I've Been Interviewed!

Normally I am quite happy to share my opinion on a given book without being asked but this time someone actually wanted to know my opinion. Fantastical Librarian Mieneke invited me to take part in her blogger query series, in which she interrogates fellow bookbloggers about their approach to reviewing (among other things).

Mieneke is one of the few Dutchies that I'm aware of running an English language book blog. For the occasion she has slipped in a few questions on how I came to review in English and how I feel about being away from all the action. Just to make you curious:

You're one of the only, if not the only, Dutch book reviewers I know and like me, you blog in English. Did this evolve naturally from the subject matter we review, since the availability of SFF in Dutch is so limited? Or was it a conscious choice?

It wasn't really a concious choice. My Livejournal is in English, mostly because most of the people I tried to stay in touch with do not speak Dutch. Fantasybookspot was a site run by two American guys, so I didn't really have a choice there. After that, I had gotten so used to it, that writing in Dutch didn't really occur to me. I have written a few review in Dutch, but only two of those eventually made it online. Writing in Dutch is still easier for me, but part of that advantage is lost if you read the book in English. My vocabulary in English is limited, but I have gotten to the level where I know words in English that I wouldn't know the Dutch translation of. Especially in genre fiction, which has a pretty peculiar vocabulary of its own, this can be a pain in the backside when you have to write about it in another language. I don't envy translators in this respect.....

What to know more about my motivations and ambitions (or lack thereof)? Head on over to A Fantastical Librarian. Don't forget to check out Mieneke's reviews, they make for excellent reading.