Meet Sophie, she is the blogger behind Beware of the Reader

1. Hello Sophie, please introduce yourself and tell us about your blog?

Well I already gave you some ideas about who I am: a forty something working mom who loves reading and sharing her love of books. Now about my blog…it is my safe haven, the outlet to my creativity. I have a very serious job but always dreamed of working for Walt Disney, drawing etc. Blogging allows me to be creative and weird if I want to.

I love reading and I love authors. When I am passionate about something I tend to gush about it, rant or cheer. That’s what blogging allows me to do: share all that books made me feel with other passionates.

My blog is a blend of book reviews, meme, interviews, discussion posts etc.

2. What was the deciding factor that made you go “Yes I am doing this, I’m starting my own blog!” ? Are you passionate about what you post on your blog?

I began my blog on a dare. Two friends of mine told me that I should create a blog, have my own space. When you are forty and not born into that technology it does not seem as natural as breathing as it can be for my teenagers. But I wanted in. I wanted to “master that technology”.

I chose the “hard way” with self hosting and had to learn some CSS and html coding to “fine tune” my theme. I was the first surprised to like it! I did not expect it at all!I also discovered something really incredible about the blogging community: its support!

When I made a mistake and cried for help I got it from other techies immediately. I was amazed and enamored with this community. That was it, I was hooked on blogging! 

I am a very passionate person about reading, sharing my feelings, supporting authors and now helping other bloggers and newbies. I spend hours and hours on the blog I could not do it if it was not with passion.

My moto could be “go big or go home”.

3. How would you describe your blogging style and persona? How meticulous are you, when it comes to the conceptualization up to the execution of your ideas?

Good question! I should ask others to answer LOL.

I think my style is enthusiastic and hopefully aesthetic. I love books, I love authors and I am genuinely interested in others. I try to give some personal notes in my posts, let the others know who is the person behind the pen.

I also spend many hours creating the graphics and illustrating. My blog is a mix of YA and adult with NA.  I can read contemporary or PNR and fantasy. Some mysteries too. The only recurring “theme” is romance. Heated of platonic but some romance in the stories.

Some told me I would have a bigger range if I stuck to one style (only YA or only adult) but that’s just not me. I have diverse interests and I think being true to yourself is the most important thing.

I originally planned on writing reviews and chat about books and that was it. Then I discovered that you can interview authors so that’s what I did. I also discovered the discussion posts, the tags, the meme the…

As a result my blog is a mash-up of everything book related.

4. What do you want and hope your readers to take from the content you share?   

Well mostly I hope many can find something that they like. To make people discover some authors that are less known but deserve the love. 

I hope I also help to make their day lighter, funnier as I often put humor in my weekly meme and interviews.

I hope to “push” some books that I really loved on others (yes I can be pushy when I’m passionate about a book).

5. What is your blogging mojo? How do you stay inspired and motivated to continue running your blog?

Have fun.

As long as I have fun everything is good.

Be true to yourself, open and kind.

6. What is your long-term goal/plan for your blog?

I don’t have a long term plan per se.

In the beginning I was really hoping to get a big fan base until I realized that was not the size that was most important (contrary to common belief LOL) to me but the quality, the interactions and the loyalty.

So I just hope to keep having fun, keep being passionate and keep chatting with people who became my friends along the way.

If I can help authors, if I can entertain people and make their day better after a hard working day then my dreams will be fulfilled.

I would also like to give back. All the help that I’ve got I want to give back and help other newbies. That’s what I try to do thanks to Evelina’s 101 beginners posts.

7. Who is your favourite marginalized main character? It doesn’t have to be from a book, it could also be from a movie, tv series, games, comics etc. Why is this character your favourite? Marginalization is the process whereby something or someone is pushed to the edge of a group and accorded lesser importance. This is predominantly a social phenomenon by which a minority or sub-group is excluded, and their needs or desires ignored. A marginalized person can be people of colour, the disabled, mentally ill, the lgbt+ community etc.

I have several favorites “marginalized” characters as my favorite characters are those that are “different”.

