Book and a Beverage [175] – Terri from Second Run Reviews

Welcome back to BOOK AND A BEVERAGE!

In case you don’t know the deal about Book and a Beverage, it’s a very simple yet fun feature: We read books, we drink beverages, we take pictures of them and then I share your photos and a little about you to the blogging world!

Give a big welcome to Terri from Second Run Reviews!

Name & Blog Name: Terri M., Second Run Reviews
Tell us a little about your blog! I started Second Run Reviews in December 2013. I originally wanted to start on January 1, 2014, but I read an amazing book (Traveler by Dennis W. Green) and wanted to share the book with the world.
What’s been your favorite post you’ve written so far? Back in March 2015, I wrote a blog post about how being brave and finding hope and survival through reading. For me, it was laying my worries about my job out there (without being too specific) and connecting it with one of the things I love to do most, reading.
Got anything special coming up we should know about? In the Spotlight is a feature on my site where I spotlight authors via interviews, guest posts and book release announcements. I will be opening up reservations for 2018 soon. And while I initially was considering charging a small fee for the feature, it will remain free for 2018.

Whatcha reading? I just finished reading Mechanica by Betsy Cornwell.
Where did it come from? (Library, purchased, publisher, etc) Well, I purchased an electronic copy via a Christmas sale that Amazon had last year. I can honestly say that sale was one the few times I can admit I was a little click happy. Then, during the COYER Blackout Challenge, I won a physical copy and decided that since I had two copies, it was probably a sign I should read it.
Any special reason you chose to feature this book? I have a soft spot for fairy tale retellings since I discovered The Princess series by Jim C. Hines and The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica by James A. Owen. Mechanica definitely hit that soft spot for me. A strong female lead who pursues her talent with mechanical works and realizes she has to live for herself and not some guy or her horrible stepfamily. Also, the Faerie in the world believe that you can make families with friends. This is something I’ve experienced in my own life so that message resonated with me.
What’s important that we should know about this book? Would you recommend it? Since I’m an aunt now, I’m always on the lookout for books my sister and brother can share with their kid at some point in their lives. There’s not much violence in this novel and there’s isn’t any sex. I think this would be a fun book to read aloud with kids.
Oh, and I found out book 2 is coming out later this year!

Whatcha drinking? Coffee. Straight up black in the winter. I make my own cold brew concentrate in the summer..
What’s your favorite thing to drink while reading? Coffee (or tea at night).
Favorite beverage of all time. Go! Definitely coffee. I think I’ve become a bit of a coffee snob and have started to prefer making my coffee at home by grinding my own beans especially after we got a Keurig. I was sick of buying the little pre-filled cups so I got one of the reusable cups (that was trial and error to find one that worked) and got a burr grinder after my standard bean grinder died. Now I grind my own beans for my hot and cold brews.
I prefer a medium or dark roast coffee if anyone is wondering. And I think that Starbucks Breakfast Blend makes the best cold brew concentrate. Oh, and I prefer to visit local coffee shops over chains when I can.

What are your top three books you would recommend to other people? Outlander by Diana Gabaldon | My review
Traveler by Dennis W. Green | My review
Here, There Be Dragons by James A. Owen | My review
What’s your proudest blogging/reading/writing moment? I’ve been reading most of my life and blogging since 2013. As my blogging life and bookish convention attendance increased, I discovered I had a knack for connecting with people (which should have been obvious since I was in college admissions for 6 years and project management for 10+ years). Local authors I connected with started asking me for advice about their books and marketing.
As my life in the corporate world started to go downhill, I seriously started looking for opportunities to work with authors. In January 2017, I took a huge leap and joined with Author Accelerator (authoraccelerator.com) and became their Launch Specialist. My work there focuses largely on managing their course offerings. It’s a dream job that allows me to combine my weird crop of technological and project management skills and my love of reading.
They are also responsible for giving me that coffee mug that appears in the pictures.
Anything else you’d like to share? Connecting with authors is still my most favorite thing after 3 years of blogging whether I’ve read their book or not. I’ve had more positive interactions than negative ones. Attending bookish conventions has expanded my book world immensely. I wholeheartedly encourage people to look up smaller fan-run conventions (upcomingcons.com/) and signings (https://www.facebook.com/groups/authoreventsaroundtheus/) in their area. They are usually inexpensive to attend. And because of some of the events I’ve dared to attend, I’ve run into some pretty famous folks (check out How Not To Meet A Celebrity. My Exciting Adventures At Phoenix ComiCon. http://www.secondrunreviews.com/2017/06/not-meet-celebrity.html).

Thanks, Terri! Ohhh I am DEFINITELY checking out these links! I was just looking for something like this for conventions! I can’t wait to read your “How Not to Meet a Celebrity” too!