Ask the Blogger: Asti from Oh, the Books!

Ask the Blogger

This time on Ask the Blogger...
I'll be interviewing Asti co-blogger on Oh, the Books!
Who is Asti?



Twitter / Instagram

I attended Kingston University to pursue a Publishing MA in 2014.
Prior to deciding to pursue publishing as a career, I wanted to work in elementary education as a reading specialist.
I completed numerous work placements with publishing companieswhile in London, including Random House Children’s Publishers, Little, Brown, Bloomsbury Children’s and The Orion Publishing Group.
I started a book blog, A Bookish Heart, on 2 March 2013 where I reviewed books, led interesting bookish discussions, moderated games based off of books I have read and shared book-related finds. I still do all of that stuff, but on this group blog instead.
The only gifts I tend to request for holidays or birthdays are clothes and (you guessed it) books.
Even when I moved to London and knew I might have to leave after a year there, I still acquired over 80 books. It made moving back to the States just a little more difficult than I wanted.
I tend to carry a book with me everywhere I go. (My number one criteria for buying a purse is whether or not I can fit a book inside it.)

Note: I do not own any of these images. All rights go to their respective owners.

Why did you start book blogging?
My initial motivation behind book blogging is much more selfish than everyone else’s. Most bloggers start blogging because they love books and want to be in a community where they can discuss their favorite books, characters, authors, etc. Me though? I started my book blog because I thought it would help me get a job in the publishing industry. Right before I started my original book blog, A Bookish Heart, I had got accepted into a Publishing MA program in London and decided I wanted to do something else in my spare time to help flesh out my resume and book blogging ended up being that thing. (But hey, I may have started my blog so it would look good on my resume, but I kept it because I love the community. Book lovers for the win!)

Who are your top ten book characters? 

Ten? So many! Let’s see here… In no particular order: 

1. Buruu from The Lotus Wars by Jay Kristoff.
2. Carswell Thorne from The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
3. Iko from The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
4. The Darkling from Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
5. Zuzana from Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
6. August Pullman from Wonder by R.J. Palacio
7. Death from The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
8. Sirius Black from The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
9. Sybella from Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers
10. Victor Vale from Vicious by V.E. Schwab

What's the coolest thing that has happened to you because of blogging?

Hm… I don’t know if anything cool has happened to me because of blogging, but the one thing that has been my favorite thing about blogging is the fact that it’s allowed me to make so many friends around the world. It was really exciting that when I went to London for my Publishing MA degree, I already had a small group of friends there that I knew through blogging who were willing to take me in and invite me out to their bookish gatherings. And just recently, being back in the States, I was able to drive over and spend the day with a friend who I built a connection with because of blogging. Blogging is just amazing for the connections it provides. It’s my favorite thing about it, and the thing I’d consider the coolest.

How did you find your co-blogger(s)? 

My co-blogger Kelley and I originally met when we were running our separate solo blogs, A Bookish Heart (mine) and Another Novel Read (Kelley’s). I remember we initally bonded over the fact that for St. Patrick’s Day we each wrote a post highlighting our favorite green book covers (we thought it was a fun coincidence) and then between commenting on each other’s blogs and exchanging regular emails, we just became really close. Once I moved to London to pursue my Publishing MA and my ability to blog regularly suffered, I brought up the idea of co-blogging with Kelley and she (eventually) agreed to give it a go. I think the fact that we were already good friends and had similar content/readership ensured that our co-blogging experience would be a smooth one, and I haven’t regretted the choice a single day since. 

If you could have dinner with two authors and three book characters, who would you choose and why?

What a good question! Now, I think most people would automatically assume I’d choose Patrick Ness because he’s my favorite author, but I actually think I’d go with Jay Kristoff and Maggie Stiefvater. Why? Because they seem like a lot of fun! And character-wise would be similar: Carswell Thorne, Zuzana, and Buruu – three characters who have never failed to make me smile. I’m not the most outgoing and social person in the world, so I would want fun characters who can make me laugh at a dinner party and I think with these five there’s no way my dinner could do wrong.

Who is your OTP? (Other than you and Dave, of course.)

I don’t really feel like I have one! (Well, of course me and Dave, as you said ;)) Maybe Cress and Carswell Thorne? I mean, part of me wants Carswell for myself, but I really did love those two characters together in Cress. Maybe because Cress reminded me of myself in some ways?

Which book boy is the most swoon-worthy? 

CARSWELL THORNE! (I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I sort of love him.) He’s the one smooth-talking guy in YA that I have completely fallen for. Dorky, has a great heart, and just a bit of a fail. In other words, my kind of guy. ;)

What's your favorite TV show?

Oh gosh, I’m a reality TV junkie and not ashamed to admit it. If I had to choose ONE favorite TV show, I’d say it’s MTV The Challenge. I absolutely love reality TV competitions and I’ve been watching The Challenge (called Road Rules vs. Real World back in the day!) since I was a teen and I don’t know, it just never fails to get me involved every season. I love that the same reality stars get sucked into participating year after year, and it’s fun trying to root for your team to make it until the very end.

What's your favorite movie?

I’m going to say Lord of the Rings. That trilogy holds a special place in my heart. I was obsessed with it as a teen, to the point where I even tried learning Elvish, and yeah. I’m all about those hobbits, dwarves, elves, and men. (And Gandalf. Gotta love the G-man.)

If you could un-read one book, which would you read again?

THE WOLVES OF MERCY FALLS SERIES. Okay, it wasn’t the most absolute horrible series in the world by any means, I know there’s readers out there who like it, but I struggled so hard reading it and almost refused to give Stiefvater another chance after forcing myself through that series (I’m glad I did though because I loved The Raven Boys). I just found the characters ridiculous, the plot silly, and could not get into it whatsoever. Meh.

How do you create your features? 

I don’t have a secret to creating my blog features! Every once in a while inspiration just strikes, and I run with it! Not all my ideas work out, and some I only use sporadically, but I like having a variety of features in my toolbox. At least one of them will get me excited about blogging when I’m running low on energy.

White chocolate, milk chocolate, or dark chocolate?

Milk chocolate for the win. Or, even better, milk chocolate with caramel inside. Mmmm….

What's the funniest thing has happened to you when drunk?

Haha, I don’t get drunk THAT often to have too many crazy stories, and when I do get drunk I usually just dance, dance, dance and not much else, so I really don’t have any funny stories. >.<

What's the cheesy pick-up line you've heard?

Nobody uses pick-up lines on me! I’m always the one doing the work when it comes to relationships!

Thank you, Asti!