We need to talk about books! #1
This week I have the pleasure of catching up with Yuli Atta from Damaged Pages, where she writes about books and everything book related.
So, without further ado, here it goes...
First of all, how did you choose the name of your blog? I love it!
I had a hard time choosing a name for my blog because I wanted something original and personal to me but I also wanted something easy to remember. I was trying to choose between Smudged Ink and Damaged Pages because they are things that constantly happen to my books. While I like Smudged Ink better, I can barely pronounce it so I chose Damaged Pages instead! I always end up damaging my pages one way or another. Be it by bending corners or getting one of these ink smudges, something always happens.
Are your bookshelves a ‘work in progress’ like mine or are they clearly and systematically organised? Tell us a little bit about your method if you have one.
I like to think that my bookshelves (both the ones in my home country and in the UK) are very well organised. They are probably the only thing that’s not a mess in my life! I usually arrange them by size and series but I also have a lot of different editions of books in a series because I buy the cheapest ones and sometimes they happen to be in different sizes or in different languages (I am bilingual!). I don’t really mind the diversity in my books, even when the sizes and/or covers don’t match the rest of the series. I also put books in every free space of my shelves.
Apart from books, what is to be found on your bookshelves?
Mainly books, to be honest. I really don’t like putting anything in front of my books because I want to be able to see every single one of them. At home I have a jewellery box on my shelves, my stack of bookmarks and my extensive collection of sticky notes. At uni the situation is similar.
What do you do with books once you’ve read them?
Oh, I keep them. I love seeing them on my shelves and admiring them. I also might pick some of them up again(if I change my ‘No Re-Reading’ policy) to read some of my
favourite quotes.
Tell me more about this re-reading policy of yours!
I really don’t like re-reading and I do it very rarely. It’s just that I prefer to read new books rather than ones I’ve already read. Besides, I believe that with each book we read, we grow as readers so I’m terribly afraid of reading a book I loved and hating it. I don’t want to damage my good memories of a book I’ve loved earlier in my life just because I have more experience now!
Have you ever read or started reading a book only to realise that you had already read it?
Haha, no. While I can’t tell you on the spot the title of every single book that I’ve read, when I see it, I remember. Besides, I always read the synopsis of a book before I decide to buy/read it.
How do you feel about lending books to friends?
I’m very reluctant and will do it as rarely as possible. I used to lend my books all the time but now I just don’t do it because sometimes they give it back in terrible conditions or months later. I don’t like that. You see, every single book on my shelves has its own place and I keep buying books so I’m always tempted to put the new book in the absent one’s place... Besides, I’m not a public library.
Are you a
‘spine bender’ or do you like your spines to be pristine?
I don’t mind it either way. I’m not super thrilled when I break the spine of a book, especially when it’s a 300-page book but if it’s some 500-700-page book or even longer, it’s just unavoidable. Besides, when I break the spines of some books, they just look so well-read that I kinda feel proud.
Do you write in books, do you use sticky notes for your comments or something like that?
OMG, I don’t write in them! I cringe at the mere thought of it. But I’m guilty of using sticky notes in them to mark my favourite quotes.
What is the prettiest book to be found in your current TBR pile?
I have so many beautiful books, I can’t choose just one. I have the Whole The Faithful and the Fallen series by John Gwynne, The Black Guard by A. J. Smith, Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi and these are just some of the books on my TBR in the UK - don’t get me started on the one in Bulgaria with my 80 physical unread books!
If you take physical books on holiday with you, how do you choose them? If you don’t, do you take an eReader instead or do you plan to buy books at destination or perhaps you don’t read on Holiday?
I take a physical book, my Pocket Book (ereader) and I also buy new books. (I’m libra, don’t ask me to make decisions.) I don’t really think much about which book I’m going to get. Most of the time I’m in the middle of one already and that’s why I have my ereader with me as well (and my laptop, and my phone... I can read on everything).
Do you take a book with you whenever you go out, just in case?
Yeah. But I used to do it a lot more when I was back in Bulgaria because I had to use the bus all the time and then, all of my friends would be late. I also used to read in between classes but now I have a lecture a day so I don’t really need to. I also have some books on my phone, so yeah. But I still do it if I know that I’m going somewhere alone and there will be a lot of waiting involved.
Have you ever met an author? How did it go?
Yep. Back in my country something like this doesn’t happen as regularly as in the USA and the UK. Authors rarely visit us so when I heard that my favourite author of all time - Brandon Sanderson - was coming, I travelled for 6 hours to the other side of the country to meet him. I was very excited and nervous, and after everything was over I couldn’t believe it that it had actually happened. I also met Sally Green, who visited my city (which is even a bigger rarity). I was excited but she was more nervous than I was!
If you were to write a book, what genre would it be?
High fantasy or Urban fantasy because these are my favourite types of fantasy.
And that was my last question for you! Thank you so much for joining me today!
If you'd like to know more about Yuli Atta and the books she loves - not to mention the publication date of that possible future fantasy novel! - you can find her in all the usual haunts below:
Blog: http://dampages.blogspot.com/
Facebook: http://facebook.com/attasbookmania
Instagram: http://instagram.com/damaged_pages
Twitter: http://twitter.com/YuliAtta1
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/15999947-yuli-atta---damaged-pages
Please share some love below in the comments below or head over to Twitter to let me know what you thought!
