The Man Behind the (Blog) Mask - aobibliophile™

As part of The All Male Review Challenge, I'm featuring some of our male book blogger friends in this new interview feature: The Man Behind the (Blog) Mask. Each blogger answered the same 7 questions so that we can all get to know them a bit better. The men of the book blogging community are interesting, charming, funny, witty, and some of the best all around bloggers! If you like what you read here, be sure to check out their blogs - you won't be disappointed.

My guest today is aobibliophile™ from aobibliosphere™!

1) Tell us a little about your blog - when you started, what your focus is, why you do it, etc.


i started last November 2010. it's a cool coincidence to be part of the All Male Review Challenge since my blog just turned 6 on the 17th of this month.

aobibliosphere™ is about books - my life-long romance with them and my journey of discovery and learning. it is also a tribute to all authors, readers, fellow book bloggers and to all the books yet to be read and written.

2) Book blogging seems pretty heavy on the females. Do you think being a male blogger has any advantages or disadvantages?

i did notice that majority of book bloggers are females but this does not make me uncomfortable in any way. it never even crossed my mind that there are pros and cons to being a male blogger. i'm having fun and i'm just grateful to be surrounded by people who are as passionate about reading as i am.

3) Do you read a lot of books with male protagonists? Why or why not?

i read almost anything that interests me so i don't really keep track. enjoying the book and feeling good about it is more important to me regardless of the protagonist's gender.

4) Give us three books you consider "must reads."

that's a tough one to answer as we all have different tastes and wants. one man's treasure is another man's junk but i recommend the following:

• The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King - a brilliant septology by a master wordsmith
• Havah by Tosca Lee - a story about Eve, the first woman and mother of us all
• The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, père - a timeless classic i never get tired of reading every now and then

5) If you could be any literary character, who would you be and why?

i go for Harry Potter. having been orphaned myself, i feel for this boy-wizard and what he had to go through. i also love the series and i have the US and UK editions of all seven books. hopefully, i could add the French, German and Spanish translations to my collection soon.

6) When you're not reading or blogging, what are you most likely doing?

writing in my journal, painting landscapes in watercolor, cooking and taking care of my 8 year-old nephew. i rarely watch TV now so one or a couple of these keep me occupied when i'm not in front of my laptop.

7) Share an interesting/weird/random/funny fact about yourself with us.

• most of my readers/followers assume that i'm a female book blogger. lol! i assure everyone though that i'm not offended. not at all. c",) i guess my blog's design and button has to do with the assumption plus the fact that i blog anonymously. the blog's layout is really a tribute to my late Mom who was born on St. Patrick's Day. she loved to read as well and had influenced my passion for the written word. green is and has always been my favorite color. finding a St. Pattie's theme for aobibliosphere™ was just perfect!
• a couple of months or so after i started blogging, i had strange lucid dreams where i found myself drafting a review. the thing is, the scene kept repeating itself over and over. i always woke up feeling groggy and my fingers ached. i thought it was funny and horrible at the same time! to date, i don't have these dreams anymore thank goodness! lol!

Thanks for sharing with us! You can follow aobibliophile™ at aobibliosphere™ and on Twitter @aobibliophile.