Hello! On this second day of BBAW, here is my interview with fellow book blogger Shantala of Shanaya Tales. 

I hadn’t come across Shantala’s blog before we were paired for these BBAW interviews. But I love discovering new-to-me blogs and it was interesting to learn how many things we had in common. I’m really glad I got the chance to talk to Shantala and learn more about her and her blog.

 

Describe your blog in five words.

These are the 5 words that I hope all my posts are – Positive, Informative, Helpful, Engaging and Fun (but of-course I am biased, even in my hope *wink wink*).

What is your favorite thing about blogging? 

This one is easy. My favorite thing about blogging is the opportunity to connect and interact with book lovers all around the world! When I first started my blog, it was essentially meant to be an online journal that documented my silent reading life, but it soon became this gateway that connected me to the virtual bookish world, and I can’t begin to describe the joy it has brought in my life.

Which of the following best describes you – book buyer/book borrower/book hoarder?

I used to be a hoarder, until the unread books on my TBR started to overwhelm me, but since then, I have successfully reigned in my hoarding tendencies. As of now, it is a pretty even split between buying and borrowing (from the library), but I try to borrow books as much as possible, mostly because I have to keep a check on book-buying, lest it gives way to my hoarding tendencies.

Please describe your favorite reading spot. 

My bed – there is no contest, whatsoever!

 As a mom to a young child, how do you balance reading, book blogging, and parenting (and all the many other things)?

It is a balancing game, and it used to be much more difficult when my son was at home full time, but since last fall, he started going to preschool, which freed up a lot of my day time, that I now dedicate to blogging. Reading has always been at bed-time, and that has never interfered with my day time activities and responsibilities (unless the book is absolutely unputdownable!).

Having said that, on the days that my son is home, he is my priority, and everything else is secondary.

Have you always loved reading? What were some of your favorite books growing up? 

Yes, as far back as I can remember, I have always loved to read. But the book/series that got me into reading consistently was the Harry Potter Series by J.K.Rowling. I literally grew up with the series, and that is why it dominates a large part of my childhood/teens.

 

As we’re both relatively recent residents of the US, has your move to US changed how or what you read?

 This is an interesting question, and one that I have never been asked before. Interestingly, till I moved to US, I had not read many (if any) Indian authors, and I had lived in India for the first 25 years of my life. I had read some historical scripts, but not much in the way of commercial books. Once I moved to US, I delved into the genre of Indian Historical Fiction, and I fell in love with it; it is now one of my favorite genres to read. But outside of this, my reading preferences have remained unchanged.
You can find Shantala’s interview with me here

Thank you so much Shantala! Happy BBAW!