First of all, how did you choose the name of your blog? I love it!
I had a hard time choosing a name for my blog because I wanted something original and personal to me but I also wanted something easy to remember. I was trying to choose between Smudged Ink and Damaged Pages because they are things that constantly happen to my books. While I like Smudged Ink better, I can barely pronounce it so I chose Damaged Pages instead! I always end up damaging my pages one way or another. Be it by bending corners or getting one of these ink smudges, something always happens.
Are your bookshelves a ‘work in progress’ like mine or are they clearly and systematically organised? Tell us a little bit about your method if you have one.
I like to think that my bookshelves (both the ones in my home country and in the UK) are very well organised. They are probably the only thing that’s not a mess in my life! I usually arrange them by size and series but I also have a lot of different editions of books in a series because I buy the cheapest ones and sometimes they happen to be in different sizes or in different languages (I am bilingual!). I don’t really mind the diversity in my books, even when the sizes and/or covers don’t match the rest of the series. I also put books in every free space of my shelves.
Apart from books, what is to be found on your bookshelves?
Mainly books, to be honest. I really don’t like putting anything in front of my books because I want to be able to see every single one of them. At home I have a jewellery box on my shelves, my stack of bookmarks and my extensive collection of sticky notes. At uni the situation is similar.
What do you do with books once you’ve read them?
Oh, I keep them. I love seeing them on my shelves and admiring them. I also might pick some of them up again
Tell me more about this re-reading policy of yours!
I really don’t like re-reading and I do it very rarely. It’s just that I prefer to read new books rather than ones I’ve already read. Besides, I believe that with each book we read, we grow as readers so I’m terribly afraid of reading a book I loved and hating it. I don’t want to damage my good memories of a book I’ve loved earlier in my life just because I have more experience now!
Have you ever read or started reading a book only to realise that you had already read it?
Haha, no. While I can’t tell you on the spot the title of every single book that I’ve read, when I see it, I remember. Besides, I always read the synopsis of a book before I decide to buy/read it.
How do you feel about lending books to friends?
I’m very reluctant and will do it as rarely as possible. I used to lend my books all the time but now I just don’t do it because sometimes they give it back in terrible conditions or months later. I don’t like that. You see, every single book on my shelves has its own place and I keep buying books so I’m always tempted to put the new book in the absent one’s place... Besides, I’m not a public library.
I don’t mind it either way. I’m not super thrilled when I break the spine of a book, especially when it’s a 300-page book but if it’s some 500-700-page book or even longer, it’s just unavoidable. Besides, when I break the spines of some books, they just look so well-read that I kinda feel proud.
Do you write in books, do you use sticky notes for your comments or something like that?
OMG, I don’t write in them! I cringe at the mere thought of it. But I’m guilty of using sticky notes in them to mark my favourite quotes.
What is the prettiest book to be found in your current TBR pile?
I have so many beautiful books, I can’t choose just one. I have the Whole The Faithful and the Fallen series by John Gwynne, The Black Guard by A. J. Smith, Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi and these are just some of the books on my TBR in the UK - don’t get me started on the one in Bulgaria with my 80 physical unread books!
If you take physical books on holiday with you, how do you choose them? If you don’t, do you take an eReader instead or do you plan to buy books at destination or perhaps you don’t read on Holiday?
I take a physical book, my Pocket Book (ereader) and I also buy new books. (I’m libra, don’t ask me to make decisions.) I don’t really think much about which book I’m going to get. Most of the time I’m in the middle of one already and that’s why I have my ereader with me as well (and my laptop, and my phone... I can read on everything).
Do you take a book with you whenever you go out, just in case?
Yeah. But I used to do it a lot more when I was back in Bulgaria because I had to use the bus all the time and then, all of my friends would be late. I also used to read in between classes but now I have a lecture a day so I don’t really need to. I also have some books on my phone, so yeah. But I still do it if I know that I’m going somewhere alone and there will be a lot of waiting involved.
Have you ever met an author? How did it go?
Yep. Back in my country something like this doesn’t happen as regularly as in the USA and the UK. Authors rarely visit us so when I heard that my favourite author of all time - Brandon Sanderson - was coming, I travelled for 6 hours to the other side of the country to meet him. I was very excited and nervous, and after everything was over I couldn’t believe it that it had actually happened. I also met Sally Green, who visited my city (which is even a bigger rarity). I was excited but she was more nervous than I was!
If you were to write a book, what genre would it be?
High fantasy or Urban fantasy because these are my favourite types of fantasy.
And that was my last question for you! Thank you so much for joining me today!
Blog: http://dampages.blogspot.com/
Facebook: http://facebook.com/attasbookmania
Instagram: http://instagram.com/damaged_pages
Twitter: http://twitter.com/YuliAtta1
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/15999947-yuli-atta---damaged-pages
Please share some love below in the comments below or head over to Twitter to let me know what you thought!
Great interview :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you!
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