Hey everyone! I’m so excited to share another special reader with you today!

I’m always looking for friends on Goodreads that have similar tastes. I like learning about books and discussing them with others, so I decided to experiment with an idea and thought it would be neat to find readers that I’m friends with on Goodreads or blogs and share them with you. Maybe they might be someone you’d like to add too? As I find readers with an interest, I’ll introduce them.

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This is another reader that I met through WordPress! Many of you already know her, but she’s a wonderful friend and is truly inspiring to me. I was so very delighted when she said she was interested in doing this series! Hope you enjoy. ❤

Meet the Reader Series

Today’s Featured Reader:

Noriko

Q: Did you enjoy reading as a child? If so, what were some of your favorite books?

A: I think I did. I don’t quite remember what I actually read, but since I’m the youngest child with a brother who’s 7 years older than me and a sister 5 years older than me, I would often pick up books out of their bookshelves, reading them while they were gone at school. I would read books for adults or high schoolers at the tender age of 8 or 9, I even remember reading Prophecies of Nostradamus! Lol

My favorite would be Alice in Wonderland. It was more like a picture book peppered with fantastical, whimsical illustrations and written in easy Japanese. Here are the pics that I recently found.

Q: What are some of your favorite books this year (or last)?

A: Many!! I was blessed to have read many exciting, thrilling reads lately!! Some of my favorites are:

The Couple Next Door (This is crazy messy psychological thriller. It’s almost laughable to see how flawed and pathetic the characters are!! But I like it.)

YOU by Caroline Kepnes. I will talk more about this book later

A Column of Fire by Ken Follett. Man, this is one of the most grand books that I’ve read this year. I did struggle in the beginning, but I ended up loving it so much.

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult. This is your (You, Mischenko!) recommendation and I am so glad you recommended it to me. I loved it so much. I like how Jodi weaves human drama gouging out the characters’ secrets and devious sides.

As of now, I’m reading another recommendation of yours – The Secret She Keeps and I’m devouring it! This is another deliciously written crazy psychological thriller that messed up my emotions and feels. It is highly likely that this book will be one of my favorite reads this year!

Q: What are your favorite book genres?

A: Psychological Thrillers, cozy-mysteries (I never thought I would say this…). These are my top 2 favorite genres. I basically favor heavy, emotionally charged books rather than feel-good books with happy endings (weird, I know), but when I read such heavy reads back to back, I tend to start craving a casual, light read. I recently found cozy-mystery fits the bill in such cases.

Q: Who are some of your favorite authors?

A: John Grisham, Shari Lapena, Patricia Cornwell, Debbie Macomber, Jodi Picoult, and Joanne Fluke!

 

Q: How many books are on your TBR shelf?

A: As of today, 247 books. But I have many more. I only add books to my TBR when I actually get the book.

 

Q: What’s an emotional book, or one you won’t forget that you’ve read this year or last?

A: YOU by Caroline Kepnes. This book left a huge impact on me. Who would ever have thought that I would get so emotionally attached to a criminal??? My brain was completely taken over. That was really a powerful book! I love it!

Q: Is there a book you really didn’t enjoy recently or even last year?

A: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. I had expectations for that book, but I just couldn’t get into it. I’m not really big on ambiguous, abstract writing style – I need a solid plot rather than having to read on and on and on about the protagonist’s monologue…

Q: What are you reading now?

A: I’m still plugging away at Lunchmeat by Ben D’alesso. I also picked up 99 days by I’ve been reading a lot of psychological thrillers lately, I need something lighter lol.

Q: They say to never judge a book by its cover, but just how important is the book cover to you?

A: That’s very important to me. I would say that’s of significance that makes me decide whether to pick up the book or not. As I said in my blog post, I might not pick up the book if I didn’t like the cover.

Q: Do you have a blog? If so, what is the name?

A: Yes, I do. It’s called Diary of a Bookfiend. I launched my blog on August 26th, 2016. It’s a book blog (as you can see) and I talk about books and my rambling thoughts about books and book related things.

Q: Have you written anything? If not, have you ever thought about writing your own book?

A: NO. Nothing. I don’t have any creative genes whatsoever. I don’t think I can ever write my own book. Never! Haha!

Q: Which do you enjoy more; eBooks or physical books? What about audiobooks?

A: I love them all! But I would say audiobooks/ebooks lately. I used to prefer physical books to ebooks. I didn’t even use to listen to audiobooks, but ever since I started listening to audiobooks last December, I’ve been listening to audiobooks almost back to back, and I take full advantage of the whispersync function that is available with kindle books and audiobooks. That’s fantastic. Incorporating audiobooks definitely enriched my reading experience and made it easier to pick up genres that I would normally avoid (chick-lit/women’s fiction). I’m loving them now.

Q: Where do the majority of your books come from? (Library, bookstore)

A: Amazon, Audible, Book depository, and Scribd. There aren’t any bookstores that handle English novels where I’m living in, so I need to go to online stores and such to get books.

 

Q: Can you share a favorite quote?

My friends’ complaints seemed so unimportant and meaningless compared to what Martin was experiencing. Mine did, too. I started to look at my own life in a new way. I saw all the things I took for granted—which cereal to eat for breakfast, or whether or not I wanted ice cream or cookies for dessert. These decisions were total luxuries. I got to choose. Even going to school felt different—not so much this thing I had to do, something I was lucky to get to do. – I will always write back.

You find out who your real friends are when stuff like this happens. Turns out I didn’t have any, but I’m glad Cooper does. – One of Us Is Lying

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Noriko writes beautiful book reviews and amazes me with her Japanese culture! I’m consistently being introduced to new books from her and she’s an awesome friend. Does she sound like someone you’d like to be friends with? You can find her on Goodreads by clicking HERE.

I’d like to thank Noriko for participating in the Meet The Reader Series! If you’d like to see everyone who’s participated in the Meet The Reader Series, you can click on “Meet the Reader Series” in the category section…

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As always, thanks for reading! Are you a reader that would like to be interviewed? Please let me know!