Misty Baker "Kindle Obsessed" Interview

1: What is the inspiration behind the name of your blog? 

Well, I would think that’s painfully obvious, but for clarifications sake. I am obsessed with my Kindle.  I will say I haven’t gone as far as naming my kindle (I know a few people who have) but the thing never leaves my side. Ever.  In my purse, on my desk, in the car… it doesn’t matter, it’s there.  I was the same way with physical books though, always had one around, and by 1 I mean at least 3 (a copy of P&P, a thesaurus and whatever random book I was reading at the moment.)

When my husband bought me a kindle it was as if the sun finally started shining.  I finally had the ability to carry (almost) my entire library around without the risk of looking like a complete dork.

2: When did you know you wanted to write reviews on books?

Actually I didn’t. Even with the hundreds of books I had purchased and read off of Amazon, I NEVER went back and told people what I thought about them. 

It was David’s (my husband) idea that I start giving people my unadulterated low-down.  See, he is NOT a reader, so listening to me babble about characters and their issues was starting to drive him batty.  So one day, (mid rant) he gets up, grabs his laptop, starts a blog and says “Here! You want to talk about books? WRITE IT DOWN” I think it was his diplomatic way of telling me to “Shut the Sam-hell up.” After a few rants people started emailing me for book recommendations and before I knew it I was knee deep in books and telling everyone which ones to read and which ones to toss.

3:Do you own more than one E-reading device?

I do not.  I have looked at several other devices SINCE owning my Kindle, but with each I find myself saying “Eh…” until I find another one that just screams “TAKE ME HOME” I plan on sticking with old faithful.

4:On an average how many books do you receive to review in a week?

This actually varies.  I had to shut down my request page a few months ago because I got overwhelmed and bogged down.  I was averaging 3-4 books A DAY, (so what is that....roughly 20 books a week?) Since it’s been down (and don’t worry, I WILL eventually re-open it) I am getting about 3 A WEEK  from authors gutsy enough to email me directly or from authors I have previously reviewed.

5: How do you find time to read and write up so many detailed reviews?

Coffee, 5 hour energy, and a firm belief that sleep is overrated.  I work a full time job on top of reviewing so most of my writing is done in the middle of the night. As for reading… I cheat.  My kindle reads TO ME all day.  It sits on my desk and blabs away while I work.  I also have a 2 hour commute so it runs the entire time I’m in the car.  It’s not all that difficult to knock out a 250 page book when you have it running for 10 hours. I do however find myself pausing it when the story gets juicy and reading those couple of pages for myself. We’ll just call that OCD.

6: What is your favorite genre to read and review?

That’s actually going to be 2 VERY different things. 

I LOVE to read anything forensic anthropology related. (Trust me when I say I know more about the life span of a maggot that any normal person will ever need.) Reviewing them however gets a little tricky.  FA books skirt the line of being obnoxiously detailed, so telling a reader to “just fight through the 30 pages of body decay descriptives…it will get better”  doesn’t go over so well.

As for reviewing… I would say anything “dystopian.” The complexity of this genre offers me plenty of material, and for some crazy reason people get really amped up for them.  Their excitement rubs off on me and the next thing I know I’m 5 paragraphs in and only getting started.

7: Has the E-reader changed you reading habits? And if so is it a positive?

Reading habits? Yes, obviously… I never found myself reading for 10 hours a day before. 2? Yes. 10? No.

 I also read faster.  I’m about 90% sure it’s because I’m not having to shift constantly to find a comfortable position AND still flip pages, (but that’s just a guess).

 As for being positive, I would give that a resounding yes.  David however might disagree since he calls my kindle “the dark side.”

8:Everyone loves getting a nice review, have you received any negative response from a negative review? 

I have only ever gotten 1 bad response, and to be fair to the author he didn’t actually send it to ME.  He did however post it  in a public place and several acquaintances of mine forwarded me the link.  I was shocked (and hurt) by several of the things that were said, but after a few beers (and lots of tears) I got over it and moved on.  More often than not though, I get thank you letters for my honesty or authors trying to convince me that their “Next book is so much better!! Here…please read it!!!” 

9: Any advise you would like to share to authors who might want to submit their book to you? 

Go to my website and read my guidelines.  I appreciate it when authors are excited about their work (and just can’t wait to get feedback,) but I have a system in place for a reason, and that reason is to keep request in order. 

Also, (and this is the big one so pay very close attention) MAKE SURE YOUR SYNOPSIS IS A GOOD ONE.  If your pitch is sloppy, I’m going to assume your novel is too, and the chances of you getting the “sure... send it on over” email is slim to none.

10: Now for the most important question, I have heard rumors of another obsession you have even talks of rehab, are you a Gummy Bears addict and is it just the Gummy Bears or do partake in the  Gummy Worms and other Gummy critters?

I am an equal opportunity Gummy enthusiast.  As a matter of fact; just the other day I found myself dabbling in a little Gummy Octopus love.  I do have this horrible habit of segregating my gummies though.  I just can’t bring myself to eat several different colors at the same time.

http://www.kindleobsessed.com/