BBAW Blogger Interview: Kari from The Five Borough Book Review

It's Book Blogger Appreciation Week! As part of this week's festivities, we are swapping interviews with fellow bloggers, and my partner is the lovely lady pictured to the left. Her name is Kari and she is one of the bloggers for The Five Borough Book Review. Check out her interview below to get to know her a little better!

Let’s start simple. Why did you decide to start the blog?

Originally, I just started it as a way for my friends to discuss the books we read, since we never have found time for any kind of organized book club. I’m sure I’m like most people with book blogs in that I thought I was being sooooo unique with my great idea of a book blog…then quickly learned that I was not the first to have the idea.

List your top three books or book series.

Gloria by Keith Maillard
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
A Walk Across America by Peter Jenkins

If you could live the life of any character, who would it be and why?

Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables. I love love love the setting and time period when everything just seemed so much simpler, more about people and human emotion, without modern distractions. I actually recently wrote a blog post about this after rewatching the CBC films. The movies really make it more appealing as the art direction and cinematography makes the stories just look gorgeous.

Your bookshelves, organized or chaotic?

Pretty chaotic, I guess. I have books piled on my crowded apartment shelves and books that can’t fit there piled on my office desk. The only organization is that I put hardcovers together, so it looks nicer. And I put books by the same author together. I’m in the process of moving to an apartment with much more book space, so maybe they’ll be nicer in the future.

Favorite time of day to read?

Late afternoon/early evening. I used to love sitting on my front porch swing in the summer in Nashville, reading from the 4-7:00 hours as I watched the neighbors come home from work and I had the light of a low sun. But now in New York, I’m not particularly fond of one hour over another.

If you could change the ending of any book, what book would it be and how would you have it end?

The ending that sticks out in my mind as the worst ever is My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult. I actually threw the book across the room once I finished. Despite intended to be a “twist” ending, I thought it was so trite and contrived, and I haven’t read another Picoult book since. I would’ve just let the story end without that stupid “surprise.”

List three fun facts about yourself or your blog.

In college, I went to see Conan O’Brien filmed and on that day, he gave out free roundtrip JetBlue tickets to every member of the audience. So, I went to Puerto Rico.

I am destined to work around books. I worked at the public library in high school, I work in publishing now, and I’m going to grad school for library science.

I lived in London for five months and then backpacked through Europe. I’m trying to advance my French-speaking, because Paris is the city I’d go if I ever lived in Europe for a period of time.

Favorite part of living in NYC?

Everything is really convenient.

What is the one book you wish could be made into a movie or television series knowing it would be everything you wanted it to be?

The Betsy-Tacy series, into a quaint miniseries produced by PBS or something. So really, it should just be an American version of Road to Avonlea (though I’ve never actually watched the Road to Avonlea series but I know I’d love it, which is why it’s on my Netflix queue waiting for the weather to get cold enough for me to justify spending hours inside watching TV on DVDs).

What is your favorite book blog (outside of your own)? Favorite non-book blog?

I love reading Sasha & The Silverfish, because Sasha doesn’t write her blog like she’s writing for anyone other than herself. I think there’s a noticeable difference from when you write your honest reaction as if you’re writing for yourself versus when you’re writing to an audience. It’s something I try to remind myself to do. In terms of non-book blogs, I like smitten kitchen for its food inspiration, Design*Sponge for its home design inspiration, and Color Me Katie for its lovin’ life inspiration.

Thanks so much to Kari for stopping by!