#AwesomeYABloggers Post #002  

Time to give a little love back to some of the wonderful young adult book bloggers out there. This Wednesday, I want you to meet Megan from Love, Literature, Art and Reason. Her blog is full of wonderful reviews and creativity. Check it out, if you haven’t yet. Also read on for a chance to win one of Megan’s favorite YA books.

Name: Megan
Website: http://meganm922.blogspot.com
Date of First Blog Post: March 1, 2011
Best place to find her: Instagram. I do bookish photo a day challenges and I am constantly posting and connecting with bookish people.

Tell us Megan, what inspired you to start blogging?

I started with Goodreads and I would share what I read on Facebook. A few of my friends actually started to ask me what I thought about certain books and what books I’d read that year, which inspired me to put in one place all of the books I read and what I thought. At the time, I was searching for a hobby and it just sparked. I didn’t know book blogging was even a thing then!

What is your favorite YA sub-genre and why?

I would have to go with science fiction/fantasy. I’ve always been drawn to the otherworldly, ever since reading A Wrinkle In Time as a kid. While contemporary books are amazing, they don’t resonate with me often times the way a good fantasy does. I like YA because I feel like the adult sci-fi and fantasy is geared towards heavy action and male heroes, while YA is filled with heroines saving the day and learning to become who they truly were meant to be.

Is there a book or series that inspired you to read YA?

I never disliked YA and I frequently read Middle Grade books like The Hobbit, The Giver, or Harry Potter. But I avoided the Teen Fiction section often because I thought everything was like Gossip Girl. I hate to admit this, but I think Twilight really did bridge the gap and get more adults reading YA and more kids and teens reading YA as well. No, Twilight isn’t the best book on the planet by any means, but that’s when I really discovered that I could read a romance novel without the explicit sex and enjoy the emotions that come from finding yourself and falling in love for the first time. I’m still married to the first person I ever fell in love with, so the 20-30 somethings of adult romance and how their relationships begin isn’t necessarily something I can relate to. I was 17 when I met my husband, so I resonate more often YA books because of how the romance begins.

Please, please, tell me about “Wreck This Journal.” I loved the posts on your blog, they make me think. Do you remember the quotes from books you read? Are you really that artistic?

I am having so much fun with Wreck This Journal. I’m no artist, but I’ve always loved collages and I recently started scrapbooking in order to have a creative outlet. One of my friends showed me the Journal and I just fell in love with the concept. I can be creative, but I need help. I need prompts. I just can’t look at a blank page and just do something. So for someone like me, Wreck This Journal gives me the push I need to come up with some really amazing stuff.

For the book quotes, I typically look at a prompt and try to find a quote that fits. Sometimes, I Google key words to find a quote that fits, sometimes I remember a quote from a book I read, and other times I just leaf through a favorite book and find something that I think will fit.

I don’t consider myself all that artistic. I can barely draw, but I’ve always been good at making a collage and doing word art, so I’m trying to get by with those talents! lol. Most importantly, I’m trying to tie in books with the creativity of the journal because books are who I am and I want to be able to convey that in a unique way.

What book would you like all your blog followers to read and why?

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. It’s one of my favorite YA fantasy novels and I think it’s a great example of how YA can be dark, mature, and riveting. It could just as easily be shelved in the adult section. It made the cut for best series I read in 2014!

Would you share with us a unique experience you’ve due to blogging?

Blogging has opened up so many things for me. I love reviewing books and being able to put into words how I feel about something. It is my creative outlet. I do it truly for myself. But being able to connect with authors has been the most rewarding thing for me. Blogging opened me up to social networking about books (which is ALL I do on Twitter and Instagram) and every time an author connects with me I just freak out and fangirl about it. I’ll never get over how awesome it is.

Rapid Fire Questions  

Coolest swag you ever received?
Bookmarks! I love getting bookmarks from authors I love.

Most prized signed book copy?
Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi. I won a signed book as part of a giveaway through Epic Reads. They hosted a Shatter Me re-read-a-thon and we posted our experience on Twitter. I treasure it because I absolutely love the series. It’s one of my favorites and I think it’s amazing to have the author’s signature on my book!

On average, how many books do you read a year?
100–150. I am never not reading a book. I read in the morning while I eat breakfast and on my lunch break at work. I devour books and neglect my DVR. I have become one of those people who like never watch tv and it’s totally not on purpose.

And this is what we all really want to know: who is your favorite book boyfriend?
Warner from the Shatter Me series. swoons

Thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of this! =)

Megan, thank you for stopping by!

Giveaway  

One paperback copy of Daughter Of Smoke And Bone by Laini Taylor

International if available through Book Depository

a Rafflecopter giveaway