Interview with Kirsty @KandtheCatRead | #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 Kirsty from Kirsty and the Cat Read!

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

Howdy Hey, I’m Kirsty and I’m from the North of the UK and I’ve been blogging since June 2016. Me and my cat, Sooty, love nothing more than a big cup of tea and a good book!

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

I was watching a lot of Book-tube videos but I wasn’t quite confident enough to talk to a camera. I’ve always been a writer and so book blogging seemed like the perfect fit for me. I don’t have many people around me who are big readers so book blogging is something I felt I needed to do so I could reach out and discuss things with other big readers world wide!

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

I have many bloggers that I look up to but the two that spring to mind first are Cover2CoverMom & Freedom Library. Cover2CoverMom is such a friendly person and has very similar tastes to me in terms of books, I like how she structures all her posts and how thorough she is with her reviews. Freedom Library has an amazing system to rating and reviewing books that speaks to the organised/structured side of me! Also I adore her headers and colours.

Links to their blogs: 

https://cover2covermom.wordpress.com/

https://freadomlibrary.wordpress.com/

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

I am hoping to post more regular discussion posts and come up with some interesting weekly segments. At the moment I have a weekly segment on a Thursday where I recommend quick reads but I believe I’ll only be running this till January. Visually too I’m hoping to look into making better graphics both for subject headers (e.g. Book Reviews) and as a profile picture. For myself I am hoping to completel NaNoWrioMo this year and conquer a few more of my anxiety goals.

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?

I post regularly on a Tuesday (tags & discussions), Wednesday (top 5 Wednesdays) and Thursday (my weekly Quick Reads segment) I also write book reviews as and when I finish a book. I would love to see more in depth discussion posts out there, I feel sometimes people hold back a little with exactly what they want to say because they don’t want to loose followers but I kind of prefer a really honest post.

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

I have not really received many ARCs. I do not tend to request ARCs as I have so many books I already own that I need to read the only ARC I have requested was This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab and I only requested this one because I knew I would read it straight away. I really admire the bloggers that are able to read and review loads of ARCs and I wish I could but I feel like they would be better given to someone who will read and review the book before it’s released rather than myself who might not be able to get around to it for a long while.

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

My all time favourite book is Jane Eyre. I feel like I have a lot in common with Jane and also because it goes through her life in the novel it teaches me something new every time I re-read it. My favourite book from this year would be Salt to the Sea by Ruta Septys which is a beautiful novel, I don’t tend to cry at books but I welled up a little with this one. I would recommend both these books to everyone out there!

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

My advice would be do this for you! Do not do this to get hundreds of followers do it because reading and discussing books is a passion of yours and something you really love. Also (and I do know this is a little cliche) just be you don’t try and copy/write like other people, no-one can do you like you can!

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 you have anything in common?