Meet the Blogger: Candace @ Book Addict Haven

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After receiving so many wonderful messages from you guys about the last interview post, I wanted to have Meet the Blogger part 2, because I had a lot of questions pending and was dying to find another talented blogger to answer them. So, I’ve picket Candace, my friend from Goodreads, who recently opened her own blog and is very excited to share with us her experience in reviewing and blogging.
All of her reviews are extremely appreciated on GR, with tons of Like’s and comments and this is generally because of her honesty and clear way of expressing herself. Her passion for books is transmitted in her reviews and you can feel that even if a story was not suited for her, she was glad to add another book to her list, purely for the love of reading.
Now, after so many praises and good feedback, she decided to open a blog, that by the way has huge success, due to her kind and genuine personality that became her assets in the virtual territory.
Ramona: Hi Candace and thank you for accepting my invitation in answearing some questionsfor my blog. Please tell us something about yourself that you consider worth knowing.
Candace: I’m happily married to my husband of 16 years. We have two daughters, ages 9 and 5. I have three dogs, one cat, 18 hens and a rooster. To say that it’s hectic around my house is putting it mildly. My girls want a horse and I’ve held them off so-far, but I’ll probably give in at some point. I am an avid reader and hobby-reviewer. I recently started blogging, but am still trying to figure out the basics. I am a Registered Nurse by profession and work full-time as a Nurse Manager in a hospital M-F. I have a forty mile commute each way, and I listen to a lot of audiobooks in the car. Reading is my “calming” activity.
Ramona: When did your passion for books started?
Candace: I’ve loved to read for as long as I can remember. My grandmother used to take me to story-time when I a young child at the local library. I still remember the “Ralph and the Motorcycle” mouse that they had set up on the crown-molding of the high ceiling that would zoom around the room and disappear into a mouse hole. I always had my nose in a book. Sometimes life gets busy and my reading slows, but I always come back to it.
Ramona: Please tell us why should we follow your blog.
Candace: I’m always looking for new book friends. I primarily read Romance and I love dark stories that push my limits. However, I’m up for all different types of stories. If it sounds interesting, I’ll try it. I love sharing my thoughts on the books I’ve read and hearing what other people think. I get my best recommendations from other readers.
Ramona: What was the evolution of your blog after going live? Are you happy with it or do you have plans of improvement?
Candace: I just started blogging in November and I’ve already learned so much, but I still have a lot more to learn. I’m sure that my page will see many changes in the future as I start to figure things out. Right now, I’m still learning the basics and the lingo. I’m asking a lot of questions of my more experienced blogger friends, who have been incredibly supportive and helpful. I’m kind of the “village idiot” right now, but that’s okay. 🙂
Ramona: When reviewing, do you respect a certain pattern, or just go with the flow?
Candace: Hmm. I don’t follow any specific pattern, but I do think that each reviewer has a certain style. I tend to hit on the same points, even if it isn’t pre-formatted or in a specific template. I have friends that have a type of template, which is great, but I’m not organized enough for that personally.
Ramona: Do you prefer books with happy endings or those with a life lesson, even if they don’t end in a good way.
Candace: Ahh, that’s tough. I like both. It depends upon my mood. I tend to favor darker reads or those that elicit raw emotions. Those are the ones that hang with me and make me re-think things. I love books that make me “feel”, even if it’s painful. I guess I have to go with the latter, even though I love me some unicorns and rainbows also.
Ramona: Do you have a certain way of arranging the book in your library? Colors, name, size?:D
Candace: I’m a terrible housekeeper, so I prefer electronic versions of my books. I know it’s almost sacrilegious to many of my reader friends, but between my lack of attention to housework and my 2 little hellcat daughters books have a short lifespan in my house. Pages don’t get ripped out of my Kindle copies and I can fit thousands of books in my purse at a time. My entire library goes with me everywhere I go.
Ramona: Do you mind sharing with us an interesting experience regarding your blog/ reviewer activity?
Candace: I haven’t had any stand-out moments as a blogger yet. However, I have had some weird experiences on Goodreads as a reviewer. I have more than one guy that seems to think that it is a dating site. I think they have the mistaken belief that if you read romance you’re looking for a guy online. One word: Creepy. I have to admit that I scrutinize male friend requests more closely now. I also changed my profile picture from a photo of me and my oldest daughter to a generic Pop-art image after a few concerning e-mails. Chatting with other friends on GR., I’ve found this isn’t all that uncommon. Be careful, ladies!
Ramona: What are your 2 favorite books in the whole world? And 2 book boyfriends please, because I can’t help myself in asking that :))
Candace: I don’t know that I could narrow it down to two favorites really, I have hundreds of favorites. Today, it would be ‘The Bronze Horseman’ and ‘Consequences’. Today, my favorite book boyfriends would be Kellan Kyle *sigh* and Anthony Rawlings, because I’m kind of twisted like that and I love to hate this guy.
Ramona: What do you enjoy the most in this reviewer/blogger activity?
Candace: I’m liking that it’s making me think and evaluate things that I haven’t thought about before. It’s also bringing to mind some of my favorite books and characters. I predict some re-reads in my near future.
Ramona: How do you feel about the tendency that book reviewing has now throughout the social media (blogs, GR etc)? Do you think bloggers are strong enough to be considered a community?
Candace: I love that social media has provided a new forum for sharing reviews with a broad base of readers. There’s no way that I would’ve been able to discuss books with readers from all over the globe, if it weren’t for Goodreads. I think it’s wonderful! I get so many book suggestions from my GR friends that I rarely select my next book without checking in. As far as the blogging community, I don’t feel like I know enough yet to comment on that. So far, it seems nice and supportive to me. I’ve met more interesting people and have also connected with many of my GR friends in a different way.
Ramona: Tell us your biggest dream regarding your blog and maybe share with us your plans for the future regarding it.
Candace: Not really sure right now. I’m kind of figuring it out as I go without any long-term plans or destination in mind.
Ramona: Thank you so much for taking your time in answering my questions, and as an ending, please share a few thoughts for the book lovers that want to pursue the same path as us?
Candace: I would say to do what makes you happy. It never hurts to try something new if you’re curious. If you don’t like it, you can always quit. As a new blogger, I had to find a balance. It can be very time-consuming to set up, even a very basic, blog initially. I had to set aside times for myself to work on my blog and didn’t work on it outside of those times. Otherwise, I’d find myself spending so much time on Goodreads and blogging that I didn’t actually have much time to read! This is a hobby for me and I don’t ever want it to be more work than fun.


For more reviews, you can find her on her blog: https://bookaddicthaven.com/
Imagini pentru i love blogging

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    1. Hello Lili:D I don’t think we are friends on GR, but please send me your name and I will search for you:D

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