Book Blogger Spotlight: Books à la Mode

I'm Karielle! I'm originally from Austin but am currently studying abroad in Korea. It's a marvellous country, and has provided me with an an exciting two years, but I'm still excited to finally be back stateside this summer.

I love food (but am a ridiculously picky eater), running, green tea, and my boys. Yes, mine... we can share though, if you'd like ;)

When and why did you become a book blogger?

Almost 3 years ago, if you'll believe it! I started in August 2010 because I had just finished The Hottest State Ethan Hawke and was so afflicted by all these feelings that I had to go and write about it. I had dabbled in writing reviews before—for publications and just on Goodreads—but for this particular novel, I wanted to add a personal flair to it, to actually claim it as my own. That's how much I loved the book.

How did you come up with the name of your blog?

Books à la Mode became official only this year. In French, à la mode means "in or according to the fashion." I chose it because I love highlighting books at are trending, or just "in." Also, anything sounds better in French, so why not? LOL

Before, it was called ¡Miraculous! which was completely random. I don't know why I used the Spanish exclamation point there. I hadn't even intended to make my blog solely a book blog, which is probably why I carelessly chose a word.

What is your favorite thing about blogging?

Obviously, the content I get to post. Books take up about 60% of my life so it's great to be able to share my thoughts on the literary industry and about the blogosphere, as well as read tons of books.

I also love connecting with people—to be able to discuss all this with them and meet them and become besties with them. I swear, my blogger friends are better than some of my friends I know in real life! Without any of them, none of my efforts would be worthwhile. Shoutout to my awesome blog babes!?

What do you find the hardest about blogging?

Finding balance. The insane amount of things I need scheduled for the site, on top of my responsibilities as a student, can get overwhelming. And not just in academic terms, but in everything... with blogging, you can get so immersed, sometimes it's hard to actually find a LIFE! So I think it's important to know how to control yourself and pace yourself so you don't lose grasp of everything else.

What has been your favorite moment since you became a book blogger? Which review, interview or giveaway have you been most proud of?

I kind of had an EEEEK moment when I got to feature Tiffany Reisz, author of my favorite series, The Original Sinners, last year. She's an absolute gem, and one of the funniest people I've had the pleasure of interviewing.

I also got in touch with Emily Giffin's publicist and got to review Heart of the Matter—that was a big one for me, too! I worship Emily Giffin so it was awesome to be able to directly work with her people.

And recently, I reviewed Fifty Shades of Grey (I know, I know *grimace*). It was a miserable book to read but a very fun one to write :) Great response from readers, too! I loved reading everyone's comments. That book never fails to crack me up.

What kind of genres do you enjoy reading and reviewing the most?

I absolutely love literary fiction; think The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society or Barbara Kingsolver. It's fun to read thrilling romances too, erotic or not, but they're so ubiquitous that they have to be really good to blow me away. Usually they're unmemorable though, so I get tired having to sift through all of them.

What is your favorite individual book or series? What makes you love it so much?

OMG... I have a nervous breakdown every time someone asks me this question because there are just so many! But I'll go with a previously mentioned series, The Original Sinners by Tiffany Reisz, because the writing is some of the most intelligent I've read, it's dark and tragic and utterly devastating (not for you HEA fans), and so emotionally draining, that it takes a while to recover. Reisz is a phenomenal storyteller—she gets you so up close and personal with her characters, that you fall in love and die with them a little every time you're exposed to them.

Who is your favorite fictional male character, why and from what book or series are they from?

Saloman from Marie Treanor's Awakened by Blood series. He's the most intriguing character I've ever read in vampire fiction (yes, I'm a glutton for vamps—shoot me) and is everything I love in a hero: dark, brooding, handsome.

To be honest though, I fall in love with pretty much every fictional hero I read about. So... if you're reading any of my reviews, beware of major fangirling.

Who is your favorite fictional female character, why and from what book or series are they from?

I know lots of readers were discontented with Margo Roth Spiegelman from John Green's Paper Towns, but I find her fascinating. She's such an enigma that I helplessly want to know more about everything about her. I think Green characterizes her incredibly well, incredibly realistically.

Who are your favorite three authors and why?

Again, a very difficult, very unfair question I'm asked a lot... but three (of dozens) of auto-buy authors for me are Barbara Kingsolver, Meg Cabot, and Tiffany Reisz.

Paper books or ebooks?

Paper, all the way!

Where is your favorite place to read?

Snuggled up in bed, most of the time :) I love serene public places too, such as terraces at outdoor cafés or Barnes & Noble. The atmospheres in both are great.

Milk chocolate, white chocolate or dark chocolate?

Dark dark dark! Milk and white are too sweet for my palette. My only exception are Ferrero Rocher truffles... gah ? Remember when I said I was a picky eater?

Coffee, hot tea or hot chocolate?

I like pretty much any hot tea, but especially green, barley, and jasmine. I love coffee-flavored things (candy, shakes, etc.) but coffee itself is kinda blearghh.

Would you like to give any other details about yourself? How can others find you around the web? Such as Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, etc...

Blog: http://thestephanieloves.blogspot.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/modishbooks
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/thestephanieloves
Google +: https://plus.google.com/102092260243812022351/posts
Library Thing: http://www.librarything.com/profile/stephanieloves