Now, I understand that there are innumerable blogs out there that review books. I am not vain enough to think that mine will be a shining star in the firmament that grounds all those other blogs. Seriously... I'm not that special. However, I am a better writer than some reviewers I've read, so I can't be that awful to read.
Also, I know my reading preferences well enough to know that the great majority of the books I review will be fantasy. There will also be science fiction, mystery, and historical fiction as I read them, since those are the other genres I enjoy. This blog won't have many contemporary fiction, nonfiction, or romance reviews. I just don't read those with any sort of regularity. That doesn't mean that they aren't valid literature, it just means that I'm not the biggest fan.
There will be a lot of middle-grade and YA (Young Adult) fiction reviews as well. I feel that some of the most interesting work being published is in those two fields. The standards set for them are much higher than with adult novels. By and large they are better edited (we're talking even simple mechanical edits) and more inventive. Middle-graders and teenagers are a tough sell... tougher than many adults who've become jaded with the literary world (or decided that The Jungle was the last things they were ever going to read after a horrible experience with an over-exuberant High School teacher). They won't read anything patronizing that insults their intelligence, but they still have a great capacity for new and exciting things.
I prefer a "clean" read, although what I may deem as clean may not be for someone else. For this reason, I will make it a point to include little notes about violence, language, sex, and adult themes with each review.
Let’s see… I could list my qualifications (Bachelor’s Degree in English with a minor in Illustration, worked in a library for eight years, etc.), but that would become tedious really quickly. It will have to suffice that am a bibliophile of the first degree. I am that crazy lady who will only buy a purse that is large enough to stuff in a paperback book with everything else. I’m the lady for whom a fantastic date night includes dinner and a trip to a book store. I’m the aunt who buys books for birthdays and Christmas. I’m the woman who bought books for her unborn children before a single article of clothing. I’m a bookwyrm and proud of it.
(And yes… that is a deliberate spelling. Wyrms as in dragons are wonderful, fantastical creatures that are far more thrilling than worms, which are slimy and nasty and leave a nasty paste on the bottom of your shoe when you step on them. Ick.)
