Maw Books

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Welcome to the second edition of the Maw Books Reader Spotlight!

Today, we are celebrating Becky - who in my opinion is one of the coolest readers out there!  I remember the first time Becky ever left a comment on my blog.  I honestly felt like she was a celebrity.  I was giddy.  I’d been lurking her blog, Becky’s Book Reviews, for awhile and then finally left a comment myself.  Becky is hands down,  not only one of my most favorite bloggers but one of my most favorite readers as well.  The passion that she has for literacy is amazing.

Personally, I have read so many books this last year based solely on Becky’s recommendation.  And what’s great is that she takes the time to give me those recommendations.  As an example, I went through my comments here on my blog and this is just a smattering of those recommendations:

On the Patron Saint of Butterflies:

I liked this one as well. Have you read Sister Wife? It’s a great read and I think it will interest you as well.

On books about the aftermath of disaster:

I think Aftershocks and Into the Firestorm might be good choices. Aftershocks is YA and Into the Firestorm is middle grade.

For hurricanes, you might try Hurricane Song or Ruby’s Imagine. I can’t remember if you’d read Two Bobbies or not. I seem to remember that you have.

Of course, my favorite is the all-too-fictional (thank goodness!!!) novel Life As We Knew It!

On Journey to Topaz:

Have you read Dear Miss Breed by Joanne Oppenheim??? Seriously one of the best, best books ever.

On a Thousand Never Evers by Shauna Burg:

I enjoyed this one. Just out of curiosity have you read White Lilacs by Carolyn Meyer? I think you’d enjoy.

On asking for U authors:

U Authors…I kept you in mind when I went to the library. (Though I admit that U author and X title are the only two I’m missing from the challenge.)

Yoshiko Uchida is a children’s author. Journey to Topaz is set during World War II. You might want to take a look at that one. She’s got several other novels out as well.

I also checked out the Montmorency series by Eleanor Updale. There are four in this YA series.

On A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck:

Have you read The Teacher’s Funeral? I loved, loved, loved that book. We’re talking serious love here. And Here Lies the Librarian is great too.

On I Have Lived a Thousand Years:

Have you read In My Hands yet by Irene Gut Opdyke? What about The Cage by Ruth Minsky Sender? I loved that one. It was so powerful. And did you know that there are two more books, I believe, in this series of memoirs? Livia Bitton-Jackson continues her life-stories. I definitely recommend going forward with them.

Isn’t Becky amazing?  So let’s find out more, shall we . . .

Maw Books:  Introduce yourself.  What would you like us to know about you?

Becky: My name is Becky. I’m an addict as you might have gathered. Books. Blogs. Challenges. I guess you could say I’ve always tended toward the obsessive side of things. What I love, I tend to really love. I’m a passionate person who tends to do things heart and soul. I’m daughter, sister, friend–also cousin, niece, granddaughter. I live in Texas. I come from a long line of Texans–as in over a hundred and fifty years. I live with my mom and dad. And our house is the ‘family farm’ if you will–it was built by my great-grandparents in the 1950s.

Maw Books:  Oh wow.  I didn’t realize you came from such a long line of Texans.  I lived in Austin for four years as a middle schooler.  My parents and brother live in Austin!  So, why reading and not something else?  What is it that keeps you reaching for that next book?

Becky: I’ve always loved reading. It’s in my genes, almost. I guess I love that lost-in-a-book feeling that satisfies like nothing else. It’s not that all I read is escapist in nature, some is quite serious and thought-provoking, but I love settling in with a book and becoming absorbed–whether it’s my heart, soul, or mind that it’s engaging the most. As to what keeps me reaching, it’s all desire. Reading makes me happy.

Maw Books:  What is your earliest reading memory?  And what were you like as a young reader?

