Ok, I technically was not tagged in this. BUT I’m kinda just making up my own rules with this blogging thing. I’ve been running this blog for three months, which is honestly a lot longer than I expected myself to get with this. I saw Leslie do this, so I thought I’d take it and use it as a 3-month milestone post!
The Rules:
- Thank the blogger who tagged you
- Mention the creator Lauren @ Lala’s Book Reviews
- Tag as many (or as few) people as you’d like
- Have fun and get to know one another!
Introduction
Introduce yourself!
Hi y’all! I’m Louise! I’m a 24-year-old grad student studying to be a librarian, and I currently work in an engineering library on campus. I am definitely considering going into public librarianship, though, because I love working with kids and other people who aren’t in academia 🙂 I’m currently living in Illinois but am originally from Boston! And that is pretty much all I have to say in way of introduction lol.
Something most everyone wants to know…do you have any pets?
I have a 6 year old maltipoo named Gigi (after George Harrison), but she’s back home in Boston with my parents while I’m in school 😦
Here’s one of my favorite pictures of her after a grooming!
What is your favorite thing to drink?
Going to be veeeery boring here and just say water. There’s nothing like drinking a glass of ice water when you’re thirsty. Although, I do love a glass of wine on nights where I don’t have to work the next day!
What is your favorite season?
Spring!!! I love the feeling of everything coming back to life and the first warm day after a cold winter. It also just gives me a lot of nostalgia for when I was younger and would be finishing up the school year.
Do you have any special talents?
My family is all very musical, so we’re all singers and play instruments. I like piano and flute even though I haven’t spent much time practicing either. Not really a special talent, per se, but just a normal talent.
Blogging
When and why did you start your blog?
I’ve been blogging technically since I was about 14 on different platforms. First Tumblr, then I shared a WordPress book blog with a friend throughout high school. I started this one 3 months ago, obviously. Every time has been because I love talking about books and I wanted to share that with others. Not many people in my life are huge readers, so having all of you is really important to me 🙂
What is something that you wish you knew about blogging when you first started?
This is definitely premature, but I wish I had known all the WordPress tricks I do now. Other than that, I think there’s probably still a lot I have to learn!
What has been the hardest part about blogging?
Just getting myself to sit down and actually write the stuff out. I have all these ideas I want to post, and it’s been hardest to get myself to put them down on paper. Even though it feels good when I’m actually writing it out, I have so much going on with school and work that sometimes it’s just hard to stop myself from watching two hours of TikTok when I have some free time.
What has been the most rewarding part of blogging?
Definitely everyone I’ve interacted with so far!! I love seeing books I have in common with people and finding new books from people I follow. I hope to really get to know a lot of you continuing on 🙂
Do you write your posts ahead of time or write them the day of posting?
Usually write them day of, unless I have time to write two posts in one day. I don’t plan things out, because then it would become too much of a chore for me.
Reading
Who are your top 5 favourite authors?
This was incredibly hard but:
- Carlos Ruiz Zafón
- Jennifer L. Armentrout
- Ali Hazelwood
- Emily Henry
- Jane Austen
What genre do you read the most?
This year it has been romance, but definitely overall fantasy/romance/romantasy are my top genres. I will never move away from these genres.
What genre surprised you by how much you love it?
Science nonfiction! I shouldn’t have been surprised because I love random facts, but I am a story girl through and through. Science nonfiction kinda snuck up on me in a few of the classes I was taking. I read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks for a biology class as an undergrad as well as a few others and was hooked on the genre!
Which popular book didn’t live up to the hype for you?
I’ve said this before, but it will always be the first to come to mind. I really did not like House of Earth and Blood. Sooooo so long with barely anything that happens.
Who are some popular authors you haven’t read?
Casey McQuiston! Her books have been on my TBR for a while, I just haven’t gotten to pick them up yet.
What upcoming release are you excited to read?
