“The unread story is not a story; it is little black marks on wood pulp. The reader, reading it, makes it live: a live thing, a story.” —Ursula K. Le Guin
It’s that time again! We love to read books and we love readers of books. Tor Teen readers are a talented and imaginative group of humans, and we like to celebrate them and their amazing work championing the world of books.
In April we chatted Super Space Chick, and in May the dynamic duo at Alexa Loves Books. June’s Tor Teen Reader of the month is Samantha of Thoughts on Tomes, booktuber extraordinaire!
Featuring: Samantha, Thoughts on Tomes
Where to find them:
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ThoughtsOnTomes/
- Twitter: @thoughtsontomes
- Insta: @thoughtsontomes
- Tumblr: https://thoughtsontomes.tumblr.com/
What they’re all about:
What got you into vlogging and booktube? (and how long have you been doing it?)
I’ve been doing Booktube since July of 2014. I originally started watching YouTube for the “beauty gurus”. I watched girls in their rooms (very casual back then) doing their makeup and I really wanted to be a part of a community like that. But I didn’t feel I had the skill or knowledge to be a part of the makeup community. Then, actually through one of these makeup channels, I discovered people were making similar videos about books and I knew I wanted to be a part of it. I have been a reader all of my life, but did not have friends that I could talk to about what I was reading. This community was exactly what I had been craving.
What’s your favorite Tor book of all time?
That is tough because I love so much of what Tor puts out. I’m going to have to cheat a bit and say The Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire AND The Tiger’s Daughter by K. Arsenault Rivera. I’m very much looking forward to the next installment in both of those series.
What Tor Teen release are you most excited for this year?
Like I said earlier, I love what Tor puts out and every season I find myself scanning the catalogue and finding new things to add to my most anticipated list. My most anticipated Tor Teen release is Bloodwitch by Susan Dennard, the next installment in the Witchlands series, but that sadly won’t be here until 2019. Girl at the Grave by Teri Bailey Black looks intriguing. Gothic romance and murder? What’s not to love?
What was your favorite book at 15?
The Abhorson series by Garth Nix, with Sabriel being my favorite. I was constantly checking books out of my school library, and I stumbled upon these. I binge read the whole series. I remember in my English class, while we were playing a game of charades (very academic), one of my classmates used Abhorson as a word to stump the other team because they saw it on my desk. I’ve re-read them since and they stand up to the test of time.
