#BookLove: Tracy Fenton @Tr4cyF3nt0n

It is my great pleasure to be sharing the blog today with Tracy Fenton of Facebook’s TBC and Compulsive Readers book blog to spread a little more #Booklove. I’m sure that to most in the bookish world, Tracy needs no introduction. But it’s my blog and this is what I do so here is more about Tracy.

About Tracy

Tracy Fenton “in her own words” is a compulsive reader and in October 2014 she set up THE Book Club on Facebook, a secret group for readers, authors, publishers and book addicts.  With an international membership of over 7600 readers and 1200 authors THE Book Club (TBC) is now considered one of the most influential online book clubs in the publishing industry.

In December 2016 she started her own website CompulsiveReaders.com reviewing and recommending only the books she loves, interviews with best-selling authors and a new feature with authors reading out their 1 star reviews to camera.

You can find Tracy at her blog and on Twitter and Facebook

Childhood Sweetheart
Favourite book from childhood

Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume.

This is the first book that I read with all my friends in the first year of Secondary school.  It opened up some wonderful discussions and enabled us as teenagers to connect to a character and understand what we were feeling and experiencing was normal.

First love
The first book you fell in love with

Lace by Shirley Conran.

Oh the drama, the bitchiness, the glamour, the storylines, the characters, the excitement, the scandal.  I remember vividly finishing the book and crying for days.

Biggest book crush
The book character you’re totally in love with

I actually have 2 (I’m a book-whore) – the first is Greg from The Memory Book by Rowan Coleman.  To explain why would be to give away the storyline – all I can say is he is a wonderful, patient, loving father and husband who made my heart burst.

The second is Ove from A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman.

He’s the perfect definition of a grumpy old man, he is awkward, miserable and moans about everything but once you get into the book, you can’t help but fall head over heals in love with his character.

Weirdest book crush
Well… duh

Mystery Man by Colin Bateman

He is the Man with No Name and owner of No Alibis, a mystery bookshop in Belfast.  Possibly the funniest character I’ve ever read, he is a paranoid hypochondriac with the driest sense of humour and the 4 books in the series are in my opinion utterly brilliant and totally ridiculous. Just thinking about this series makes me smile.

Hardest break up
The book you didn’t want to end

Normal by Graeme Cameron.

Talk about being left high and dry… however the good news is that the next book is coming out in 2018.  YAY!

The one that got away
The book in your TBR or wish list that you regret not having started yet.

Considering I currently have 546 unread books on my kindle this could be a long list, but I think the books I need to move up and read sooner rather than later would be The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas and The Power by Naomi Alderman

Love one, love them all
Favourite series or genre

Psychological Thrillers are my favourite genre/

So many series I love … Sarah Hilary’s Marnie Rome, Chris Carter’s Robert Hunter; Angela Marsons’ Kim Stone, MJ Arlidge’s Helen Grace… .I could go on and on and on here!

Your latest squeeze
Favourite read of the last 12 months

According to Goodreads I’ve read 98 books since 1^st January – and I have 5 books that I would consider my favourites so far:

Sweet Pea – CJ Skuse

Lying in Wait – Liz Nugent

Exquisite – Sarah Stovell

You Don’t Know Me – Imran Mahmood

Lie With Me – Sabine Durrant

Blind date for a friend
If you were to set a friend up with a blind date (book) which one would it be?

The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

Firstly because it is one of the most beautiful books I’ve read in the past 10 years and secondly because anyone who knows me in real life wouldn’t think I read beautiful books!

Greatest love of all
Favourite book of all time.

OK – these 2 books are my favourite books not because they are literary works of art or classics, but because they both changed my life for different reasons:

1. Into the Darkest Corner – Elizabeth Haynes

This was my first psychological thriller and completely changed my reading habits from that point on.  The first ever book to make my heart pound louder, my stomach to churn and my sphincter to contract.  I have yet to read another book that affected me so deeply.

2. The Wronged Sons (When You Disappeared) by John Marrs

This was originally a self-published book written in 2013.  I read it after hearing about it on a Facebook group and this is before I knew about the importance of leaving reviews on Amazon etc.

I finished the book and was absolutely blown-away by the storyline and couldn’t stop thinking about it and certainly wasn’t able to start a new book. As I was leaving my 5 star rating on Goodreads I saw the author was on there too, so I messaged him telling him how much his book affected me. We struck up an online friendship and it gave me the courage to start leaving reviews and contacting other authors to tell them how much I loved their books, which in turn gave me the confidence to set up THE Book Club on Facebook which now has 7700 members and 1200 authors.

…

Thanks Tracy. Some fabulous and wide ranging choices there. I have to be honest, I am completely taken aback that you are the very first person to mention Lace. I’ve never read the book but I do remember my sister and mother being glued to the TV series. And as for your love one, leve them all choices – yes, yes, yes and yes from me.

What do you reckon guys? Any recommendations for Tracy to add to her already toppling TBR pile? Any key thrillers you think she should read?

Have a fabulously bookish day all and keep spreading the #booklove.

Jen