thing they’d notice?

This is a pretty awesome question. Unless it is an almost brand new book, someone would probably notice that I dog-ear my book pages. The only time I don’t is when I get a brand new book, but then 90% of the time I leave my bookmarks in there.

Name the most recent book that made you laugh:

Either Ignite Me or The Retribution of Mara Dyer. I absolutely love Kenji who amuses me very much, but there were so many amusing Ebola jokes in Retribution. Does that make me sound bad? They weren’t like bad jokes, but just simple little things that amused me. 

Come back tomorrow for November's reader interview with Madisyn, part two! :) In the meantime, feel free to connect with Madi, here: Blog | Tumblr | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Figment | Pinterest 

August's Reader Interview, Part Two

Welcome to part two of this month's Reader Interview! Nikki W. from Fiction Freak is August's reader. If you missed yesterday's post, go here.

Welcome back, Nikki! :)

You’ve been a plethora of author signings. (I may or may not be jealous about this.) Which event was your favorite, and what made it so memorable?

Soooo...Teen Author Carnival was my first ever, but while I met a lot of my favorite authors there, it wasn't my favorite. Because I had NO IDEA WHAT THE HECK AN AUTHOR SIGNING WAS AND DID NOT BRING ANY BOOKS AND BARELY GRABBED SWAG BECAUSE I WAS JUST LIKE WHAT IS FREE STUFF.

Ahem. Sorry a bit angry at my little eleven year old self (40 authors. 40.)

But Teen Book Con definitely! It's annual and there are always at least 10 authors I'm dying to meet who are there. The first time I went, about 3 authors recognized me (whether because I tweeted them to the point of annoyance in excitement or because they were my friend isn't important, is it?) and I remember feeling absolutely SQUEALFUL.

Name an author who might not be as widely known, but whose work you truly enjoy.

Okay, so truth be told I've really only read about one book from the following authors but I'll pretty much read anything from them: Jennifer McGowan, Leila Sales, and Leslye Walton.

Is there a book you would love to see adapted into a movie that is not yet currently in the works? What element would you look forward to seeing most, and why?  

Throne of Glass! The Bone Season! How to Lead a Life of Crime! (If it's not a gorgeously vivid world...that they better get right, then a school for criminals sounds pretty promising, no?)

Name a book you didn’t think you would like, but ended up being pleasantly surprised by.

Keeper of the Lost Cities! It's a Middle Grade by Shannon Messenger and I'm not a huge MG fan, but HOLY CRAP I loved it. (Also Finnickin of the Rock because all the hype surrounding it and my not-so-much-love for Jellicoe Road.)

I just have to break in here and agree with Finnikin of the Rock because, FINNIKIN. (And even though I loved Jellicoe Road, I get why it wasn't for you. Now back to Finnikin... Ahem. Just kidding.)

If I recall, you used to save your favorite book quotes and hang them up (or was this someone else?). Do you have a favorite quote you would like to share? (If so, please tell us what book it is from and state the author.)

THAT WAS INDEED ME. (But I have since switched rooms so I should really start a quote wall again. Soon.)

But anyways. There are a ton of books that have gorgeous quotes. The Fault in Our Stars, The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender, The Storyteller, Impossible Knife of Memory. (ANYTHING BY LAUREN OLIVER OR TAHEREH MAFI .) But here's one (credited to William Shakespeare, but it turns out, not ): "When I saw you, I fell in love, and you smiled because you knew."

Worst ever cliffhanger (can be a series you have or have not yet finished):

Crown of Midnight, Heir of Fire (SARAH J MAAS IS KILLER), Stolen (Okay so technically this is a standalone BUT I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED.) and Mark of Athena. (We've verified that Rick Riordan is indeed evil.)

Last question: Are there any books not yet released that you’re looking forward to this year?

Hmm. You don't want me to answer this question, do you? Because I have a list of 88 2015 books I need to buy. 

Thanks for being here, Nikki! Feel free to check out Nikki's blog, Fiction Freak, or talk to Nikki on Twitter!

About Nikki:

I’m a 14 year old Pisces who adores books and the blogosphere. My dream is to study abroad at either France or London and I’ve been self teaching myself French since I was 13, although I’m not very consistent about it lol. I’m a pretty crazy and insane person who sometimes gets philosophical. I get impulses at about 1 AM in the morning and act on them, though they usually die out. I’m a attempted YA writer who never really sticks to one project, so you can say I have a short attention span (although I always come back to the same project!) I’m obsessed with immortalizing my childhood memories and you could say I’m artsy and creative–although the creative part may be stretching it! And in the mean time, as I wait to become a psychologist or editor or whatever, I totally want to work in an indie bookstore! I SHALL WORK IN ONE ONE DAY!

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!