LitMinds Blog and Interviews

You can tell an avid reader's reading preferences by the action figures she collects!  We couldn't help but chuckle when we recently read about Stefanie Hollimichel's purchase of a Jane Austen action figure that "I've been ogling... in the window of the library bookstore for the last three weeks..."  On her shelf they join her Shakespeare action figure and Chaucer Bobblehead among other literary faves.  But when it comes right to down to it, a reader has to draw the line somewhere: "There was a Poe at the bookstore too and I was tempted but not tempted enough."

Early to the blogosphere, Stefanie Hollimichel, started writing about her reading life purely for the joy of sharing it with others.  Her blog is written with an educated (yet genuinely friendly) voice that has attracted a modestly large following of fellow readers.

LitMinds asked Stefanie to tell us more about her blog, her reading habits and desire to make a career transition to librarian. (Oh, did we forget to mention?  Stefanie has an action figure of super-librarian Nancy Pearl on her shelf too!) 

1. Your blog, So Many Books, has been around since 2003 and was selected as a pick for the Guardian Unlimited Books’ Top 10 Literary Blogs.  What have you learned during the past three and a half years about having a successful literary blog?  What has surprised you since starting So Many Books? 

First, I had to check that I’ve really been blogging since 2003!  The biggest lesson I’ve learned is to just be myself. Seems easy enough, but when people besides my husband began reading my blog, I started worrying about what I was writing and what a book blog was supposed to be. I’d post a personal response to a book I was reading one day, worry no one cared, then post a bunch of newsy links the next day. Gradually it dawned on me how silly I was being and I started writing about whatever bookish things interested me at the moment. Sometimes I’d stop myself and wonder if I should really post what I had just written, usually a joke sure to make someone groan, and I’d do it anyway because no one was being forced to read my blog. If I can’t be myself and have fun, there is no point in spending all the time I do blogging.

The most surprising thing has been the sense of community. Reading is such a solitary activity and if you don’t know people who read as much as you do it can be pretty lonely. But in the online book community, reading is normal and no one thinks you’re weird for preferring reading to watching television.
 

2. You are currently involved in a couple reading challenges.  Can you explain these challenges and what inspired you to participate in them?  If you were to create a reading challenge of your own, what might it look like? 

Challenges are created by bloggers as a way to get a bunch of people to read similar types of books at the same time. And there is usually a prize of some sort involved as incentive to complete the challenge. For instance, the Once Upon a Time Challenge I’ve joined was created by Carl who loves to read fantasy. There are quite a few readers who hesitate at reading fantasy so the challenge gets a large number of people who wouldn’t normally read fantasy to dip into the genre. It’s also fun for people like myself who already read a healthy dose of fantasy to join the challenge and share favorite books and authors and hopefully discover some new ones too.

Since I seem to be reading a lot of ancient Greek works lately, I kicked around the idea for a while of having an “It’s All Greek to Me” Challenge in which participants would read books by Greek authors or that were set in Greece. But there were so many challenges already going on, people were starting to complain of being overloaded so I shelved the idea. I still think it would be fun so maybe I’ll hold it in reserve for another time.
 

3. What are some of your reading habits?  What makes your approach to reading unique and personal?  I noticed you have twelve books on your current reading list and a few different reading projects going on.  How do you juggle so many reading activities at the same time?

I read whenever I can which generally amounts to 1-2 hours a day, more on weekends. I love to read in bed at night. During the day I like to read while sitting on the bed. Even though I have a reading chaise, the bed is more comfortable because there is room for the dog who always has to be in the middle of things.

I don’t think my approach to reading is all that unique. What I think is unique, however, is my response to what I have read. This applies to every reader. It’s cliché to say it, but I really do believe that no two people read the same book. This is one of the best things about reading and why it is so much fun to talk about books with other people. If we all experienced a book in the same way, there’d be no point in talking about it. How boring would that be?

If I were only as good at juggling balls as I am at juggling books I’d have a great career at the circus! I like to have at least one nonfiction book, one classic, one contemporary or genre fiction book, and one book of poetry in progress at the same time. That way I always have something to read no matter what mood I am in. I choose much of what I read by whim and mood but at the same time try to be more deliberate, thus the long-term reading projects. Sometimes I get bogged down in a book and set it aside for a month or more and come back to it later, in the meantime I start a new book. I love starting a new book especially if I haven’t started one in a week or two. That’s probably another reason why I have so many books in progress.

4. You have expressed an interest in going to “library school” in fall 2007.  What has been your career and educational path to date and how has it led you in this direction?  Where are you at in the process? 

Back when I was eighteen and beginning college, I wanted to be a veterinarian because I wanted to be James Herriot. But it didn’t take me long to figure out that was a rather romantic and unrealistic view of things. I changed my major from biology to English because dissecting books seemed more appealing than dissecting cats and pigs. I decided I wanted to be a college professor but stopped with the M.A. in English literature because I was tired of school and tired of grad student politics. I’ve since tried my hand at lots of different jobs and for the last five years have been the resident techie at a mid-sized nonprofit in Minneapolis. I’ve learned much about information management on the job but last year I decided I needed a change. After casting around for a career that would incorporate the things I liked to do best, I landed on librarian. I’ve recently begun volunteering at the welcome desk of my city’s main public library. It’s my job to answer important questions like “Where’s the bathroom?” and “How do I get a library card?” And, I am in the process of putting together my application for Drexel University’s MLS program which I should be sending in sometime in April, so think good thoughts for me.

5. You read and review a lot of books.  Share a book that has greatly affected you and a specific person you would recommend it to (could be somebody famous or someone you know personally).  To whom would you recommend it and why? 

One of the most recent books that comes to mind is Ralph Waldo Emerson’s The Conduct of Life. It’s a very thoughtful and philosophical, yet practical answer to the eternal human question of how one should live. I’m going to cheat a little by saying I’d recommend it to all politicians and wanna-be politicians in hopes that it would help them get their priorities straight.

6. As an avid reader and literary blogger, what appeals to you about the LitMinds community? 

Aside from the fact that the site is nicely designed and easy to navigate, I like that LitMinds provides a place to connect with other readers and share our thoughts and ideas about the books we love so much.

You can find Stephanie's LitMinds profile here.