Interview with Lauren @wxnderless | #WTTN16

Hi everyone! Today, we’re here with another new-ish book blogger! If you don’t know, WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD is a feature on my blog in which I introduce new bloggers through interviews and guest posts as well as a few giveaways! You can find more information here.

Today, we’re here with Lauren from Wonderless Reviews! Let’s start with the interview!

1. Introduce yourself! Where are you from? How long have you been blogging?

 

Hi! My name’s Lauren and I’m from Australia. I started blogging this year in March and celebrated my six month blogiversary in August :).  I’m really bad at introductions, but besides reading I love music and design. I’m a proud Hufflepuff with a serious caffeine addiction. My favourite thing to read is YA, comics and graphic novels.

 

2. What made you want to start book blogging in the first place? 

 

I was inspired by a few friends. I was in a huge reading slump for over two years and seeing them talk about books and reading really made me want to get back into it. I read Illuminae by Aime Kaufman & Jay Kristoff and my reading slump was officially broken. I forgot how much I loved getting lost in a book. I really wanted to track my journey back into reading and since I didn’t want to do the whole BookTube thing I decided blogging would be the way to go! It was honestly one of the best decisions I ever made.

 

3. Do you have any bloggers that you look up to? If so, who?

There’s so many! Everyone I interact with on my blog inspires me. It’s impossible to just list a few, but I’ll try!

Reg @ She Latitude – Reg’s blog is wonderful. When I first blogging her blog was one that I really aspired to be like. The content and design is amazing. She posts brilliant reviews and AMAZING discussions.

Beth @ Reading Every Night – Beth is such a wonderful person. She’ll always make the effort to read and comment on every post. I definitely need to get better at that. She also writes some of the most amazing reviews I’ve ever seen and they really inspire me to constantly improve my own.

Naz @ Read Diverse Books – Naz has helped me branch out with my reading so much. Every post he makes I learn something new. Diversity is something that’s so important – we definitely need more of it. Naz’s blog is full of incredible diverse books and important information.

Vivian @ Inked In Pages – I probably wouldn’t even have a blog if it wasn’t for Vivian. She was one of the friends I mentioned above. Her blog is wonderful and so is she.

Esther @ Chapter Adventures – Again, Esther is lovely. Her blog is beautiful and she posts great discussions. She also inspired me to start the new design feature on my blog!

4. What goals do you have for your blog and/or yourself?

 

Now that I’ve reached 6 months of blogging my main goals are to incorporate more original posts. I love participating tags and the weekly memes, but I really want to feature more original content on my blog.  

 

5. What sorts of posts do you currently incorporate in your blog? What kinds of posts do you want to see more throughout the whole book community?

 

Currently, I’m posting reviews, tags and participating in memes like Top 10 Tuesday. I just started a new design feature which I hope to expand on soon! I also talk about Comics and Graphic Novels a lot! As for what posts I’d like to see more of I’m not quite sure! I feel like the blogging community is so huge and everyone seems to be doing a great job of covering all the topics!

 

6. What has been your experience with ARCs (advance reading copies)?

 

Every ARC I’ve received (besides 1, which I won in a giveaway) has come from Netgalley. I feel like Netgalley is the best place for new bloggers to start. I’ve managed to get some great ARCs from Netgalley like Replica by Lauren Oliver. I haven’t tried contacting publishers yet because I’m still a little nervous, but it’s definitely another goal I have for myself now that I’ve reached the six month mark of blogging! ARCs are definitely an awesome bonus to being a blogger, but I feel like if you’re blogging just for ARCs then you might need to reevaluate because there’s so much more to blogging than just receiving free books. I’ve definitely tried to cut back on the ARCs I request because it doesn’t take long to become weighed down by them and I don’t want blogging to feel like a chore.

 

7. What are your favorite books? What books do you recommend for everyone?

 

Oh man, so many! I know it’s a standard, but I have to mention Harry Potter. Percy Jackson is another all time favourite. Horror is definitely one of favourite genres. Everyone who follows my blog knows that I will recommend Illuminae by Aime Kaufman & Jay Kristoff every chance I get 😀 ! That book is absolutely incredible. Being Australian, I like to recommend Oz YA books a lot too! I have a few posts up if anyone’s interested!

 

8. What advice do you have for new book bloggers?

 

Interact! Interact! Interact! The more you speak to other bloggers the more they’ll speak back and notice your blog. Participating in some of the weekly memes like Top 10 Tuesday, Waiting on Wednesday and Top 5 Wednesday is basically how I got my blog out there when I first started. Blog hopping through the link ups introduced me to so many amazing bloggers! Also, be prepared for how time consuming blogging is. Mostly though, just have fun! This community is so wonderful and I am so happy that I’m a part of it.

MEET THE BLOGGER

I read and review mostly Young Adult books with a side dose of comics and graphic novels. I occasionally do read and review Adult Fiction. As well as reviews at my blog you’ll find book tags, book lists and bookish designs.

Links:  Blog // Twitter // Instagram 

 

As part of the tour, I’m giving away one YA preorder of your choice (under $17), international as long as TBD ships. Full rules here.

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What was your favorite part of this interview? Do we have anything in common?