Q&A @ THE HOP.

As lots of you are aware there are plenty of blog 'hops' to go to, many of which ask their participants to answer a question of one type or another which is where I got my inspiration for this post.

Take CRAZY FOR BOOKS BOOK BLOGGER HOP which I try to get to most Fridays who posed the question question:-

"What are your feelings on losing followers? Have you ever stopped following a blog?"

As you can imagine most bloggers answered by saying how they were upset to loose followers and yet understood that life happens and they try not to dwell on it (loosing followers that is). HOWEVER a few blogs answered in greater depth saying they were considering allowing only followers of their blogs to enter their competitions/giveaways.

Umm, I have very mixed thoughts about this. On the one hand why shouldn't followers be rewarded? But then what about the people who are regular visitors/regularly leave comments but never actually sign up as followers? Then, on the other hand, isn't it better to have 'true' followers who visit simply because they want to and not just to enter a competition/giveaway perhaps never to visit again?

I'm very aware that in writing this I may risk offending people - that, believe me, is not my intention - I'm merely interested in your thoughts on followers.

Then there was READERBUZZ who mentioned a question posed by the hop they visited, LITERARY  BOOK HOP , which was answered partly by a question of their own:-

"How did you find your way to literary fiction?"

Interesting question! From an early age I can remember sitting on various knees sharing a story - indeed many of the earliest photographs of me show me with a book (albeit a cloth one) in my hand. However, my first real 'grown-up' experience would have been at primary school when I was perhaps 4 or 5.

Every week we were sent with 10p to save for when the Book Lady came which was about every 3 to 4 months. I can remember the excitement of seeing box upon box of books being unloaded and put on display in the school hall, the excitement of clutching my handful of change deciding which book I should pick.

The first book I can remember buying? The Pebbles Go to Town. How I'd love to be able to remember the author, to own a copy of that very book but alas all our searching has come to nothing.

So, I'll ask you the same question, how did you find your way to literary fiction?

Which brings me to the third question of this post:-

Dr Antony asks "how do you choose your books?"

As I think I may have mentioned before I have my favourite genres (don't we all?) but I consider myself a fairly eclectic reader who, generally speaking, is willing to give most types of books a go - at least once.

I have authors who I follow (Philippa Gregory and Kathy Reichs to name but two), then I often read books that I would not normally read because they are book club reads, then there are the book recommended by you, my blogger buddies, the books that I pick up as ex-library stock because they are only 10 -25p and so worth a look and then, finally, there are the book that people pass onto me wanting my opinion and/or thinking I'll enjoy the story. Oh, not forgetting that I am only human and will occasionally pick up a book just because I like the cover or because OR because 'the world and it's wife' seems to be reading it (the Twilight books, Fallen) and curiosity gets the better of me.

As to how I choose what I'm going to actually read next. Generally if I have ordered a new book or received one as a gift I will read this as soon as possible. Book club reads/library books also take priority as I usually only have these for a month. As for the rest, it really does just depend on what takes my fancy at that moment.

What about you, how do you choose the books you read?