Becky: I’ve got a few mostly involving my mom reading to me. Mom has a cassette tape of her reading to me. On this one cassette, there are multiple stories–picture books. One is Umbrella by Taro Yashima, a wonderful, wonderful book. Anyway, on the tape you can hear my toddler-self joining in on the reading. Especially during Umbrella with the bon polos. (The sound of the rain falling on the sidewalks.) I can’t *remember* that exactly. I *wish* I had a picture to go with this next memory. There is a picture, somewhere, but that’s another story. I suppose I was about four. I remember settling into the recliner (burnt orange as it was!) and pulling book after book after book off the shelf. They were childcraft encyclopedias. And I pulled each and every one of them off the shelf. I had a happy little stack by me. I remember thinking to myself, Do I want to read this one? or that one? Oh, that one looks fun. And the pile grew and grew. What ended up happening is that I fell asleep surrounded by books. I suppose Dad discovered me all curled up with books and a big smile on my face and captured it on film. I tend to still do stacks.

I learned to read in kindergarten mostly with phonics and sight words. So my first reading memories where I’m doing the work are for things like Matt the Rat and Pig in a Wig and The Mean Goat.

As a kid, surprisingly enough, my sister read more than I did. I was much more interested in playing–especially playing Barbies.

I did read books. But not all day, every day. Summer days were made for playing. Outside. Inside. Didn’t matter where. I didn’t become obsessed with books really until I got my own room (I shared a room with my sister until I was thirteen.) and got my own lamp. Then the night became my own.

Maw Books:  We had those awesome childcraft encyclopedias as well.  You are going to have to find that photo.  So sweet!  What inspired you to start a book blog?  How many blogs do you have?  How long have you been blogging?  And how do you find time to post so often?

Becky: I had been looking to do something online for quite a while. The first attempt that I’ll admit to was a tripod page called Miss Becky’s Book Reviews. It was okay. Not pretty by any means. It was something I’d update every other week or so during the school year. But it wasn’t easy to update, very inconvenient in a way. In late July of 2006, my professor started a blog called Poetry for Children. I saw that it was a blogger/blogspot hosted blog. I started clicking away trying to find out about this service…and the rest is history. I started my first blog in August of 2006.

Too many to count. I have Becky’s Book Reviews. I have Young Readers. I have Operation Actually Read Bible. Those are my main blogs, the ones where I try to post regularly and create a readership. I also have Becky’s Challenges on WordPress. This is my behind-the-scenes blog where I keep track of all my challenges. I don’t know what others could gain from it other than noting my descent into madness. I have a few challenge blogs that exist only because of challenges.

I have time to post because I treat blogging like a full-time job.  A typical day goes something like this:

9:00-10:00 Wake up. Eat Breakfast.
–12:00 When breakfast is over and done, I check email, check my blog reader, catch up on reading blog posts, think about what I want to post on each blog. Sometimes I know which book I want to write a review of that day. Sometimes I have a stack to choose from.
12:00-1:00 Think about and actually eat lunch.
–3:30 Back to checking email, writing blog posts, reading other blogs, general surfing of the internet. Sometimes I do box shuffling in the afternoon. Often I do data entry–maintaining my book database: entering new books, entering review links to the books I’ve read, etc. Rarely I read a book.
3:30-4:30 Think about and actually eat supper. I typically watch movies fragmented over lunch and dinner.
4:30-6:00 Back to the computer.
6:00-6:40 Sometimes I’m on the phone with my sister; sometimes I’m napping; sometimes still on the computer; sometimes I read a chapter or two in a book.
7:00-10:00 Family time. Eating of bedtime snack. Watching TV and/or movies. Sometimes chatting on the internet.
10:00-1:00ish I do almost all my reading at night between the hours of 10PM and 2AM.

Of course that isn’t each and every day, but most days go something like that.

Maw Books:  You really do have my dream job.  Sigh . . . What is your favorite post/series/concept/etc about your book blog?

Becky: For Young Readers, I just love, love, love my baby reviewers. The little guy starring in my baby reviews–of the moment–is Snugglebug. That’s him on the header. He reviews board books and a few picture books. His mama, Ladybug, is going to be writing his reviews for him, of course, and they’ll be featured every first and third Friday. His past contributions can be found here. He’s the third and most prolific of my baby reviewers.

On Operation Actually Read Bible, I’m having a lot of fun with my Question of the Week feature.

