Meet Leila Roy

Leila_royContinuing in our plan of introducing you to more of the bloggers behind the Cybils, today we bring you Leila Roy, the force behind the irreverent and well-informed Bookshelves of Doom. Don’t know what we mean by irreverent? Check out this recent post about serving patrons in the library.

Leila has been blogging since August of 2004. She was a natural choice to be a judge on the Cybils Young Adult Fiction committee because of her strong emphasis on that genre (see her reviews of Vampirates or AngelMonster, for example). Today, Young Adult Fiction committee coordinator Jen Robinson interviews Leila about her blogging.

Jen: Why do you blog, Leila?

Leila: Before working in the library, I worked as a bookseller. When customers found out I was leaving, quite a few of them suggested that I start posting my reviews online, so that they could continue to enjoy my scintillating wit and ridiculously opinionated, erm, opinions. So. I blog partly to keep a record of what I read and partly to share my favorites — and not so favorites — with others.

Jen: What is it about kidlit that you love most? 

Leila: Ummm. The fact that so much kidlit is so much better than so much grown-up lit.

Jen: What is your favorite book that didn’t make the shortlist?

Leila: Dairy Queen. Also An Abundance of Katherines and Accidents of Nature. And Life As We Knew It and The Privilege of the Sword, though I think those were in the fantasy/sci-fi category.

Jen: If you could have a fictional character visit you for a day, who would it be and how would you spend the time together? 

Leila: Gosh. Howl and Calcifer, from Howl’s Moving Castle, as long as they bring the castle. Or Megan Whalen Turner’s Eugenides. Or Kit, from Dark Lord of Derkholm. I suspect my time would be spent the same way with any of them: arguing. But I would love every minute of it.

For a glimpse at Leila’s blogging style, we recommend that you check out any of her reviews of the original Nancy Drew mysteries, for example, this review of The Clue in the Diary. Here’s an excerpt:

She also "possessed an intangible appealing quality which people never forget." Maybe that quality has something to do with her willingness to be generous to the poor — assuming, of course, that they are attractive, polite and neat. Or maybe it’s just that she’s not a litterbug.  (See page three for proof of that.) We also learn that if your car is rear-ended, it’s smart to be very polite to the crappy driver behind you because he might be a Very Rich Factory Owner Who Has a Connection to Your Case.

But head on over to Bookshelves of Doom to see for yourself.