'The best books, reviewed with insight and charm, but without compromise.'
- author Jackie French

Tuesday, 5 March 2019

Look What I'm Reading! George Ivanoff

Hi! I’m George. I write stuff. And I read stuff. Sometimes I write about what I’m reading. In fact, that’s what I’m going to do right (write) now…
 
Which children’s book are you currently reading?
I finished reading Doctor Who: Twelve Angels Weeping yesterday. 


It’s not specifically for kids and teens, but Doctor Who stuff does tend to be popular with them. But now I’m on to Lili Wilkinson’s After the Lights Go Out, which is YA.

Can you tell us in two sentences what the book is about?
I can tell you in one: Seventeen-year-old Prue, whose father is a conspiracy-believing doomsday prepper, suddenly finds herself in a doomsday situation.


How much did you enjoy/are enjoying this title?
I’m only eight chapters in and I AM LOVING IT!

What made you choose this title? Was it a review, advertising, the cover, the blurb, the author/illustrator, or the subject/genre?
I really like Lili’s writing and have enjoyed her previous books, so I was always going to read it. It got moved further up my to-be-read pile because of the subject matter, as I thought it sounded intriguing. And then it got moved even further up because prior to that Doctor Who book, I read Inheritance, which is a YA novel by Lili’s mother, Carole Wilkinson. I’m a huge fan of Carole’s writing, and I thought it would be a nice bit of imposed synchronicity to read her daughter’s latest book shortly after reading her latest book.

What other titles are on your bedside table /To Read Pile?
Unearthed by Amie Kaufman and Megan Spooner
The Web of Time by Lee Harding
The Peski Kids:  Bear in the Woods by RA Spratt
Gorski’s Bitemare by Robert Favretto
Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
And The Ocean Was Our Sky by Patrick Ness
And many, many, many, many more…


How did you come by these titles: personal choice/request, publisher’s review copy, or other?
They are all personal choice. I used to get review books sent to me by publishers when I was doing a regular book reviews blog. But my blogging has become sporadic and infrequent over the last few years… so now I just review books I feel like reading. Although having said all that, Gorski’s Bitemare is technically a review book… but one I want to read. Unearthed is there because I adore Amie Kaufman’s writing. The Web of Time is an old book and is there because it’s one of the few Lee Harding books I’ve never read before. The Peski Kids is there because it’s Book 2 in a series and I loved Book 1. And The Ocean Was Our Sky is there because I only discovered Patrick Ness a couple of years ago, and I think he’s brilliant and I want to read everything he’s ever written. And Moby-Dick is there because the Ness book is connected to it.


Do you have a favourite genre? If so, what is it, and why do you prefer it?
I read across many genres (an enjoy them all), but I always find myself returning to science fiction. It is the genre of possibilities.

Do you read from printed books or some other medium? Please expand a little on the why of your choice.
Printed books. Always… printed books. I’ve never really got the hang of e-books. I do read e-books occasionally for research or if I’m reading an advanced copy for a friend; but for pleasure, it’s always a printed book. It’s part of the experience. For me, reading an e-book always feels like work rather than pleasure.

If you’d like to know about the books I’ve written, rather than the books I’ve read, check out my website: http://georgeivanoff.com.au