On Becky’s Book Reviews, I have a Travel the World feature on most Wednesdays that highlight international titles–books that were first published in another country outside the U.S.

I also really love hosting challenges. Sometimes this means starting a new blog. But often, I’ll just host at Becky’s Book Reviews.

I love doing author interviews too though this isn’t a regular feature on the blog. Sometimes I get distracted and forget that I need to actively be booking authors to do interviews and lining them up and scheduling them.

Maw Books:  What is it about blogging that has surprised you the most?

Becky: How incredible the community is. How welcoming. How diverse. How supportive. How fun! Meeting people. Finding kindred spirits. Yes, there can be some haters out there. But for the most part, it’s been so positive a experience. I just love it

Maw Books:  I’m sure that I’m not the only one who is in sheer amazement over the amount of books that you read.  Are you a speed reader?  And where do you get time to read so many books?

Becky: I’ve always been a ‘good’ reader. A fast reader. By the time I was starting seventh grade, I was testing post-high-school in reading on achievement tests. Sadly, my strengths reading didn’t carry over into math and science and mechanics. I’m incredibly poor in that area. I couldn’t explain electricity if my life depended on it. My dad has always been a builder-and-a-fixer. He can take almost anything apart, fix it, reconstruct it good as new. And he’s great at drawing. Mom loved science–especially chemistry. Me? My only strengths are reading, writing, and sometimes spelling.

As for how ‘fast’ I can read. It really depends on the level of difficulty. I can read a book like Moxy Maxwell or Ramona Quimby Aged 8 in about twenty minutes…maybe twenty-five. But typically speaking, I can do 100 to 110 pages an hour. I’m not sacrificing comprehension for speed. I get swept away by the story and it has my complete attention. But if the book is complex–like a good many classics are–my pacing is slowed, probably cut in half.

Maw Books:  I have been dying to know the answer to that question.  Now my mind can rest!  How did you become a Cybils Young Adult panelist and what was that experience like?

Becky: I saw the call for Cybils judges and applied for the job. I am so lucky to have been chosen both years I’ve applied. Any kid-or-YA-book-related blogger can apply. I can’t remember if it’s mid to late August or very early September when they start looking for volunteers, but I start paying close attention around then.

It’s great fun. It really is. Reading, reading, always reading. It’s not enough then to just read a book a day; no, you’ve really got to go all-out and read two to three books a day. You’ve got to make reading your top priority for two months essentially. The last week of reading is always going to be the week of Christmas, so you have to be prepared to sacrifice for the greater cause at times. The big-discussion-day is super-fun but extremely draining. Narrowing down over 130 books to a mere seven. It can be stressful and exhausting, afterwards you just want to crash and sleep for a day or two. But it’s fun too.

At the same time, I’ve got Librarian’s Choices going. Librarians Choices is a project led by two professors, Dr. Sylvia Vardell and Dr. Janet Hilbun at Texas Woman’s University. A team/committee/group of twelve to fifteen book-minded people (teachers, librarians, library-students, etc.) meet seven to eight times throughout the year. We collectively read as many books as we can. We meet and discuss books. Nominate titles.

Our goal? To name the 100 best books of the year written for children and young adults. Each of our 100 gets a review, activity suggestions, and related books list. These are published into a book. So I’m an extremely busy person in November and December. That’s why I like the freedom that January brings. You can view past lists here. (Of course, I post the lists on my blog too.)

Maw Books:  Who is your favorite author that you’ve interviewed?  And why?

Becky: That’s a hard question! Probably Kathi Appelt. As to why, I’m not sure. I think all the authors I’ve interviewed are wonderful. I appreciate their time and am grateful that they were willing to spend some time answering questions for me. That being said, I worked really hard preparing for the Kathi Appelt interview. And I think Appelt’s genuineness (and all around awesomeness) shone through.

Maw Books:  And yay, she just one a Newbery Honor!!  That was a great interview!  Who is the one author that you would love to interview but haven’t yet?

