New BFF: Blue Mood Cafe

Happy hump day! I’m so happy I can introduce you to another fabulous blogger today! Jonetta is the sweet lady running the Blue Mood Café. She’s totally awesome, very kind and quite an eclectic reader. You can find hot romance, young adult and thrillers on her blog.

I love her Saturdays at the Café series because she lists all the novels she’d love to read and there’s always a few I want to add when visiting. She also participates in 4 reading challenges this year among which an audiobook and historical fiction challenge if anyone’s interested in joining, but then she reads soooo many books a year, I’m seriously jealous!

I hope you all already know this lovely lady, but if you don’t, here’s your chance to find out more… time to move on to the interview!

Name: Jonetta

Age: Now, now 😏

Birthday: September 29

What did you study or do you study now / what is your current job? I studied accounting in college and though I decided I didn’t want to continue a career in that field after about 8 years, it was useful training that allowed me to branch off into a multitude of fields (research and development, marketing, government relations). I opted for early retirement when my wonderful employer was acquired by a not-so-nice one. I did some consulting but don’t do that so much any more.

Do you have any other hobbies? My first love was interior design and have helped friends and family with various projects over the years. Reading and blogging have consumed me most recently.

 

Your favourite color? Blue

Do you collect anything (besides books)? I collect porcelain demitasse.

What’s the name of the book that you’ve had the longest? Have you read it? I’ve books I’ve owned since childhood and am sure I read it.

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?

Absolutely! I regretted not only the money but the time I spent wasting my brain space on the philosophies spewed throughout. It was my first experience with an author who used his zealot followers to write positive reviews about a book they never read. It was years ago and all those 5 star reviews influenced my decision to not only buy it but recommend it for one of my Shelfari group reads. I still feel taken advantage of after six years.

Do you listen to audio books? I love, love, love audiobooks 💜 Years ago when I was dating my husband long distance, I used to rent them from Cracker Barrel (popular highway restaurant chain in the US) for about $2/week. You could pick them up from one location and return them at any other. Those books helped make a 10-hour round trip monthly road trip easier. I also remember when I was a six-year old child that my parents got me two books on records. I played them over and over again for years. Now, I’m listening to more books than I’m reading.

Do you have a favorite genre? I’m an eclectic reader, enjoying so many genres. With that said, left to my own devices, I’m going to always be drawn to my first love, mystery & suspense. That love was developed and nurtured by the old Nancy Drew books and the Alfred Hitchcock films and old TV shows (which I still watch!)

What is the book highest on your wishlist right now? Might I list three? Redemption by David Baldacci, Under Currents by Nora Roberts and Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid. The first two aren’t yet released but I let the third book get away 😒

How is your library organized?

I only read eBooks and listen to audiobooks so everything is digital. I use Goodreads as my tool to manage my books. I use a system of shelving that’s consistent and having a coding system in the personal notes section of the book that tells me if I own the book, am waiting for library purchase, etc. It’s highly organized as I own a LOT of digital books.

Do you read more ebooks or physical books?

I started reading eBooks exclusively about eight years ago, which is a big surprise to me. My husband bought me an eReader because I used to travel a lot for my job and I’m also a technology lover. However, I couldn’t conceive of giving up physical books. Well, the ease of purchase, handiness of having my library at my disposal and the ability to set my reading layouts just won me over. I miss the feel and smell of print books but am unwilling to give up the conveniences of digital reading. However! I love when publishers send me print books. My physical shelves runneth over 💜

Do you have a favorite book?

It’s typically the last 5-star book I read, which was Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. I’ll never forget this story. Also, looking back over the years, some of the most impactful were In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, which introduced me to true crime told in the narrative; The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, which introduced me to the horrors of the Holocaust; and, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers, which taught me the value of literary fiction as a teen. I have tons of favorites in every genre, too many to capture here but these are good representations of what influenced my love of reading and appreciation of all genres.

What’s the cover in your collection that you’re most proud of?

