Meet the Panelists : Charlotte from Charlotte's Library

Only 2 days until the Cybils Awards are announced!  To get you excited, I'm featuring a Fantasy & Science Fiction panelist (or two) every day until the awards are announced. Up next in our Meet the Panelists series is Charlotte from Charlotte's Library.  I like to think of her as Charlotte the Speed Reader.  Out of the 161 books nominated in our category, Charlotte read a whopping 124 of them!  (For comparison, I was only able to read about 80 books during our alloted reading period.)  When we discussed books that we'd read, I almost always found myself agreeing with Charlotte, so now I peruse her blog for books to add to my reading list.  Enjoy this insight into Charlotte the Super Reader's world and be sure to scroll down to the end of the interview for Charlotte's Cybils Fantasy/Sci-Fi awards predictions!

When did you start blogging and why?

I started blogging about two years ago.  I had been spending a fair amount of time reading other people's blogs, looking for books to read (being a fast reader, this has been a problem for most of my life), and decided that I wanted to be part of the fun myself.  It has worked--I now always have at least five books waiting to be read, a long wish list, and a comforting feeling of book safety.

What was your favorite part about being a Cybils panelist?

I am rather, um, competitive, and so although I absolutely loved the camaraderie of being part of a truly great panel, and felt bereft when our work was over, and although I loved getting lots of books in the mail (I use my work address, in case of rain, and it made going to work everyday more Hopeful), one thing I really liked was looking at the stats of number of books read, and fiercely trying to read more. 

Any advice for future panelists?

If you want to be on the science fiction/fantasy or ya panel, start reading now.  Start putting library holds in the moment nominations start coming in--you will be getting lots from the publishers, but don't waste a moment of reading time while waiting for that to happen.  It was rather sad that a book I had been looking forward to didn't come from the library until after we had made our final decisions.  

 What books are you looking forward to this year?

I have a couple of posts up about this, including a list of science fiction/fantasy books by debut authors--lots of neat looking stuff.

One of the great thing about all my Cybils reading is that I met a host of new authors, many of whom have more books on the way!  Up next in my pile is The Farwalker's Quest, by Jodi Sensel (who wrote the Cybils nominated Humming of Numbers), which just arrived today!

Here are the links:

Books I am looking forward to, Part I

Books I am looking forward to, Part II

Science Fiction/Fantasy coming from debut authors in 2009

Why do you blog about teen books?

Because I like teen books better than grown up ones.  I like books that lift me out of the quotidian world, with unexpected twists and turns and a bit of romance and not too much Politics or Violence or boring grown up stuff, that aren't too long.  I have better luck with YA then elsewhere.  Although I think I am going to make an effort to read the books shortlisted for the Nebula, to see what I'm missing.

I also like blogging about middle grade books, and whatever has struck the fancy of my children...

If you were a Cybils judge, which category would you like to judge?

Last year, I was a young adult panelist, and although I enjoyed it, I found science fiction/fantasy much more varied, and fun, and interesting.  So that's the category I'd stick to.

Where is your favorite place to read?

I have always made sure that everywhere I lived, if possible, there would be one comfortable chair that got morning light coming in from behind me and one comfortable chair that got afternoon light.  I even arranged my doll house so as to make sure the dolls would be able to read comfortably.  Writing this, I realize that the two least happy years of my life were spent without access to comfy chairs.

I am looking forward to finding out who the winners are. Here are my bets:  Graveyard Book in middle grade, and Hunger Games in YA.  

And I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank all the fabulous folks who don't get the packages of the books in the mail, but without whom there would be no Cybils--Anne, and Kelly, and Sarah, and Sheila.

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions, Charlotte!  And we'll have to check back in on Saturday and see if your predications were right!