Becky: Sarah Dessen, maybe. Orson Scott Card. Shannon Hale. Carolyn Meyer.

Maw Books:  I know I couldn’t ask you to name just a few favorite books that you’ve read in your lifetime or even in just the last year, but what is the one book that you reread over and over again?

Becky: Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. I have reread it every year since first discovering it in the fall of 2000. I have also reread Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer every year since reading it in the fall of 2006.

Maw Books:  *hangs my head in shame* I haven’t read either of those books.  And *gasp* I haven’t read a single Orson Scott Card book.  What book are you most looking forward to reading in 2009?

Becky: The one I can’t get my hands on…at the moment. I look forward to so many books. So many books call to me…and I’m happy to oblige. But there are always a few that play hard to get. But to give you a real, tangible answer I’ll say I’m looking forward to Sarah Dessen’s new book, Along for the Ride which is being released in June. Margaret Peterson Haddix’s Sent which is being released in August. Jessica Day George’s Dragon Spear which is being released in May. Elizabeth Scott’s Love You, Hate You, Miss You which is a May release.

Maw Books:  If you could have dinner with five authors – dead or alive – who would they be?

Becky: Andrew Peterson. Orson Scott Card. Jane Austen. Margaret Mitchell. Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Maw Books:  Ohhh – good call on Laura Ingalls Wilder.  What do you do for work?

Becky: My work is all play. I don’t have a paying job. I just blog full-time. Which is probably why I’m able to maintain three blogs.

Maw Books:  What do you do outside the world of books?

Becky: I love many things. I love listening to music. I love making my own compilations. I spent most of my life wanting to grow up to be one of the people that make ‘best-of’ cds. You know the Time-Life music collection infomercials and the like. I wanted to do that for a living. I guess part of me still does. I love all types of music.

Maw Books:  Favorite TV show and movie?

Becky: Stargate SG-1 is my favorite TV show. I wrote about it for a weekly geeks post. My favorite episode? Without a doubt it’d be Window of Opportunity. Plus, I’ve got to adore Upgrades and Divide and Conquer for all the Sam/Jack drama. I also love the sequence There But for The Grace of God, Within the Serpent’s Grasp, and The Serpent’s Lair. And 1969. There are really too many to list. And I also love Star Trek The Next Generation. (Though I like Star Trek The Original Series too. Though I don’t like it as much. One of my favorite episodes is Friday’s Child. I love Dr. McCoy’s line: I’m a doctor, not an escalator.)

My favorite current TV show (not a reality show) is Life On Mars. I do have a weakness for some reality TV: Biggest Loser, Dancing with the Stars, American Idol.

And I have a weakness for Masterpiece Theatre. I love to watch classics become movies…if for no other reason than to see if I ‘like’ what the directors/writers have chosen to do with it.

Movies. That’s a hard one to pin down. Right now, I’m loving Mamma Mia. If you’d asked me last spring, it would have been Enchanted. If you’d asked me before I suffered through the third movie, I’d have answered Pirates of the Caribbean. I love a variety of movies. I love 13 Going On 30, Never Been Kissed, Strictly Ballroom, Moulin Rouge, etc. But I love, love, love musicals: Sound of Music, My Fair Lady, High Society, The King and I, South Pacific, Singin’ in the Rain, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, etc. I love some Disney as well: Beauty and the Beast, Robin Hood, Little Mermaid, Aladdin, 101 Dalmations.

Maw Books:  Well, you know my thing with recipes, so do you have a favorite recipe that you would like to share?

Becky:  Dr. Pepper Cake

For the cake

1 white or yellow cake mix (A cake mix without pudding. Cheap kind is fine. You’ll have to trust me on that.)

1 cup Dr. Pepper (1 measuring cup of Dr. Pepper. Which leaves just enough of your 12 oz. can to have some while you’re working.)

1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce

For the topping:

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup chopped nuts (pecan or walnut)

Baking directions:

1) Follow the directions on the box of your cake mix. EXCEPT that instead of adding their amount of liquid/water (oil, etc.) you substitute 1 cup Dr. Pepper and 1/3 cup of unsweetened applesauce.

