The
Blog:
The Reading Hedgehog began as 667B Baker Street,
which was started in March 2010. In a fit of brainstorming, trying to figure out
how I could improve my blog, I had the sudden image of a little be-scarfed
hedgehog reading a book outside of a house in a hill. I knew I had hit upon a
wonderful idea, and I acted upon it. 667B Baker Street became The Reading
Hedgehog: A hedgie’s literary adventures. The purpose of the blog has not
changed. This is a place for bookworms to come and talk about books. Reviews,
new releases, movies based off of books – anything bookish. Because my passion
is books, I wanted to express and share that love with like-minded people on a
literary blog. The Reading Hedgehog’s main focus is Young Adult and Middle
Grade literature. On the rare occasion, an Adult book will make its way on, but
kid/teen literature is my favorite, and always will be. Friendly comments and
questions are always welcome, and The Reading Hedgehog doesn’t mind people who
disagree, so long as they don’t get nasty. Part of discussing literature is to
talk about difference in opinion as well, right? Mainly, this is a place for
fun and warm discussions among friends – new and old – about our shared
passion: books.
I am a 23-year-old bookworm, and have been one
since the age of five. When I was too young to read to myself, I would beg my
parents to read out loud to me until I had the story memorized, after which I
would hold the book up in front of myself and repeat what they had read by
memory, flipping the pages when they had flipped them (I don’t know how
accurate my timing was, though). When I first learned to read, I rebelled at
the idea, because I didn’t want my parents to stop reading to me. But once I got
the letters down, there was no stopping me. Ever since then, books have been my
main passion in life. I love to read them, write them, discuss them, organize
them, or just look at them. I have over 800 books, most if not all of them hardcover, and
I go out and buy more as soon as I am able. Some of my other passions are
playing Irish fiddle, writing, swing dancing, and Mongolian horse archery, all of
which I pursue when I don’t have my nose buried in a book. While I read a wide
variety of genres and have a favorite book in almost all of them, my favorites
are: historical fiction, classics, steampunk, mystery, time travel, and
fairytale retellings. I can never pick an all-time favorite author, but these
five can be counted among them: Rosemary Sutcliff, Charles Dickens, Jane
Austen, Cornelia Funke, and Maggie Stiefvater. As for favorite books, I have an
even harder time choosing, but here are five randomly picked ones: Nicholas Nickleby, Ella Enchanted, Northanger
Abbey, The Scorpio Races, and Entwined.
The
Reading Hedgehog:
Yes, the Reading Hedgehog is actually a real
hedgehog! Meet Bilbo, the newest addition to my family and part of the reason
this blog exists. Bilbo is an African Pygmy hedgehog, and he is 10 weeks old in
that photo. Named after – you guessed it – the protagonist of The Hobbit, he actually got that name
because of Martin Freeman (who played Bilbo in the movie, and has been said to
look like a hedgehog; he does). Bilbo’s favorite pastime when he’s awake is to
play in his little red wheel, and the rest of the time he snoozes in his
sleeping bag while I read books to him. He also enjoys going on unexpected
adventures in his snuggly carry bag, so long as he isn’t expected to wake up. His favorite snacks are scrambled eggs and bacon, but he steadfastly turns his nose up at fruits and veggies.
