For today’s blogger interview we’re welcoming Crystal from What R U Reading? Crystal was one of our first guest book reviewers in February (check out her review here). Let’s find out some more about her! 

Hi Crystal, welcome to Aside from Writing, can you tell us a little about yourself and What R U Reading?

Hey, thanks for having me! Well my name is Crystal and I am 21 years old. I live in Virginia where I am a full time college student at Radford University. In my very limited free time I love to read, and I thought it would be nice to share my love for books with others. So I created my blog What RU Reading, I am still new to the blogging scene but I am really enjoying it so far!

What prompted you to start writing it and was there anything particular you wanted the blog to achieve? 

I do not really have many friends that share my love for reading so I decided to create my blog as a way to meet others that also love books. When I created What RU Reading my main goal was, and still is, sharing what I am reading with others as well as my thoughts after I am finished reading. I also love hearing what books other readers have read and really enjoyed.

What R U Reading has a facebook page that closely tracks the blog – some people have both, other bloggers don’t bother with facebook or twitter feeds to promote the blog. Why did you add one and what difference do you think it makes?

I decided to create a facebook page for my blog to attract more readers. By having my facebook page I have expanded my audience beyond fellow bloggers. Before I created the facebook page I felt that my audience was limited to only other bloggers who found me through similar blogs. With facebook I am able to gain readers that aren’t bloggers. I hope that makes sense lol 🙂

What do you think are the best (and perhaps worse) things about engaging with authors through your blog/facebook?

I really like being able to talk to authors through facebook and blogs. It gives us (the reader) a chance to express our thoughts and such about a book directly to the source. The worst part?? Well I would have to say it is the fact that they are all so creative, I wish I had the skill to put together stories but I do not think story telling is my thing.

And what’s the best bit about connecting with fellow readers?

The best thing about connecting with other readers would have to be all the suggestions they give. Without all their book suggestions I might not have read some awesome books!

You’re studying graphic design/art…. at the moment. Do you think you judge a book by its cover more than another person might?

I absolutely tend to judge a book by its cover, I do not think I do so more than any other person. But I do think that I judge a book by its cover in a different way than other people might. I tend to look at the composition, layout, colors, etc of a cover and think about what they did well as a design or what they could have improved on. As a graphic designer I tend to really notice the typeface on a cover, the wrong typeface can just throw the whole design off. 🙂

Do you have any book cover favourites, from a design point of view?

I really like simplistic designs, I think that you can tell a story with a single image. I do not really like covers that have to much going on. I love the cover of Elixir by Hilary Duff. They made a beautiful cover that is very simple yet eye catching, and the image is very representational to the story. The cover for The Help by Kathryn Stockett, is really nice I like the use of complementary colors. I also really like all of the Twilight series covers, another instance of simplicity.

What genres/authors do you love to read?  

I really enjoy reading Young Adult books, usually paranormal romance. I particularly  love Richelle Mead. I have really enjoyed all of her books, her Vampire Academy series is one of my favorites. Definitely team Dimitri ♥

Best books you’ve read so far in 2012?

So far this year I have read City of Fallen Angels, Hush Hush, The Girl of Fire and Thorns, and Cinder. I really liked all of them but if I had to pick the “best” I would go with…..oh this is so hard lol. I would pick Cinder, I loved the twist on the classic fairy tale.

Random Questions:

If you could be a character from any book – who would it be and why?

Bella Swan, only because she gets Edward!

Favourite fictional world – where would you live?

Narnia!

Best super-evil baddie?

Jace from the Mortal Instruments, not super evil but definitely has a dark side. 😉

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Thank-you for taking time to talk to us today!

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Want to know more about What R U Reading? Check out the links!

Blog: Http://whatrureading.staytruehost.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/What-RU-Reading/110757122336121