Aquavenatus - our blog about their blog

Blog name: Aquaventus

Blog link:  https://mistyaquavenatus.com

Social media: 

Twitter - @aquavenatus

Instagram - @aquavenatus

YouTube - Misty306

Goodreads - Lois Young

StoryGraph - Aquavenatus

TikTok - Aquavenatus306



A little introduction:

My name is L.A. Young, but many of you know me as both Aquavenatus and Misty306. I’m a librarian who has a background in education and in communications. In 2014, I started my blog, Aquavenatus, which is known for having reviews about (mostly speculative fiction) books and lists of book recommendations. I’m a contributor to the website, Fantasy-Faction, I’ve done a few guest posts on other blogs and on podcasts, and I have written work on other sites such as the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. 


What made you start your blog? 

When Game of Thrones first aired, I started reading the books and I had some theories about the influences and what could happen in future books. I was in grad school at the time, so while many fans created YouTube channels and/or podcasts about the show and the books, I wrote down my thoughts instead. After some of my posts started getting noticed, I realized I wanted to expand my blog. I enjoy reading and I always recommend books to whoever asked me, so I decided to post book reviews as well. Now, my blog is known mostly as a bookblog. 


Which part of having the blog do you love most?

One of the things I love about blogging is having discussions with other readers and bloggers about books and similar topics. Obviously, I talk with other bookbloggers and authors, but I talk to gamers and vloggers about social issues and current events. Society overlooks the relevance it has over the literature (and other art) which comes out from it. I enjoy sharing my thoughts about a book with others, and when an individual tells me they’ve read a book because I recommended it—whether or not they enjoyed it—it makes me happy knowing someone is reading my blog.


Where did the name for your blog come from? 

I wanted a name that was both unique and catchy. I’m an Aquarius and, besides reading, I enjoy playing video games. I knew aqua was Latin for “water,” and I thinking of the word for “gamer” in Latin. The closest word I came across was “hunter” (game is a term used by hunters, not my definition) which is “venator,” and after researching Latin suffixes, came up with “venatus.” I know I could have used the word, “ludi,” which translates to “games,” but to me it didn’t have the same flow.


What do you love most about books?

Even though I read more fiction than nonfiction—which is not to say I don’t read nonfiction because I do—I get a lot out of reading fiction. Books allow readers to learn about different things through narratives while being entertained. Stories are part of human history because they were ways in which people kept track of religion, moments in history, family members, traditions, cultures, etc. Nowadays, we take for granted what stories continue to do for us. We don’t learn everything in school and in university, and we don’t always get to read biography, history and/or science books; but, there are stories which capture our attention to the point where we have to know what happens next. These stories are about characters whose behaviors and motivations reflect ours and those of people we know, so we cannot continue to believe such stories do not have any impact on us as its audience. Books allows us to learn more about the world while fooling us into believing they are about fictional characters and places. 


What genres do you blog about?

My blog consists of mostly book reviews and some television show reviews from the speculative fiction genre. I’ve written essays about social issues, topics within literature and pop culture as well. In the future, I’m hoping to expand my reviews across other genres of literature and film.


What are your favourite books?

My favorite genre is speculative fiction, which is an umbrella term for fantasy, science fiction, horror, magic realism, gothic fiction narratives told across various mediums such as books, graphic novels, films, video games, comics, manga, etc. However, when I was growing up, I enjoyed reading mysteries and thrillers as well. In recent years, I started reading romance books as well. 


What are your 3 top reads from the last year?

Some of my favorite reads from this year (2021) are The Light of the Midnight Stars by Rena Rossner; A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow; and, The Unbroken by C.L. Clark.


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