There’s not much left of October. Fall has been quick in coming to this corner of Europe but summer has made a brief visit so we had a few nice warm days lately. I had planned on writing a post or two for R.I.P., which is my favorite event of the year, but I’m still working on that one as a few more stories have come my way and I’m very excited to read them. In the meantime, I’d like to introduce my guest blogger for this month, Stefanie, whose blog So Many Books, is a place I stop by with the greatest pleasure. She’s also a blogger who loves to interact with her readers, a fan of the outdoors, and she has a garden, a cat, and works in a library. Thank you, Stefanie, for being my guest for this month, and for the lovely pictures of your library.
1. Who are you?
That’s a loaded question! Seriously though, my name is Stefanie and I live in Minneapolis, Minnesota with my husband and two cats and next spring will be adding a small flock of chickens to the party. I have been blogging for twelve years and it has been great fun. I work as a librarian by day and in my free time I am an avid gardener and cyclist. I’ve also been vegan for over twenty years.
I didn’t know you were a vegan. Obviously I will have to read your blog more often. Did you post any vegan recipes? I’d love to see them.
2. Why do you blog and what is your blog about?
I started blogging because I didn’t have anyone to talk about books with except my husband and while he’s great, our reading interests don’t overlap much. Over the years I have “met” so many wonderful people and made a good many friends, something I never expected. It’s been so much fun I keep going and will continue until it stops being fun. My blog is about books and reading and all the stuff that goes along with that. A couple years ago I began dedicating Sunday posts to what was going on in my garden and this year when my casual cycling enjoyment exploded into passionate pursuit, I added biking stories to my Sunday posts as well. The rest of the time it’s books, books, books.
3. Favorite books/authors/genres.
It’s easier to say what my favorites are not than what they are, but here goes. My go-to favorite genres are literary fiction, science fiction/fantasy, essays and poetry. Favorite authors include Margaret Atwood, Virginia Woolf, Ann Leckie, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Adrienne Rich. As for favorite books, those would be ones written by my favorite authors.
I’ve heard of Ancillary Justice but didn’t know the name of the author. Thanks for mentioning Ann Leckie, as a fantasy enthusiast this must go to my TBR list.
4. Kindle or paper book?
I like both. I have killed two Kindles in seven years. Frustrated by that and Amazon’s horrible business practices, I now have a Kobo Touch. I pretty much only read digital on my public transit commute to and from work as well as during my lunch breaks, or if I am traveling somewhere. Otherwise paper is my preference.
Some people may find this question boring but I’m always curious to see what people choose. All my friends who have Kindles actually prefer paper books. Looks like the Kindle wins for convenience but not much else.
5. Three things you learned from a book.
How to create a permaculture garden (Gaia’s Garden by Toby Hemenway), how to build a chicken coop (How to Build Chicken Coops by Samantha Johnson), and how to make a vegan chocolate cake (Simply Vegan by Debra Wasserman)
Simply Vegan – another book to add to the TBR pile. Thank you.
6. Best book to take with you on a desert island.
An e-reader with a solar charger and a wireless connection. Is that cheating?
Only a little bit. But you get points for creativity. 🙂
7. Best book to use as a doorstop.
The American Heritage Dictionary in hardcover. Though I would never actually use it as a doorstop, it is an impressively huge and lovely book!
8. Favorite quotes.
“The words loved me and I loved them in return”
from the poem “For Mama” by Sonia Sanchez (I am going to have this quote tattooed on my arm for my birthday next spring, I can hardly wait!)
“If you have a garden and library, you have everything you need” (Cicero)
I love both quotes, though I’d have to add “chocolate” to Cicero’s. That would be perfection.
9. Three tips for bloggers.
Be part of the community — comment on other’s blogs and reply to comments on your own blog. Don’t worry about how everyone else does things, find your own way.
Be yourself.
Great advice. I appreciate bloggers who respond to comments. Not all of them do.
10. Best/worst blogging experience.
When I was contacted two years ago by Oxford University Press for permission to print one of my blog posts in a college textbook for freshman composition classes.
