Q & A

• Why are the reviews so small? 

The reviews are purposely small because they are made with the Instagram/social media approach in mind. With that I mean it needs to be concise and appealing in less than 200 words. In my experience as a book buyer at Idlewild Books, you only had an average of 5 minutes to lure a potential reader into a book. So there’s that too.

• Why do you never include what the book is about?

The reviews are exclusively about how I felt reading the books and my very subjective impressions afterwards. If you would like to know what the book is about, there is always Google. 

• Do you hate my country/city/nationality/etc.?

Contrary to popular belief, I do not hate anyone or anything at all. The books I choose to read are part of my plan to feature writers or groups which have been historically discriminated against, ostracized or de-legitimized in one way or another. It’s going to get ugly and real. But it’s never meant as a personal, political or direct attack on anyone or any country.

• How many books do you read per week?

On average, I read around 5-6 books per week.

• How do you manage to read all those books?

This is a difficult question to answer. I will tell you this: 1) I read all the time, literally all the time; 2) I read more than one book at a time, sometimes 3-4; and 3) insomnia. 

• How do you find these books?

I find these books through a combination of long hours doing research online, literary blogs, favorite publishers and other bookstagrammers. 

• Where do you buy your books?

I buy my books mostly at my local bookstore, Idlewild Books and also online through www.biblio.com. 

• How many languages do you speak?

I read and feature books in 3 languages: English, French and Spanish. I sometimes also feature a book or two in Hebrew. 

• Why do you also include Greenland, Martinique, Kosovo, Palestine, Puerto Rico, Taiwan, Western Sahara and others as separate “countries”?

I’m including colonies and a few disputed territories as separate “countries” because I want to. It does not aim to condone or support a particular political movement or another. If it bothers you, please do not let me know at all. However if I can get you to read a book or two set in any of these specific places out of sheer curiosity or spite, the purpose of this blog would be realized.

• Do you get “reading slumps”? 

No, I don’t. I think the reason is because I’m concentrated a 100% in the story I’m trying to read and not on the amounts of pages read. When reading, think of the book and its pages as just vehicles/instruments to the ultimate goal: the story. 

• Tell us more about you. Where are you from? Where do you work?, etc.

No. It’s not about me. It’s not about this blog. It’s not about the IG account. It’s not about the pictures. It’s not about the reviews. You get the idea. The only important thing here is the books. You picking up a new book and reading a new story, that’s what matters. The rest is just an accumulation of accolades and tools to get you there. 

• Can I give you a book recommendation or two for my country?

Maybe or maybe not. In my experience since opening this account two years ago, every time someone asks me this question there is a high probability it’s going to end badly. We all feel very strongly about certain writers and books from our countries. What I’ve learned in this account is that some people also feel very strongly about the books a foreigner like me, someone from the outside should or should not be reading. So thanks for thinking about me. But I retain my right to not take your recommendation at all, and also my right to understand someone completely different or even negative about the book and write about it. 

• Can you recommend a book from … ?

The books on my blog are SET in that particular city/country/place. I’m interested and choosing books exclusively on where the story takes places. Where the writer is from or the writer’s national/ethnic/racial/etc. identity is not important to me unless it serves as a contrast with the story’s location. All this to say that no, I can’t recommend books FROM a particular place. On the other hand, I can recommend you a few titles set in different places. 

Got another question? Contact me!