Blog Love: Shelleyrae – Book’d Out

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I am extremely excited to bring you the first profile in our brand new feature profiling book bloggers. I hope that many of our readers who love books will join in my excitement for this feature and go check out these blogs for yourselves.

Book’d Out is actually the first book blog I ever checked out, and Shelleyrae is the first book blogger I connected with so thank you to Goodreads for that, and that does make her one of my favourites but I too am hoping this feature will introduce me to many new blogs.

I hope you all enjoy reading this feature as much as I’m going to enjoy bringing it to you.

Welcome to Beauty and Lace Shelleyrae and thanks for participating.

booked out

How did you get started as a book blogger?

Though I had been a member of Goodreads.com for a while, participating in a small book club group with colleagues, it wasn’t until I casually Googled for some information about the Twilight series for my teenage daughter, which I had bought for her in a vain attempt to get her to read, that I stumbled upon the book blogging community. I spent the next few hours hopping from one blog to another, delighted to discover people as obsessed as I was with reading and talking about books, scribbling down titles and authors to look up at the library. It took me more than a year to build up the confidence to launch Book’d Out, originally only conceived as an additional outlet for posting my reviews, but it quickly began to develop a life of its own.

What is your background?

Academically I have a degree in Early Childhood Education. I have taught in school, long day care and had my own home day care for several years, until the birth of my third child. Now I do some freelance graphic design work and irregularly teach photo editing classes for adults while raising my four children aged between 6 and 16 in a small coastal town in NSW.

In terms of reading, my parents say I taught myself to read at about age three and after that was rarely seen without a book in my hand.

Tell us about your blog?

Book’d Out started in 2010 and almost exclusively focuses on book reviews, news and related bookish things. I publish around 5-6 reviews a week, participate in a weekly meme and post the odd discussion question. I host the year long Eclectic Reader Challenge and this year have been regularly featuring Australian women writers, and their work. I’m an eclectic reader and Book’d Out reflects that, you will find reviews for books in a wide variety of genres.

Is blogging a hobby or a job for you?

Well technically it’s a hobby, since I don’t get paid for it, but I treat it as a job. I put in a lot of work because I love sharing my passion for reading with others.

What is your favourite book of all time?

I always dread this question. I don’t actually have a favourite book of all time. Particular books have meant different things to me at different times of my life, and trying to choose between them would be like trying to choose between my children.

shellyrae

What are you currently reading?

The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton

Which author would you most like to meet and why?

It would have to be Judy Blume, she wrote with honesty, humour and compassion for young girls struggling with issues rarely acknowledged or talked about. As a precocious tween I loved everything she ever wrote and, as I discovered when I tried to find a modern equivalent for my daughters, there has been no one else that compares.

What book would you like to see made into a movie?

I love the urban fantasy series The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne and think it would make a spectacular series of movies

What future plans do you have for your blog?

I don’t have any plans, I assume Book’d Out will continue to evolve organically over time. I want to be able to continue connecting with ‘kindred spirits’ and enjoying what I do.

Name 3 of your favourite blogs?

Read In A Single Sitting  – Stephanie posts thoughtful and intelligent literary analysis over a wide range genres.

Yummy Men and Kickass Chicks – I love to escape into urban fantasy and Julie’s blog keeps me up on the latest, plus she has a hilarious sense of humour

Leeswammes Blog – I count Judith as my first book blogger friend. She lives in the Netherlands and blogs both in English and Dutch. She is an eclectic reader as well and I trust her bookish opinions.

(and my apologies to those I didn’t mention)

What does being a book blogger mean to you?

Book’d Out has changed my life. Not only can I now share my obsession with people who are actually interested, I have access to a much wider range of books, chat to authors, work with publishers and next year I plan to go back to school and get a second degree in Librarian Studies.

Shelleyrae can be found at Book’d Out Blog, Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.

11 thoughts on “Blog Love: Shelleyrae – Book’d Out

  1. Thanks for mentioning me, Shelleyraae, that is so nice of you. We have indeed been blogging friends for a while now and I really admire all the work you put in.

    I have a favorite book, but it’s in Dutch so I never know what to answer either when people from abroad ask me for my favorite book. I’d rather choose between my favorite books than my children, though. 😉

  2. I am really excited about this feature and I hope to get lots of interest from all over the world to bring you many new book blogs to check out.

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