That is a wonderful accomplishment. Congratulations! I’ve read the article and agree with it even though I am a meat-eater. But maybe that will change.
11. What are you most passionate about?
Besides books – libraries, free speech, organic gardening, climate change, sustainability, animal welfare and bicycling.
12. Last book that made you cry.
The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro
Why?
Thanks for the interview! It was fun! To answer your question about vegan recipes, I don’t generally post any since I am not the cook at my house, my husband does all the cooking! But if anyone ever asks for a recipe for something I mention in a post, I will happily email it 🙂 As for why The Buried Giant made me cry, it is at heart a love story and the relationships between the old couple we follow all through the book is beautiful and the ending, well you will have to read it to find that out!
Thank you for your answers, Stefanie! I will try and remember to ask for any recipes, although I’d rather bake than cook.
I will have to read that book then, you’ve made me curious and I have seen the book nearly everywhere by now. It’s basically begging me to buy it. Which I’ll probably do, in time.
If you buy it I Hope you find it useful. It has some great recipes in it and a really good section on nutrition. Another, more recent vegan cookbook that is excellent is Veganomicon.
Well done, both of you. I enjoyed reading Sefanie’s responses to your questions.
Thanks Sam!
Excellent interview! Really enjoyed reading it. 🙂
Thanks Jenny!
Now I’m definitely going to have to read The Buried Giant.
Jeanne I admit it, I can be sappy at times and the old couple’s relationship really got me!
Hi Delia, I so look forward to reading your monthly interviews. I love them. Thank you for letting us know about such lovely people, and their fantastic blogs. 🙂
Hi Stefanie, I am glad to meet you here. 🙂 I love your tattoo idea. I will have an eye on your blog to see its picture soon. Also, sending some love to your cats. I look forward to spending some time on your blogs. Thank you for giving this interview. 🙂
PS: An e-reader with a solar-charger will be the best thing ever! 🙂
Hi Deepika! Nice to meet you too! I am very excited for the tattoo. I won’t be getting it until March or April probably but I will definitely share a photo on my blog when I do 🙂 My cats say thanks, they are love sponges! Don’t solar chargers and e-readers solve the whole desert island book dilemma nicely? 🙂
This is an intriguing interview Stephanie.
It is so interesting that so many of us began blogging because we did not have enough people to talk about books with.
Your list of favorite authors is indeed impressive.
The answer to the desert island question was cheating 🙂
Thanks Brian! I figured my desert island answer was probably cheating but hey, if the tech exists, why not take advantage? 😉
Great interview–both questions and responses! I’m a regular reader of Stefanie’s blog, and I enjoyed reading this.
Thanks Jenclair!
Stefanie and Delia …excellent job ladies! Loved the questions and the answers! I LOVE your deserted island answer…I am so using that in future!!
A great interaction between two classic bloggers! I really like the quotes Stefanie chose.
Thanks Ian! 🙂
love the interview! It is always such a treat to get a new perspective from someone else. Must say that i love the quotes too.
Thank you 🙂
Lovely interview, Stefanie! Books, gardening and bicycling – life is beautiful! You are a librarian – envy you so much! So nice to see Adrienne Rich in your list of favourite writers. She is such a wonderful poet. Loved your favourite quotes, especially from ‘For Mama’ and the Cicero quote. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Thanks Vishy! It is nice to meet another fan of Adrienne Rich! I am glad you enjoyed the interview and the quotes. Thanks for your kind comment!
Nice “meeting” you, Stefanie! I loved your post on Eating Animals – well-written! Your blog is wonderful as well.
Hi Athira! Thank you so much! You are very kind 🙂
A really great post. I enjoyed it.
Thanks Caroline!
Loved this interview. Great questions Delia. I particularly loved Stefanie’s desert island answer. The solar energy cracked me up because that’s always been the concern re an e-book. Soon you’ll have to ask, if you could only load one book on your e-book!
Glad you enjoyed it Whisperinggums! I just hope someone keeps paying my wireless bill so I can download books on my island, if they don’t, I’ll be in trouble!