Reader Interview Series: Brooke Ariel Wilkinson

This is the first in my Reader Interview Series, in which I chat with readers about what they like to read and why. It's an opportunity for me to get to know them, too.

Today, I'm chatting with Brooke Ariel Wilkinson from Boerne, Texas.

Eva: Hi, Brooke. Thanks so much for chatting with me. Please tell us a little about yourself.

Brooke: I’m 26 years old working in catastrophe claims as a reviewer and I have many hobbies.

Eva: Yes, I've seen you at a few comicons and book festivals. What are you currently reading, how did you find it, and what do you think of it so far?

Brooke: I’m currently reading The Witcher: Sword of destiny. I found it because I enjoy the show and wanted to read where it came from.

Eva: I loved that show and am eagerly waiting for Season 2. So you like fantasy? What would you say are your favorite genres and some of your favorite books in those genres?

Brooke: I love most fiction from horror, sci-fi, fantasy YA, supernatural. I never can say what my favorite books are because I love so many!! I tend to love most I read.

Eva: I'm the same way! Out of curiosity, which books of mine have you read and how did you find them?

Brooke: I’ve read The Underworld Saga (aka The Gatekeeper Saga), Vampires of Athens, and Purgatorium. I found them because you were my professor in college for a class, and I was interested in reading what you had written. I enjoy the fact I can completely lose myself when I’m reading your books.

Eva: Thank you, Brooke. That's good to hear. You were in my Young Adult Literature class at UTSA at least five years ago, right? You were one of my best students. But take me back further. When did you first become a reader? Was there a particular book or series that got you into reading?

Brooke: I was in second grade struggling with reading because of my eyesight but my teacher took the extra time after school to help me and even gave me a book to read on my own that I thought looked stupid at the time but little did I know it would change the way I viewed books. It was Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, and my reading scores just kept getting higher and higher after that. I never stopped.

Eva: So reading something you loved helped you academically. What role has reading played in your life, overall? What do you get out of it?

Brooke: It’s my enjoyment and relaxation time. It helps me escape when I’m depressed. I also love learning new words to add to my vocabulary.

Eva: Do you prefer ebooks, paperbacks, audiobooks, or all?

Brooke: All--though I still prefer the feel of a book in my hand.

Eva: Where do you usually buy your books--online, brick and mortar? Always the same vendor, or different places?

Brooke: Amazon, and any bookstore I can find and go to.

Eva: How do you go about choosing your next book to read?

Brooke: I honestly don’t know. I get suggestions on my social media and I read the descriptions. If I like it, I save it in my phone for a later date when I can get to it--though lately I’ve been reading a new series one at a time. Then I might reread one of the ones I already have.

Eva: I feel the same way. Lately I've been listening to audiobooks, which I can do as I'm falling asleep. What about you? When and where do you read? At night in bed? In morning with coffee?

Brooke: Typically at night in bed or on the weekend, sometimes with coffee, if it’s raining out on the porch, and like anyone else in doctors' waiting rooms.

Eva: Sounds like reading is still an important part of your life.

Brooke: I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have reading. Most people play video games, which I am extremely bad at, but I prefer losing myself in an adventure to another world in its stories.

Thanks again for joining me today. Here's a link to our live chat, or click on the video below.