I adored Yossarian in “One Day Soon” by A.Meredith Walters. He is homeless and a prostitute. He sells his body to protect other young homeless people, to feed them. He is truly selfless.

I love Finch in “All the Bright Places” by Jennifer Niven. He is “weird” and bipolar. He has several personalities but in the end he has a heart of gold.

I love Lev from “Lev” by Belle Aurora. He is autistic and probably psychopath but when he smiles everything lights up.

I love “Ox” from “Wolfsong” by TJ Klune. Ox so big, too slow always feeling inadequate, not enough but holding everyone together because he simply was Ox. He was different. He was more. Always helping and caring and putting others before him. And he broke my heart at least a hundred times.

I love ….so many.

8. It is important that marginalized people are given platforms to shine and bring awareness to their movements and plights. If you believe so, why is it important to you?

Well I think everyone has a voice and everyone should be heard.

As long as you don’t hurt people you have the right to be who you want to be.

I don’t know if they need platforms to shine as some don’t want to be seen as different. They don’t want to exist because of their difference. They just want to be accepted as persons with the same rights.

If they are victims of unfair treatment (think about imprisonments or mass murder ) then yes the world should be aware of it to help them get equal rights. Creating a huge movement among people can help them. Think about all the protests when people learned what happened to the Mexican kids being separated from their families when crossing the US border. I believe that all the media attention, all the reactions from countless citizens helped bring an end to it even if temporary.

9. It is crucial that in whatever we do, we should always strive for both equity & equality, what advice can you part with, when it comes to using our platforms to give a voice to the marginalized?

I think not all bloggers want to actively voice about inequity. Or have debates about politics. Many only want to use their blogs to speak about their passion and destress and that’s perfectly fine. We should not have to justify our choice to blog that way.

But even if we choose not to voice political opinion we can read and review books about marginalized people or inequities.

I tend to avoid talking about politics on my blog but I will speak about books featuring problems like “A Thousand Splendid Suns” (the women lack of status under the Talibans reign), “The Silver cage” (homosexuality), etc.

10. Last but not the least, what’s your take on the blogging communities? What has been your experience within the community?

As I’ve already said above this community is the best one. Instead of being competitors like you could have expected this is a very supportive and kind community. Of course you have some occasional trolls but they are few.

This community gives and gives and it’s an incredible energy boost by the end of the day. That’s why I want to give back. Because giving feels even better than receiving.

One parting note: Thank you so much for having me on your blog! Your questions were really interesting and made me think.

Head over to Sophie’s blog and get lost in her posts, here are some you can start with!

Bookstagrams 101 Part 1: Why and How to Begin on Instagram

Bookstagrams are pictures of your books or array of bookish features (like cups with book quotes, book prop or bookmarks) posted on Instagram with some text and hashtag…

I Heart Character: Is it Really a Good Idea to BFF a God or a Goddess?

If I look at all the Gods and Goddesses I know (or a good bunch of them as I don’t know all Gods and Goddesses from all cultures in the world) I have difficulites to find a good candidate for a BFF…

Have You Ever Interviewed a Dog? No? Well, I did! Atticus, Mum is No Other than Sawyer Bennett!

Atticus, fantastic dog and hero (yes I know this is about Hazel but …) of “Atticus: A Woman’s Journey with the World’s Worst Behaved Dog”  has been gracious to answer all my ques…

You can find Sophie on the Social Media sites, listed below, clicking on the various names, will lead you to her account.

Twitter • Pinterest • Goodreads • Instagram • Facebook • Bloglovin

You also can be featured, so everyone can also see your thoughts, I’m too lazy to change the questions right now, but I just might in future, but I’m still taking on people who want to be featured. This series I hope can go on until December. Here’s the link to all the information you need to know —> PSA: Sign Up for my Guest Feature Post

Thank you, Sophie, for agreeing to do this, I’m so happy to feature you on my blog and share you with my subscribers. I love what you do with your blog and I love how techy you’re, go you for conquering the tech at your age, I wish my mum would conquer Instagram & Facebook, so she won’t be constantly on my case lol. Your blog is aesthetically pleasing and your writing voice is very open, you’re very approachable and I love that about you!

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