2) Pour the batter into your cake pan. (It does also work as cupcakes if you prefer.)

3) For the topping, mix your brown sugar and nuts together well. Mixed Well being the key words if you don’t like eating clumps of brown sugar. Brown sugar is clumpy and lumpy for the most part.

4) Sprinkle the topping mixture on top of your cake batter.

5) Bake it according to the temperature and time given on the cake mix.

Option: If you’re the kind of person that likes cake and ice cream…this cake goes VERY VERY good with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. (Might I suggest Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla.) Both Blue Bell and Dr. Pepper are Texas originals.

Maw Books:  Blue Bell!  I remember that ice cream.  If you had a free day with no responsibilities and your only charge was to enjoy yourself, what would you do?

Becky: My perfect day would include a balance of things: hanging out with family and friends–good conversation and perhaps a good movie, enjoying a good meal or two, and settling in with a book or two. With family and friends it isn’t so much what you do as to how you do it. For example, when I get a chance to spend time with my sister, it doesn’t matter what we do–we could spend the whole afternoon cooking, cleaning, and making a grocery list–but it’s the fact that we’re together. As to good food, I’m definitely opinionated!!! I am extremely passionate about one place which I have lovingly dubbed Kill-A-Cow, it’s the DENTON COUNTY INDEPENDENT HAMBURGER COMPANY. Any ‘perfect’ day would have to include a cheeseburger dinner there. That’s because I think it’s a heaven-on-earth. Is it wrong to love a hamburger that much? Probably? Maybe? I don’t care.

Maw Books:  Wow.  If I’m ever in the area, you’ll have to take me.  Do you have any funny quirks or something totally random about you?

Becky: I am OCD with scrambled eggs. Seriously OCD. To the point I make other people nervous if they watch me. First, I’m extremely particular about my scrambled eggs. (You’ll NEVER in a million years catch me eating them out at a restaurant.) They must be soft. Softer than soft. Second, for as long as I can remember (probably twenty-five years or so) I’ve been “having” to cut my eggs into rice size pieces. And yes, I literally mean the size of a grain of rice. I don’t cut a bite and eat it. I cut them all at once. And it’s not until the final piece has been cut that I can take my first bite. Rationally, I know that my mind most have issues going on somewhere. But I can’t force myself out of the ritual. The thought of not doing it makes me sick. Mother thought for a while that if she cut (or mashed my eggs with a masher) that it would end the ritual. But no, even if they come to me pre-cut or pre-mashed, I still have to be the one to do it. My mind won’t let eat them otherwise.

The good news? While I’m really really weird with scrambled eggs. This weirdness doesn’t translate to any other foods. I’m not exactly like that with any other food. So if I’ve got time in the mornings, I might scramble an egg. Otherwise, I like them fried. I’m not OCD with fried eggs

One of my major quirks–almost right up there with the scrambled eggs–is that I am super-terrified of escalators. If a person is foolish enough to grab and drag me onto one (something that usually doesn’t happen more than once) then I will yell and scream in terror the entire time. My brother-in-law learned this the hard way. I guess I hadn’t vocalized this fear of mine in the beginning so he was clueless the first time we three went to the mall together. It was probably just as terrifying for him–speaking of embarrassment–as it was for me. I screamed the entire time and gripped onto my sister like she was a life preserver. Me? I wasn’t embarrassed. I was too busy being afraid for my life.

Maw Books:  So funny!  Both of them.  Wow. How do you do in elevators?  What’s the one thing that you wish people knew about you but you don’t brag about?

Becky: I can’t think of a thing, really. I just read and talk about it.

Maw Books:  Anything else you wanted to mention but I didn’t cover?

Becky: I just want to thank you for this opportunity! I love your blog and it’s been a real treat.

Maw Books:  What a fantastic interview!!!!  Thank you so much!

Let Becky know what you enjoyed most and don’t forget to visit her over at Becky’s Book Reviews.  But be forewarned, you’ll end up with a lot of books in your TBR piles because of it!  Thanks Becky for being in the spotlight today!

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