New BFF: Reviews by Chloe

Happy Wednesday everyone! Maybe I can brighten your day a little bit by introducing my very lovely blogfriend Chloé.

She’s such a sweetheart, I mean it! We would probably never ever meet and work together irl (science, really?!) but as for reading we are definitely a perfect match, I love ALL the books she reads! She also seems to love pizza as much as I do so she’s on my list of bloggers I really want to meet someday :-). Maybe she can explain me a little about her favorite app Instagram then too.

Before we get to the interview, don’t forget to check some of the reviews she posted on her blog Reviews by Chloé, where you can find books, books and more books :-). Done? OK let’s get down to it:

Name: Chloé Douglas

Age: 27

Birthday: end of October

What did you study or do you study now / what is your current job? I’m a science nerd and have two degrees to prove it! I have worked in both the nuclear and rail industry and love nothing more than spreadsheets, calculations and writing a good paper!

Do you have any other hobbies? I love going out for walks especially at National Trust places all over the UK, there are some absolutely incredible places that you can explore and they usually always have a handy walking map to show you the trails.

I am also an avid Formula 1 fan, so often I spend my weekend watching that!

Your favourite color? Yellow! It’s been my favourite colour since I was very small! I don’t tend to wear it (although mustard seems to work on me!) but I love having yellow themed items

Do you collect anything (besides books)? I don’t think I’ve got room to collect anything else! But I am obsessed with stationery so you could probably say I collect that… as who needs 20 notebooks all at the same time!

What’s the name of the book that you’ve had the longest? Have you read it? I feel like I’d have to ask my mum! Maybe The Tale of Peter Rabbit? I have definitely read that a few times… the pages prove that!

Have you ever regretted a book you purchased? A book that sounded so promising but you wished you’d have spent your money on another book after reading it? The Essex Serpent – I was really, really looking forward to reading it, bloggers had raved about it, colleagues were reading it etc. I just assumed I would like it. I couldn’t seem to find it anywhere other than Waterstones, so I believe it was purchased at full RRP price and I don’t think I got past 50 pages. I wish I had just gone to the local supermarket and spent the money on a few paperbacks! Although it still sits wistfully staring at me from my DNF pile, I do hope that one day I pick it up.

Blurb

London, 1893. When Cora Seaborne’s controlling husband dies, she steps into her new life as a widow with as much relief as sadness. Along with her son Francis – a curious, obsessive boy – she leaves town for Essex, in the hope that fresh air and open space will provide refuge.

On arrival, rumours reach them that the mythical Essex Serpent, once said to roam the marshes claiming lives, has returned to the coastal parish of Aldwinter. Cora, a keen amateur naturalist with no patience for superstition, is enthralled, convinced that what the local people think is a magical beast may be a yet-undiscovered species. As she sets out on its trail, she is introduced to William Ransome, Aldwinter’s vicar, who is also deeply suspicious of the rumours, but thinks they are a distraction from true faith.

As he tries to calm his parishioners, Will and Cora strike up an intense relationship, and although they agree on absolutely nothing, they find themselves at once drawn together and torn apart, affecting each other in ways that surprise them both.
The Essex Serpent is a celebration of love, and the many different shapes it can take.

Do you listen to audio books? I do and I don’t. When I was a child, my grandmother bought me Harry Potter tapes and I used to listen to them to fall asleep in the evenings…. and after so many years I still do, although now I’ve got them on my iPhone! But other than falling asleep to Harry Potter, I don’t think I have listened to one.

Do you have a favorite genre? I’ll go broad and just say the Thriller genre. Usually I’m more specific and state it’s psychological thrillers, but at the moment I am enjoying legal and crime thrillers a lot!

What is the book highest on your wishlist right now? I absolutely ADORED The Girlfriend by Michelle Frances and I’ve just spotted that she has a new book out now called The Temp. I can not wait to get my hands on it, it’s already sitting in my amazon wish list… just waiting for my excuse to hit BUY!

Michelle Frances graduated from Bournemouth Film School and then from the Masters programme at the American Film Institute, Los Angeles. Returning to London, she has worked for several years in film and TV as a script editor and producer for both the independent sector and the BBC. Find out more at http://michellefrancesbooks.com

How is your library organized? I have two main bookshelves, one is organised by colour which looks beautiful but only contains finished books so I don’t touch it and ruin it! The other is organised in piles of TBRs, DNFs and books I’ve completed.

Do you read more ebooks or physical books? Physical books, I’m not a big fan of eBooks (although I will read them occasionally, maybe 1 to 5 a year), I just love holding a book in my hands and being able to see how far in I am, smell that fresh book smell, walk through bookstores and pick a special book etc…

 

Do you have a favorite book? Ok this might not be my favourite but it’s definitely my most memorable – The Litigators by John Grisham. Before that book, I’d been in a bit of a reading slump and only picking up maybe 1 to 2 books a month, but after reading The Litigators, I became obsessed with reading all over again and was picking up 2 books a week… and have ever since!

What’s the cover in your collection that you’re most proud of? It would have to be one of these two: Little Women and A Little Princess. Both of these books have such a big place in my heart from my childhood so when I saw these special edition covers I had to buy them, even though I’ve already got copies of them both!

Do you have any idea how many books you own? <100, >100, >200, >300 …? Over 300, probably more like 600? I tend to hoard books and never give them away!

What’s the title of the last book you purchased? Typical me…. I bought five books: Copy Cat by Alex Lake, Since We Fell by Dennis Lehane, The Darkness Within by Lisa Stone, Shame On You by Amy Heydenrych and Odd Child Out by Gilly Macmillan. These were all on offer on amazon so I scooped them up for less than a tenner!

What was your favorite author when you were a child? JK Rowling, without a doubt. I grew up near enough same age as Harry each year so I really related to the books and I loved that everyone around me was reading the same book, so that I could discuss them all day long!

From which author do you have most books? Definitely John Grisham, I think I have nearly all his books. I LOVE his books! (Although I do agree with my fellow Grisham fans – the last few are not as good 😦 )

Are there books you’ve read 2 or 3 times? No, for some reason I have never been able to read a book a second time. I have tried, but within the first ten pages the entire plot comes back to me and it seems pointless to re read, since there are so many lovely other books out there in the world for me to read!

How many books are there on your Goodreads challenge this year and how many have you read already? I don’t use Goodreads for my challenge as I tend to just use my diary to tally my books. My aim last year was to read 100 books and I ended up reading 103 – very happy with that. I’m aiming for the same again this year, another 100. I’m on my third book this year, having finished Scrublands by Chris Hammer and Blackberry and Wild Rose by Sonia Velton – both AMAZING books btw! I’m currently reading the Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle.

Can you spell your name with the first letters of titles in your book case ?

(The) Cactus by Sarah Haywood
(The) Honeymoon by Tina Seskis,
Lie With Me By Sabine Durrant,
Our House by Louise Candlish,
Eve of Man by Giovanna & Tom Fletcher

In case you missed it, here are the 5 last BFF’s (Blog Friends Forever) I posted about. If you want to read the previous posts, you can find the tab with links on my home page.

Vera – Unfiltered Tales
Kelly – Another Book In The Wall
Zoë – What’s Better Than Books
Umut – Umut Reviews
Luci – Lunarlucibooks

I don’t want my BFF club to be complete just yet! There’s still room for plenty more so give me a shout if you want to be featured in April!