Meet the Bookworm: Alex

At the start of 2020 I sent a couple of bookish questions to some bloggers and bookstagrammers who have been crazy enough to fill them out. In this series you’ll get to read their answers, admire their favourite reads and share their favourite stories. If you want to join the series just drop a comment below!

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Name
Alex

Blog
Spells and Spaceships

Twitter Handle
@blogspells

What sort of things do you like to read? Any favourite books?
I review SFF, which stands for Science Fiction & Fantasy. I like the adventure and escape that these genres provide, aswell as being a bit of a secret geek myself, these genres appeal to that side of me! One of my all time all time favourites is classic in the fantasy genre, The Lord of The Rings. Over the last couple of months I’ve read a couple of brilliant self published books, Kingshold by D. P. Woolliscroft and The Lost War by Justin Lee Anderson.

What got you interested in books? Any particular books or people?
I always loved books as a kid, my parents probably starting off that love by reading to me as a child. The first time I can remember being in love with a book or series though was Harry Potter. I was I think 7 yrs old when the first book was released, and after reading the first couple, I dropped everything and read each new release constantly from the day of release until I’d finished it. I have a lot of love for these books!

Was there ever a point where you found yourself reading less? Why? Do you have any tips for getting out of a reading slump?
Yeah, most definitely. I used to read a lot of history books as well as fantasy (and more recently science fiction) – I went to University and the hobby I used to love became a full time part of my education where I couldn’t simply sit back and enjoy a book; I had to take notes, analyse the information, compare to other books and race to take them out of the library or buy them permanently myself. Reading the books as a researcher rather than as a hobby and an interest really knocked away that enjoyment for a while afterwards. I’m a definite mood reader and being forced to read a lot of books and in a way that I didn’t enjoy just put me off for a while. I started reading more fantasy again, and went for less serious or in depth books to rediscover that ‘reading for fun’ feeling. My advice if in a slump would be to read a different genre to the one you have been doing. Sometimes I mix it up with a general non fiction such as the brilliant Sapiens and Homo Deus books.

Has interacting with bookworms online changed your reading at all? Do you think it’s for the better?
Yes definitely. I’m exposed to and recommended loads more books than I’d find myself just through looking at Amazon and Goodreads. Some of these have been self published with only a small number of reviews (or in some cases none) that have came highly recommended from other bookworms. This is essential both for helping new authors and for finding hidden gems! It’s changed my reading in that I feel I read more and am spurred on to finish a book so I can talk about it with others, and to try the next intriguing read. Without this community I’d probably read less.

What advice would you give your younger self? Do you have any advice for budding bookworms out there?
It would be not to wait til I’m almost 30 to redevelop a reading passion! I read around a book every week to two weeks now, and it sort of feels like a journey of discovery, there are so many amazing books I greedily want to read as many as I can. There’s still so many I’m desperate to read on my TBR. My advice would be not to read too many short or long books; mix it up a bit. Try and read different styles of story or sub genre. If you’re unsure about starting a big series you can always read the first book and come back to the series at a later time.

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Thanks Alex for filling out the questions and joining my blog! Are you are Lord of the Rings fan too? If you did a humanities subject at university, did you find it difficult to read for fun and study books at the same time?

Another bookworm will be featuring on my blog so stay tuned for that, otherwise we have the usual Top Ten Tuesday coming up next week. You can check out all the other lovely bookworms I’ve met here. If you fancy joining the series let me know in the comments and I’d love to feature you!