Emily Henry and Ali Hazelwood. Enough said.
Do you listen to music while reading?
Nope! If I listen to music, I’ll just end up singing along. Yes, even if it’s classical music.
Where else can we find you online?
If you want to do this tag, consider yourself tagged by me! Or just tag yourself like I did😂
Louise Reads 
Interesting read. No social scene for me. I write. Mostly for me but have been encouraged over many (many, many) years to “share” (what a disgusting word) with others by folks who have it in for me for some reason. It has been a discouraging journey. Failing to attract hordes of avid fans, I’ve investigated “why.” (I continue this foolish endeavor, not the writing, my attempts to find the “whys.”) What I have found so far has surprised me. Should have seen it coming. Our society today is not filled with readers, but with watchers. I continue to look to see what people want, those who do actually read. Perhaps I can improve. Likely I’ll focus on writing for myself and for making fireplace fodder for grandchildren faced with emptying my file cabinets. Thanks for (believe it or not) the insight this post provided.
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I would argue that the dreaded word (sharing) and cultivating that social scene is half of what this platform is all about. I’m not sure whether your comment is meant to be backhanded to me, but I really hope you did find some insight from a silly post about myself. I think if you really did dislike sharing or the social aspect, you wouldn’t be commenting at all. If all you see are watchers, you may need to cultivate your own community of like-minded readers. Trust me, they are out there. If you do decide that sharing isn’t for you, maybe a different platform is needed. You could publish in a magazine—any size magazine. Your dreams of living Salinger’s life, gaining masses of fans as you hermit away in New Hampshire, might then be realized. Would love to hear more of your thoughts on this, from one generation to another.
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Not at all backhanded. Pardon if you got that impression. Au contraire. Enjoyed the read or wouldn’t have said so. Blogs are blogs or originally Biographic-logs and okay. Here (and the “Writers’ site” before) we witness a deterioration into the “you-like-me-I’ll like you, be sure to follow me” mentality, which is okay for up to, say the age of eight or nine, but the insincerity benefits none but the narcissist. I have a few folk I routinely swap kudos and barbs with; in-process we all learn and grow. We (several of us, not all) wonder how the “importance” and weave of social networking today reflects on the sad state of society. Blog? Sure. But there are REAL people out there. Your post is not “silly.” It tells me how intelligent people think. What they expect. What they like and don’t like. It not “sharing” I oppose. It’s the way it’s mostly done today.
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Apologies–I can be quick to defend (comes with having an attorney as a dad). If that is the sharing you oppose, I can whole-heartedly agree. Often I’ll find myself feeling as if I’m in a rat race of popularity, and my writing is just nonsense filler until enough people randomly decide they like me. Hard to ignore, but I try to do most of my writing solely for myself as a cathartic experience. Then, if it ends up connecting me with someone, I’ll feel it is genuine. Quality over quantity. This conversation will definitely be one of the highlights of my blogging experience, for example. I hope the small interactions with those few folks at least give you some hope for the state of our society. 🙂
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Zooks. I am flattered. [? red face] Those I banter with have taught me a great deal. Some have suggested I have done the same for them. All I can say is, “Keep cracking. Weed out the insincere who visit. Writing even for yourself is therapeutic, cathartic. It is for me. Even when I’m the only one who reads my, um, ah, stuff.”
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Welcome to book blogging. Even those I have been blogging on WordPress for half a year now, I might do this tag.
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Thank you so much! Definitely feel free to say you were tagged by me 😀
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Yay, I’m glad you did this. I always love getting to know a blogger better! I think I will never know all the tips and tricks to WordPress. I still find myself googling things. haha!! Oh gosh, Gigi is so cute!!! ❤ Welcome to the book blogging world, it's full of lovely people. ❤
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Thanks so much!!! Everyone has been so nice❤️
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What a great idea! I’m new to the book blogging world too, and I may have to do a post like this next week. Thanks for the preemptive tag! 😅
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