It is probably fair to say that you all know that we at FridayReads eat, sleep, and breathe books. But what else do you really know about us? Not much? I didn’t think so. In order for you all to get better acquainted with those of us who bring you all of these readalicious tidbits I have been (nicely) cracking open everyone’s skulls to pick their brains. Mmm. Each week we will present to you a feature on a FridayReads member. First up with have Amanda.
Amanda Nelson is a freelance writer and blogger from Richmond, Virginia. She is the sarcastic-yet-earnest voice behind the blog Dead White Guys: An Irreverent Guide to Classic Literature. Amanda is also a weekly contributor to BOOK RIOT, a bookish news and social commentary site, and the Sales Manager for FridayReads. She specializes in honest book reviewing and reader-focused literary criticism, and is a member of the National Book Critics Circle. She has a Bachelor’s in History from Virginia Commonwealth University, which she mostly uses to sound smart at parties.
BB: I feel like I am obligated to ask what your favorite books are but then tell me why you heart these books’ faces, too.
AN: I have a top five that are constantly in flux, but right now they’re: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro, and Arcadia by Lauren Groff. I love them all for different reasons (this is a pretty odd list), but all five of them are heartbreaking in their own ways.
BB: Has there been a particular book that has had the most influence on you as a reader? A person? A reader-person?
AN: Well, FridayReads’ own Rebecca has recommended several modern works that I never would’ve read when I first started blogging because I was a strict classics-only reader. That’s been very influential…and of course, the owner of the bookstore where I work part time made it mandatory that I read something contemporary at least once a week, so that’s helped.
BB: I have seen your shelves and your books, they are a-plenty. How many do you have?
AN: I own around 800 books right now. That’s also in a constant state of flux. Every time I bring another one into the house, I try to let one go. Otherwise my tiny townhouse would be overrun.
BB: Is there anywhere in particular that you prefer to read or just anywhere there isn’t a baby trying to gnaw the corners of your novel?
AN: Not really, though I hate reading outside. I find bugs and sunlight distracting.
BB: I know you write in your book margins (which makes me cringe even thinking about it). Is there anything else you do to your books? Toss ‘em around, use them as coasters, level out uneven chairs?
AN: No, I’m generally pretty careful with my books, though I tend to be more abusive with paperbacks than hardbacks. I also own some first editions that I won’t write in.
BB: Ever done anything crazy in order to read a book? (Such as mow down pedestrians on the sidewalk to get home faster?)
AN: I think the craziest thing I’ve done is taken the day off from work to finish a book, or pulled over on the side of the road to read. But I haven’t done anyone bodily harm…that I know of.
BB: Aside from it making you totally amazing, what do you like most about being a reader?
AN: That it’s solitary. I’m a bit of a hermit, and reading is a hobby (and a profession) that doesn’t require me to leave the house or talk to anyone if I don’t want to.
BB: When your face isn’t in pages, what do you like to do with your time?
AN: I’m an 80 year old woman in spirit, so my other big time commitment is stitching. Other than that, I spend most of my time working or taking care of my twins.
BB: What are some of your weirdest reader quirks?
AN: I hate lending books. I catalogue them online. I make spreadsheets of what I want to read over a season, and then ignore it and read whatever I want. I call my Nook “the TARDIS.”
BB: I know you’ve got some literary ink. What do your tattoos say and from where?
AN: My arm is the cover of an Ayn Rand book (doesn’t mean I’m a fan, thankyouverymuch), and below it is a quote from John 1:5, “The light shineth in the darkness, yet the darkness does not comprehend it.” My abdomen is another Biblical quote, Daniel 12:3, “Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens.” My back is a work-in-progress. I’m taking lines from my favorite literary works and making a poem out of them. Right now it reads, “in secret, between the shadow and the soul/ enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible/variety of life,” which is a combination of lines from a Pablo Neruda sonnet and The Great Gatsby. Haven’t decided what’s next yet.
BB: If you could live in any book, which one would it be? Why?
AN: Anne of FRICKIN’ Green Gables, my friend. BECAUSE IT’S AWESOME.
BB: What other superpowers do you possess?
AN: …the ability to make snap judgements about strangers based on their reading selections at the airport?
So there you have it, folks. A tiny peek into the mind of Amanda. Do you have any similarities? Any differences? Let us know and don’t forget to tune in next week for our interview with Paige.
/resizedcover.jpg "Rescue Me")
