I got tagged yet again by the lovely Ric of Bed, Book & Tea. So, let’s get going:

1. Which kind of blog do you like best and why?

   Book blogs, obviously, although I have to admit that I started reading blogs due to my manic obsession with the back then forthcoming Twilight movie. At least it was good for one thing. All in all, there’s only one other blog I read on a regular basis that’s technically not a book blog but book related and that is Winter Is Coming. That shouldn’t come as a surprise as ASoIaF obsessed as I am.

2. Where do you like to go shopping?

   I love book shops, the only thing is that German one’s are kind of frustrating if one prefers to read in the original language, which just happens to be English most of the time. They don’t have much variety and if they happen to have books on my wishlist, they are often quite expensive. Therefore, most of my favourite book shops are not in Germany, with the exception of Dussmann in Berlin, which has a wonderful integrated English book shop. My other favourites are Shakespeare & Co. in Vienna, which is also unbelievable expensive but just so wonderful, Hodge Figgis (=Waterstones) in Dublin, Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop in Galway, and every Eason’s in Ireland – God, I miss those 3 for 2 offers!

   However, there’s another shop I love to pieces and that’s HMV. At least a third of my DVDs are from one of their shops. They just have amazing offers on DVDs and CDs. Each time I go to Ireland or the UK, I come back with a suitcase full of books and DVDs.

3. Which blog do you read the longest?

   Well, The Night Owl Post, formerly Life after Twilight, was the first blog I ever read on a regular basis. Although I don’t follow it closely anymore, it’s still in my reader, so I guess that’s the one.

4. Which was the last blog you subscribed to, and why?

   Actually, I have no idea. My feed reader is very very messy at the moment and I seriously have to get it all cleaned up soon or else I’ll go crazy.

5. What are your three favourite blogs?

   Err, that’s a mean question! Can I skip it? No? Hmpf, very well. Let’s see … Crini’s blog All About Books made me want to have my very own blog – so that’s why I’m here. I adore her blog. She just has the best layouts and great content. I love everything about Miss Bookiverse. And since I spend so much time stalking Winter Is Coming, I really have to name it here. The Twitter recaps are just FaB (<- see what I did here?!)!

   And now I feel really bad for all my other dear readingrat blogger friends I haven’t named, so thanks very much!

6. Do you like blog tours, challenges and the likes? Do you plan those yourself or do you prefer to participate only?

   I’m not particularly into blog tours and almost never read those posts. I don’t know, it’s something between boring and annoying to have the same book pop up in my feed reader a thousand times – same goes for cover reveals. One is great but I don’t need every other blog to do one. That’s not very exclusive. However, I love challenges and participate in some – not very successfully. I even thought about hosting one, too. So far, I just haven’t found my niche (a horse novel challenge would be fun but since I know no one who’d participate, that’s not happening).

7. Would you say that your purchase behaviour has changed since you started blogging, and if so, why?

   Yes, it most certainly has. It got worse. I’m obsessed. I’m addicted. I can’t live without buying more and more books. I always loved to buy books and always bought considerably more than the average reader. I can’t walk past a book shop, especially if it offers used books. I’m a bargain hunter through and through. Since I started blogging, however, I also started buying more new releases and books I saw on other blogs. On the other hand, this means that I moved out of my comfort zone, namely my favourite genre (high) fantasy, and started to diversify my shelves, which is great.

8. Do you plan your posts for a month? Where do you get your ideas? Who’s inspiring you?

   Yes, I do – on paper. I have a nice spreadsheet in which I write the posts I want to publish over the course of a month. The reality, however, looks differently because most of the posts never get written since I just can’t find the time.

   Well, I don’t have any special features so far – although I just recently got an amazing idea. Not sure whether I will find the time and material to implement it, though. I’m always glad if I manage to write the basic posts. Still, all my fellow bloggers are inspiring me and boost me – and if it’s just to not throw in the towel.

9. Do you answer all comments and e-mails?

   Almost. I answer every comment that’s worth answering, i.e. I have something to add to. Sometimes there’s just nothing I could write without repeating everything all over again and sometimes the conversations just have to come to an end without forcibly dragging them on and on. But besides that, yes, I do read all comments closely and answer appropriately.

10. Lastly: Do you have tips for blogging newbies who want to grow and reach more people?

    I’m really truly the last person you’d want to ask this question. My blog is slightly older than a year but I have next to no readers so I’m really not much of a help. Slowly but steadily I come to terms with my situation and just accept that I’m what I call an indie blogger doing just what and how I like to do it. Therefore: just be yourself, contribute to the community and never, ever spam, be honest, and forget about the numbers. If you’re just blogging for monitoring your follower and page view numbers then there’s something wrong.

I probably should tag someone. That’s how it works, right? As always, I don’t. After all, I’m an indie blogger and that means I do things differently 😉 . If you like to answer the questions, feel free to do so.