Tell me about the person behind the blog?
I’m Anne, I’m 52 and I live in Lincolnshire with the bloke; Martin and two cats; Costa and Nero.
After over twenty years working in the NHS and the Voluntary Sector, I decided enough was enough when I was 50 and took a summer off work to decide what I was going to do with myself. During that time I started to organise Blog Tours for publishers and now that’s what I do most of the time.
I also do a couple of hours each morning at our local Hospice – entering patient details and looking after reception
When did you start blogging and why?
I posted my first blog post in March 2011. I was part of an online book forum – long before Facebook and had always posted reviews of the books that I’d read on the forum. I also reviewed for the Waterstone’s magazine and NewBooks magazine.
There weren’t many bloggers around in those days and I was inspired to start a blog about the random things that come through my letterbox after reading Guardianwork by Ian Carpenter. Ian was unemployed and decided that he would apply for EVERY job in the Guardian – he blogged about the results, and then published a book.
What are your proudest moments or achievements to date as a blogger?
I feel fairly pleased with myself every time I press ‘Publish’ on a blog post, because it doesn’t get easier, although it does seem to have become a way of life.
I’ve been shortlisted twice for the UK Blog Awards which was amazing as these are Bloggers that make their living from blogs. Book Bloggers are rarely represented at things like this, so I was delighted to be there for us book bloggers.
Being approached by the Book Editor of the Daily Express, to write reviews to be published in a national newspaper was pretty amazing, I still can’t quite believe that one.
If you had to breakdown the components of your ideal perfect book what would they be?
Cover! I’m a cover tart, and whilst I don’t mind a plain cover, or a generic cover, I’m a sucker for a beautiful cover. Books get bumped to the top of my TBR purely because of the cover, and I’ve bought so many books because the cover has made me drool.
Ideally, set in either the 1920s or the 1960s – those are my favourite eras, and if the book is set in a place that I know, then even better
Give me a totally unlikeable narrator and a page-turning plot and I’m there!
What is your favourite genre to read?
I don’t have a favourite favourite! I do love contemporary fiction and crime, especially a good dark psychological thriller.
However, I’ll read most genres, although I am really picky about historical fiction. I don’t read fantasy, science-fiction, westerns, werewolves, vampires or erotica
What are your top 3 books that you always recommend?
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruis Zafon – that’s the book that changed my reading life.
The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris – the only book that gave me nightmares
Chocolat by Joanne Harris – pure magic
Finally, tell me more about your blog and why we should subscribe?
Random Things Though my Letterbox is a mixture of all things books.
Reviews make up the majority of my posts but I also have a feature called My Life in Books which is really popular; authors and other people in the industry talk about the books that are special to them and inspire them.
I take part in Blog Tours, usually with a review or a My Life in Books post, but will sometimes share an extract or have a competition running as part of the tour.
Subscribe if you want to know about the books that I love – if you want to know about the books that I hate, then you really won’t!
To read more from Anne you can follow her by clicking on these links:
Random Things Through My LetterBox
Twitter: @annecater