Interview with Nymeth of Things Mean Alot

For those of you not involved in the Book Bloggers Appreciation Week, part of the festivities included an opportunity to put your name in a hat to be matched up with another blogger with whom you trade interviews. You can imagine my excitement when I was assigned the task of interviewing Nymeth of Things Mean Alot. Is there any place you don't see this girl? I consider her to be one of the leaders in the book blogging community, and felt like I'd won a little lottery by getting her name. Head on over to her blog to see her interview of me!

Nymeth's real name is Ana, she is in her mid-twenties and lives in Portugal. She just recently finished her degree in English – she is a few years late, however in getting this degree. Her first major was psychology, but due to the organization of higher education in Portugal, she was forced to start from scratch when she changed majors. She currently works as a research assistant in linguistics, but only until the end of September – after that, the joyful world of unemployment awaits her. She's hoping to find work and save for a year, and then start library school. Wish her luck! Ana has three dogs, four cats and one boyfriend. Here were some thought-provoking questions I asked her, and her responses:

Sandy: To me, the most obvious question to ask first is about your blog title and name. I am sure you were thinking of something specific when you came up with “Things Mean A Lot” and “Nymeth”. Where did you get your inspiration?

Ana: My blog’s name comes from a song by the Red House Painters, who have been one of my favourite bands since I was fifteen. But more than the song itself, what inspired me was a line from a book. The band’s frontman and main songwriter, Mark Kozelek, published a poetry book called "Nights of Passed Over", and in the introduction he wrote:

“While checking back through the lyrics for a final look, a few lines in particular caught my attention, both from the song "Things Mean a Lot". One is, "things mean a lot at the time, don't mean nothing later," and the other, "scares me how you get older, how we forget about each other." I was feeling bitter when I wrote the song, but it's clear that everything has its place and meaning, and that no one is forgotten.”

I should probably add that I originally gave this title to my LJ (livejournal) blog, which I started when I was 19. When I first moved to blogger I didn’t know I was going to start a book blog, but I’ll save that story for question number two. I always worried that “things mean a lot” was a silly title for a book blog, but I got a BBAW nomination for Best Name, so apparently someone doesn’t think so! Whoever you are, thank you for reassuring me.

As for “Nymeth”, it was the name of a character in a sad attempt at a fantasy novel I wrote when I was in my late teens, and it kind of stuck as an online nickname. I shall once again shield myself behind my tender age :P Seriously though, it has the advantage of being very easy to google, unlike my real name. I have both the most common female Portuguese name and the most common last name there is.

Sandy: I knew that answer would be interesting! I am going to have to look up that song! I noticed you’ve been blogging since 2004, which is a lifetime in blogland. You were out there paving the way for the rest of us
before we saw an explosion of bloggers come onto the scene in full force a few years ago. What caused you to start your own blog?

Ana: Actually, I started my book blog in early 2007, but the archives go back longer because I backdated all my “housekeeping” posts – yearly reading lists, indexes, my contact page, etc. In 2004, I was blogging in livejournal and I did write about books, but I never got involved in any of the communities and as a result I never made any friends.

But back to this blog – in March 2007 I came across the Once Upon a Time Challenge, hosted by Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings, and I decided to use my blogger account to participate. Until then, I had used it only to comment on friends’ blogs. I didn’t know I was going to start blogging long term, but everyone was so friendly and welcoming that I felt right at home. All of a sudden I had a large group of people to discuss books with – it was a geek’s dream come true.

Sandy: Can you share with us your morning routine?

Ana: For the past few months I’ve been working from home, which has changed my routine considerably. I wake up at around 8 and immediately put the kettle on – I absolutely can’t function without my morning cup of coffee. I have breakfast, and then I check my e-mail, twitter and google reader for half an hour (which, if I’m not careful, can easily turn into a full hour). Then I unplug my Internet cable so I can get some work done. This is a very important step, without which not very much of anything is actually achieved.

Sandy: You've got much more discipline that I do! Besides reading and blogging, what are some of your other passions?

Ana: My biggest passion besides reading and blogging is music. I love music as much as I love books, though in a different way. I love discovering new bands, listening to old favourites, making mixed CDs to inflict on friends, and going to shows. What else…even though I’ve been neglecting them lately, I also love movies. And video games – they get a bad rap, but there are some real masterpieces out there. I find that whatever the medium I’m dealing with, I’m always very narrative-oriented. More than anything else, I pay attention to the story, and I love a good story no matter how it’s being told. Another thing I love is animals and nature. I love hiking and spotting wildlife. My boyfriend and I consider walking for miles in the middle of nowhere a perfect holiday – it’s a good thing we agree on that regard!











Sandy: My son would whole-heartedly agree that video games are masterpieces! He should be at a Van Gogh level by now! I’ve only just started following your blog, but was immediately blown away by the number of comments you receive. On a slow day, you probably see 20 comments, whereas I would consider this a very successful post! I saw one of your posts the other day that had nearly 60 comments! How many followers do you have? Any advice on how to grow blog readership to these phenomenal levels?

Ana: I actually don’t have as many followers (I had 46 when I last checked) or as much traffic as some other blogs, but the ones I do have are very chatty, I guess! And I love them for it, of course. This is a difficult question for me to answer because it all happened slowly. I don’t mean to say it’s bad to deliberately try to grow your readership or anything silly like that, but for me it all happened without me giving it too much thought.

Although I’ve been told this doesn’t really show on my blog, but I’m actually pretty shy and insecure. I’ve been known to read a blog for months without daring to comment because I get into my head that I’ll horrify the blogger with my stupidity (I know, I know, I sound like I’m in high school or something). I become convinced that they’re much too smart or sophisticated to waste their time with me. What I do, though, is push myself: I force myself out of my shell, even if it’s hard for me. So this is my advice: reach out, leave comments, make friends. Do it even if you’re scared. Remember that other people probably have the same insecurities as you do, and that there’s more to lose by never trying than by trying and being rejected.

Sandy: You are right, this does not translate through to your blog. You are outgoing and friendly, and the ultimate professional. That is excellent advice! OK, I like to always ask this one...you never know what the answer is going to be! Give us one tidbit about yourself that would surprise us!

Ana: This is by far the most difficult question! I’ve been staring at the screen for like five minutes, you know! But alright, I have something: I was a dog-earer for years. And in my teens, an underliner-of-favourite-passages-in-pen. I know, I know – I cringe to think of it now, but there’s no erasing the past.

Sandy: Ooooh! That is a good one! But you are forgiven! Now another tough one. What are your top five books? I’ll make it a little easier…give us the top five books you’ve read this year.

Ana: Thank you for making it easier! But it’s still hard, because this has been an excellent reading year so far. But I guess I’d choose "Tender Morsels" by Margo Lanagan, "Fingersmith" by Sarah Waters, "The Fox Woman" by Kij Johnson, "The Children’s Book" by A.S. Byatt, and "The Love We Share Without Knowing" by Christopher Barzak.

Sandy: I've not read any of those, but have had my eyeball on Fingersmith ever since I read The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters. Everyone seems to love it! Ana, thank you so much for being my interview partner...it has been alot of fun! I will look forward to spending more time on your blog!