Cait – Notebook Sister Interview

Good Monday, people! Today I have a treat for you! (Yep, just for you!) There’s a blog that I’ve been reading for a year or two. Or maybe longer. And it’s pretty cool. (Meaning I really, really like it.) I know that some of you who read the blog will be like “What?”, because obviously, not every blog can be for every one. But this blog is simply a fantastically interesting and witty and informative blog. 
Notebook Sisters is run by two sisters (never would have seen that one coming!) who live in Australia and read a lot of books. And I do mean a lot. Right now Cait, the older sister, is doing the majority of the blogging and she’s the one who I had the pleasure of interviewing for this post. 
I don’t read a lot of modern fiction books because my standards are pretty conservative, but I do like knowing about the books, because as an author it’s very helpful knowing what people are talking about. Cait’s reviews have provided a very humorous and enjoyable way for me to learn about a lot of books. And now I’ll stop talking and get down to the interview. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. 😉 

1. I know you read a lot. About how many books do you read each year? How many do you review each year? 

I comfortably read 100 books a year, but this year? I’m onto 140 already. (It has been a bookish sort of year.) So WHO KNOWS?! I just gobble books as the come. I review all of them, though, because I have a terrible memory. I review for me, mostly, so I remember why I loved/hated a book. Usually the reviews just go up on my Goodreads instead of my blog because I read too much.

Wow, let’s just say I can’t even fathom reading or reviewing that many books. I’ve read around 60ish this year and that’s pretty tops for me… 

2. What would you say is the number one reason you review books? 

It’s a very selfish reason, to be honest…I read them because I forget! Reviewing helps me remember. 
Well, all I have to say is I’m glad you review them. Your reviews are the best!

3. What is your average rating on books you review? 

I’m a nice person, I promise, I truly am…except…my average rating is 3.6-stars. Which doesn’t look very nice, does it? But mostly I love books or I loathe them. THERE IS NO MIDDLE GROUND. If I love a book I’m not afraid to flail about it. Break out the maracas and let us dance to the glorious tune of Awesome Books.

4. How long does it normally take you to review a book? 

That depends on the gifs. Sometimes I spend aaaages looking for the perfect gif — oh, you mean actually writing the review? Ha. Oh yes. There’s that too. I’ve never timed myself. But I’d say it’s under 15minutes. But I waste a lot more time than that looking for gifs. (Pfft, what am I saying? It is not WASTE. It is necessary.)
I find that quite impressive indeed. Maybe if I wrote dozens of reviews each month I’d be able to write them so rapidly, too. 🙂

5. How would you describe your reviewing style? 

I want my reviews to be a conversation. A chat! FUN. I’m not afraid to throw in big words like phenomenal and exquisite, but I’m all about squeeing and saying awesome and occasionally just throwing my hands across the keyboard in and asdfjakdlsf of feels. FEEEEELS, peoples. I’m very far from a formal reviewer. I would probably fail if I was doing this professionally. 
Or you would just change the whole style of professional book reviews… 

 
6. Do you take notes on books as you read them? 

Not really, because I’m lazy. Although, if it’s an ebook, I’ll highlight passages on my kindle. And occasionally, if I find an awesome line in a physical book, I take a photo of the quote and page number on my iPod. But mostly I just lie with my book thinking, “I ought to make a note of that” and don’t do anything at all.
I have decided that you must have a fantastic memory.

7. Do you ever get nervous thinking about people one day reviewing a book you’ve authored? 

Oh. heck. YES. I’m not extremely close to being a published author yet, but I’ll be submitting manuscripts with my agent to publishing houses soon…and it really does scare me that maybe one day in the foreseeable future people will be blogging about my book. What if they hate it?! I…I need chocolate. I do. 
It does make me think carefully about how I review though. When I review a book I always think about the author. I never book bash and I never throw around phrases like, “Why was this book published?! It’s rubbish” or “the author was so clueless” because I know (from behind-the-scenes) that that’s never true.
Yes, that’s one thing I’ve noticed about your reviews and appreciate about your blog. 

8. If you could meet any author of a book you’ve reviewed, who would it be? 

Maggie Stiefvater (author of The Raven Boys and Shiver. Although I think she’d terrify me, because she seems like a wildfire. So, if I didn’t want to be scared, I would also love to meet A.G. Howard (author of Splintered) because she’s so nice on social media, I think she’d be freakishly lovely in real life too.

9. And random: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be and why? 

Paris! I have this obsession with Paris. I think it might have something to do with small cafes serving coffee and croissants. I would never ever say no to a croissant. 

Sounds like fun! And thank you so much, Cait for letting me interview you. I had a lot of fun reading your answers! Keep reading, blogging, writing and reviewing! 

6 thoughts on “Cait – Notebook Sister Interview”

Leave a comment