I don’t have a single one that stands out to me right now but I added Dual Citizens recently to my readpile because of the cover…

Lark and Robin are half-sisters whose similarities end at being named for birds. While Lark is shy and studious, Robin is wild and artistic. Raised in Montreal by their disinterested single mother, they form a fierce team in childhood regardless of their differences. As they grow up, Lark excels at school and Robin becomes an extraordinary pianist. At seventeen, Lark flees to America to attend college, where she finds her calling in documentary films, and her sister soon joins her.

Later, in New York City, they find themselves tested: Lark struggles with self-doubt, and Robin chafes against the demands of Juilliard. Under pressure, their bond grows strained and ultimately is broken, and their paths abruptly diverge. Years later, Lark’s life is in tatters and Robin’s is wilder than ever. As Lark tries to take charge of her destiny, she discovers that despite the difficulties of their relationship, there is only one person she can truly rely on: her sister.

In this gripping, unforgettable novel about art, ambition, sisterhood, motherhood, and self-knowledge, Alix Ohlin traces the rich and complicated lives of two indelible women. Dazzlingly insightful and beautifully crafted, Dual Citizens captures the unique language of sisters and makes visible the imperceptible strings that bind us to the ones we love for good.

I am, however, very prood of my copy of Native Son by Richard Wright. It’s a First Edition, published in 1940 and is one of my all time favorite books.

Do you have any idea how many books you own? <100, >100, >200, >300 …? Let’s just say I own more than 500 physical books and many, many more digital books 😏

Here’s a pic of my library of collectable books assembled by my husband and me:

What’s the title of the last book you purchased? I bought The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins by Dr. Seuss…for my 7-year old nephew. For me, it was Dreyer’s English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style by Benjamin Dreyer. It was recommended by What’s Non Fiction? and sits right by my reading chair.

As authoritative as it is amusing, this book distills everything Benjamin Dreyer has learned from the hundreds of books he has copyedited, including works by Elizabeth Strout, E. L. Doctorow, and Frank Rich, into a useful guide not just for writers but for everyone who wants to put their best foot forward in writing prose.

Dreyer offers lessons on the ins and outs of punctuation and grammar, including how to navigate the words he calls “the confusables,” like tricky homophones; the myriad ways to use (and misuse) a comma; and how to recognize–though not necessarily do away with–the passive voice. (Hint: If you can plausibly add “by zombies” to the end of a sentence, it’s passive.) People are sharing their writing more than ever–on blogs, on Twitter–and this book lays out, clearly and comprehensibly, everything writers can do to keep readers focused on the real reason writers write: to communicate their ideas clearly and effectively.

Chock-full of advice, insider wisdom, and fun facts on the rules (and nonrules) of the English language, this book will prove invaluable to everyone who wants to shore up their writing skills, mandatory for people who spend their time editing and shaping other people’s prose, and–perhaps best of all–an utter treat for anyone who simply revels in language.

What was your favorite author when you were a child? When I was really little (5-6 years old), I loved the Raggedy Ann & Raggedy Andy book series by Johnny Gruelle because I was consumed by the notion that my dolls and stuffed animals came to life at night. As mentioned before, I became a huge fan of the Nancy Drew book series. I also loved the Little House on the Prairie book series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I also loved The Bobbsey Twins book series by Laura Lee Hope. I don’t even remember the stories but do recall reading them all. I was also a Louisa May Alcott fan.

From which author do you have most books? J.D. Robb. I’m in love with the In Death series and own every book in the series (58 and counting).

Are there books you’ve read 2 or 3 times? I don’t really reread but did so with the J.D. Robb books…three times when there were 35 books in the series.

How many books are there on your Goodreads challenge this year and how many have you read already? I plan to read 150 books and have read 57 to date.

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

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
On Beauty by Zadie Smith
Nuts! by Kevin & Jackie Freiberg
The Emperor of Ocean Park by Stephen L. Carter
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Then Came You by Jeannie Moon
The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama

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

Luci – Lunarlucibooks
Chloé – Review by Chloe
Alex – Alexandra Wolfe
Kelly – FromBelgiumWithBookLove
Deborah – The Reading Chick

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 !