Reviewer Spotlight

Branch: ImaginOn

April’s reviewer of the month is Angela from Imaginon. Angela is a voracious reader who reads a variety of books. She has reviewed several graphic novels, as well as young adult fiction and adult fiction titles for Reader’s Club. Here are thoughts on reading and writing reviews:

I have always been a compulsive reader, so I try to make sure to have a good book on hand. Usually I read about four or five books at a time and rotate them through out the week. If I don’t have good material to read, I get into an antsy and irritable mood that can only be fixed with a good book. It’s like I go through book withdrawal when I’m not reading. This year I am keeping track of all the books I’ve read and am trying to read one hundred books by the end of 2006. As of March I’m on book number twenty six.

I’m not very picky about what I read, because I truly enjoy a wide range of genres. Graphic novels and comic books, fiction and non-fiction, historical fiction, biographies, and picture books all receive equal attention from me. I get suspicious of people who only read one type of book when there are so many diverse subjects.

I feel that there are certain times in life when I need to read certain books, and there are certain books that need to be read again and again to truly appreciate them. I always recommend a great book to people when I find one, and there are a lot of great books out there. Good books should be shared, not horded. When I write book reviews it’s because the book was enjoyable to me and I hope that other people will enjoy it too. I love recommending a book to someone and hearing how much they liked it. What a rush.

I really love discovering new authors and new series to read. It’s like a fabulous treasure hunt. I’m on a huge Neil Gaiman kick right now, which is why I’ve been writing reviews about his Sandman series. He’s a genius, by the way. C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia paved the way to fantasy and escape in books for me when I was a kid. So did Lloyd Alexander. I adore Stephen King, Anne Rice, Lewis Carroll, and Margaret Mitchell. It would take too much time and ink to recall all the authors who have influenced me.

The hardest question to answer is, “What is your favorite book that you have read?”
I haven’t found that favorite, perfect book yet, so I guess I need to keep reading.