Did you miss us?

We missed you!

Yes, after a month’s hiatus, Book Blog Spotlight returns to its vital role of exploring the book blogosphere to bring you new and interesting places to find great books.

Review blogs are well established by now as one of the best and most popular routes by which readers find recommendations for good quality books in the endless slush pile of new and otherwise unknown authors. This is word of mouth, made grand and far-reaching by the power of the internet age, and in this column we will spotlight a different blog each week to talk about what they review, how and why.

Joining us under the newly polished spotlight this week is Tracey Cook of Booked Up!

CQ: To start us off, can you tell us a bit about your site and what new readers can expect?

TC: I’ve been blogging for slightly over a year now, and I really started it for two reasons, because my memory is terrible and I wanted to keep track of what I was reading, and because an indie author talked to me about how important reviews and exposure are to new authors and suggested as I enjoyed writing reviews I ought to start a blog. I read a bit of everything, lots of different genres, traditionally published and indie books so a range of reviews. New readers will also find author Q&As and the odd guest post and giveaway too. Variety is the spice of life!

CQ: You took a break from leisure reading with the birth of Monkey. Did you tastes change in that period, or do you love the same books now as you did before you stopped?

TC: As a new mum just finding the time to sleep was a challenge so reading for pleasure had to take a backseat. However around the time she turned one my husband bought me a kindle and that was what had a really big impact on my reading habits. Before I would go through phases, for a long time I read Grisham novel after Grisham novel, at one point I read loads of classics, and more recently I had predominantly bought Patricia Cornwell, Karin Slaughter and similar. Getting the kindle all of a sudden I had instant access to such a massive range that I decided I had to stop getting stuck in a rut, and that I needed to shake things up. I still love crime novels but I have moved way outside my comfort zone with some of the books I have read.

CQ: You list a wide variety of genres in your About section – comedies, crime thrillers, true crime, historical. What do you get the most requests to read?

TC: Strangely enough, although I mention in my About section that I am pretty picky about Fantasy that is the genre I probably get the most requests for.

CQ: How long is your To Be Read pile at the moment? Is a large TBR pile exciting or daunting?

TC: I have three TBR piles, one for books I have agreed to review, which is the priority, one for books I have bought and one for freebies . The first is slowly going down, while the second and third just keep getting longer. Having lots to read is always exciting, you never know when you will turn up an absolute gem, but I do get a bit anxious when the review pile is likely to take me more than a few months to get to the end of. I wouldn’t want the authors to think I’d forgotten about them or worse hated their book and decided not to review it without telling them.

CQ: Who are your favourite authors – both lifetime friends and ‘flavour of the month’?

Empire of the Sun

Empire of the Sun

Average Rating:

46 total customer reviews…

TC: Unlike the people who hate whatever they had to study at school I do love a bit of Dickens, and I know I can rely on Ben Elton for some serious laughs (the sort that get me strange looks on the train) Although one of my favourite books of all time has to be J G Ballard’s Empire of the Sun I have never found another of his books that come close to that. Recently I have really enjoyed David Gaughran’s books. He writes brilliant short stories, which have been a post-kindle revelation to me, and I read his full length novel last month. His work is so varied but consistently very good.

CQ: 2011 was your first complete year of the blog. What was your hidden gem of 2011 – the book you hadn’t been heard of till an author/publisher asked you to review it or a friend shoved a copy under your nose?

The Hairdresser of Harare

The Hairdresser of Harare

Average Rating:

19 total customer reviews…

TC: Wow, that’s a really hard one. A lot of the books I read are ones I first hear of when the author or publisher emails me and there have been a handful of 5* books I read last year that could be classed as hidden gems. If I have to name one, The Hairdresser of Harare by Tendai Huchu was a bit of a revelation.

CQ: Conversely, was there a book were you really looking forward to and hyped for, and then didn’t really enjoy?

The Accident: A Novel

The Accident: A Novel

Average Rating:

13 total customer reviews…

TC: I should have learnt my lesson when it comes to books that have received major critical acclaim by now, as they so often disappoint me. Despite that I picked up a copy of The Accident by Ismail Kadare (an International Man Booker Prize Winner) thinking it sounded brilliant but had to force myself to finish it.

CQ: What sort of ratio to independent or self-published books to mainstream published books do you read?

TC: I’ve never crunched the numbers so I’m not sure what the ratio would be but I lean heavily towards indie books. At a guess maybe 5:1

CQ: And to end, use this space to give a shout-out to one of your own favourite book blogs.

TC: One of my faves is Reflections of a Bookaholic. Alexis writes some great reviews and features some interesting memes. Hers is one of the first blogs I visit to catch up with.

Thank you for joining us, Tracy, for the renewed world of Spotlight.

Want to be Spotlighted, or have a favourite blogger you’d love to see grilled and learn more about? Email me!



About the Author

Verity Linden
Verity Linden
Really, it only LOOKS like magic. Verity Linden (AKA PublicityPixie) is a Literary Publicist working with Curiosity Quills Press author Michael Shean and others. She is a cat lover, nerd, gamer, and avid reader.
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