Bethanne Patrick is many things; a blogger, book reviewer, a wife, a mother, sloppy knitter, and as she states perfectly, “above all else, a reader.” Bethanne has written author and book reviews for The Washington Post, PEOPLE magazine, and BookReporter.com, and also ran the old AOL blog The Book Maven. Her most recent work is featured on The Book Studio. Through all of this, she has been interviewing authors for the last 8 years. I thought it might be interesting to turn the microphone in her direction and interview the interviewer.
Is it more fun to write a good or bad review?
It is more fun to write a good review because it is more challenging to tease out why a good book is actually good. A bad review can be fun and interesting if the book isn’t completely bad, but the challenge of a good review with reasons is what I enjoy most. Some reviewers shy away from writing bad reviews as they don’t think its worthwhile. Recently, I wrote a bad review for Audrey Niffenegger’s book Her Fearful Symmetry.
Who was your favorite author to interview?
My favorite all-time interview was Richard Russo (Interview can be found on The Book Studio). I’ve interviewed him previously for AuthorAuthor which was a single camera interview. What I’ve found is that different authors shine in different mediums. Since I’ve interviewed authors via online chat, phone, audio, and camera, I’ve found that different authors interview differently.
Were there any interviews that went out of control?
I’ve never had an interview go out of control, but I do have a good story. When I worked for AOL, I interviewed celebrity authors - one of which was Martha Stewart. One of my questions was “What did you learn to clean while in prison?” She laughed and told me stories how she learned to use the floor buffer and that it was fun. Later, Martha’s publicist freaked out and was telling me that I wasn’t allowed to ask that question and that I would have to pull it from my interview.
Out of the many projects you have what is/was your favorite?
The Book Studio because it is a culmination of a bunch of ideas. It isn’t just about interviewing the authors or putting up new content, it’s about doing the basics and having a website designed around those basics that provides a great experience to the readers. I did enjoy my time at Pages, though, because I was able to sit with authors for hours and interview them. That no longer happens with the new media space.
Where do you do most of your reading?
Most of my reading is done at my home in an armchair. I’m always reading. I travel quite a bit, so the kindle works well for me when I’m on the go.
What is your favorite children’s novel?
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh. When I was growing up in the 70s, there wasn’t a plethora of reading for young adults. Harriet was a spunky girl and I liked that. I also loved Secret Garden and Little Princess but they weren’t modern little girls who wanted to be naughty at times.
If you could go on a dinner/movie date with any author, who would it be?
Joseph O’Neil. He is very droll and would be the kind of companion that you would not get tired of during dinner and a movie.
You’ve read so much - have you thought of writing?
Actually, I do and have. I have a book coming out in mid-November by National Geographic called An Uncommon History of Common Things. Also, I’ve signed with an agent and am working on a proposal for a memoir - but I cannot say more about it at this time.
What startling thing have you learned about the book industry?
When I first started doing interviews I would call a publisher asking for a galley (very early release copy - before ARC) of whatever book I was to be reviewing. They would often tell me they couldn’t and I would get annoyed at this. I later found out that the cost of creating a galley is quite high. So to all who want to be a book blogger, just wait for a book to come out to review it. Galleys and ARCs are expensive and it may be very difficult to get your hands on them.
Do you have a process around reading/reviewing books?
No. A few other reviewers have tight processes, but the only rule I have is to give myself time to reflect between reading and reviewing a book. I will sometimes use post-its when reading actual books or scribble in the margins of a galley or ARC, but I don’t have a rule around it.
I want to thank Bethanne Patrick for providing me a few minutes of her time as well as you the reader for reading.
Have a great day and keep reading!
-Nick
