Friday Featured Blogger (10): Deltay of Lucid Conspiracy

When Deltay of Lucid Conspiracy won my first ever blog giveaway, I hopped over to her beautiful blog to check it out. And then I stayed...and I stayed...and eventually was so fascinated by her impressive book reviews that I raved like a lunatic to her about it and cajoled her into being a featured blogger. Okay, maybe that's not EXACTLY how it worked out, but it's pretty close, and the girl does write some fine reviews. Help me welcome Deltay today!

1. Hello! Won't you tell us about yourself in a few short sentences?

I'm known as Deltay in the online realm, which is a pseudonym actually. I'm based in Canada, which is a little different as it would seem that a lot of my fellow bloggers are from the States. I recently turned 17 and currently finishing up junior year in high school. In terms of pets, I have four goldfish that I share with my sister, and they're named Banana Fish, Chuck, Alex, and Hannah (yep, after the infamous Hannah Montana). I can be pretty random at times.

2. I'm loving those fish names; I give mine strange names too. :) Tell us about your blog. When did you start it and why? Where did the name come from? What interesting things can visitors expect?

I run the blog Lucid Conspiracy, which debuted on Wednesday, January 28th, 2009. Ironically, it didn't start out as a book blog. See, prior to this I'd given blogging a couple of shots, and they all fizzled out after a while.

But then, around this time I saw that article from the superbly-fantabulous daily e-mag iheartdaily about the young blogger awards, and stumbled onto a couple of really intriguing blogs. So I figured, why not, I'll give it another shot. This time it kind of stuck with me, so hopefully it'll continue! Actually, after being drawn to Sea of Shoes and from there, the fashion blogging community, Lucid Conspiracy nearly delved in that direction. But then I realized that my fascination with [that community] came more from the photography aspect of things than the actual fashion itself, so it veered to the present course of book blogging, which I find fits much better.

Visitors can expect book (and the odd movie) reviews, author interviews, community meme-features, random musings... hopefully the repertoire will continue to expand in the near future. I'm pretty random, so basically whatever comes to mind.

3. What do you think a good book review does? What do you consider when writing your awesome reviews? :)

Hmm, that requires a fair bit of thought ;) I think a good book review shows reflection on the book itself, delving deeper than the surface (provided there is depth to delve into), and looks both at the positive aspects and the sections which could potentially see improvement. Hopefully, it would be fair and as unbiased as possible. It offers one person's opinion on the book, but at the same time, if it elicits a response from the person reading the review as well (e.g. "Oh yeah, this is something I want to check out!" or "No, I just don't think this one is for me.")

Haha, I don't know if all my reviews are always awesome, but that's still nice to hear! Usually I try to touch upon the major aspects, such as plot, characterization, diction/phrasing etc. Then I'll zoom in a bit on certain aspects that were pulled off particularly well, and some that could perhaps potentially be improved upon. And of course, some generalistic comments to sum up an overall opinion of the book.

4. Can you share with us one childhood moment that involved books or reading?

A fair number of years back, when I was in elementary school, Eric Walters (Run, Rebound, Trapped in Ice ... he's written loads of books) came to our school to give a presentation. Although there may potentially have been others before that, he was the first author I distinctly remember meeting. And of course, at the time, in my childhood ignorance I was convinced that I was going to be a writer when I grew up, so it was a pretty colossal moment. He signed a copy of Diamonds in the Rough for me - my first ever signed by a real author book.

5. Quick! Name 3 favorite books and why you think everyone should read them.

Oh. Wow. Now this is a really tough one! There's so many excellent must-read books out there, and of course as soon as you're under pressure to come up with just 3, they all go out of your head.

Well, most recently The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. It's a very raw read, very real in that the characters deal with serious situations that could mean the difference between life and death. It's deeper in subject matter and more insightful, which is something that's needed, considering the shallow world that's dominating society now. I mean, reality t.v. is all fine and dandy and everything, but every once in a while, a reminder is needed that there's more to life than that. It's just thought-provoking.

The Harry Potter series, for sure. I mean, they kind of defined a generation - and then some. If you haven't heard of it... wow, where have you been the last decade, under a rock? (Kidding.)

The Great Gatsby. I had to read it for school this year, and I will admit, I didn't think I was going to enjoy it. And I didn't, the first couple of times through. But then... it kind of grew on me. I know, I know, usually after intense in-depth analysis (especially after the stuff IB makes you do!) one would be so annoyed with it, they'd never want to look at it again. But there's just something really majestic about Fitzgerald's writing, it's so lyrical and flows, and his descriptions are pretty much unmatched in modern literature. The storyline, the characterization, what Gatsby embodies... it's magnificent. Just give it a chance to percolate in.

6. If you could eat a meal with any author, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

Wow, you're an excellent interviewer, Steph! These questions are all pretty deep. Again, there are just so many, but to spice things up a little here, I'll go with William Shakespeare. Why? Shakespeare in Love (the movie)! No, in all honesty, I have a couple of buddies who are huge Shakespeare fans, but I'm not one personally. At the same time though, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, The Tempest... you have to admit that the dude had talent, pretty much artistic genius. I mean, some of those passages in R&J? Downright beautiful. It would be really interesting to pick his brain. And there's something really elegant about the way people spoke during that time period as well.

7. Who is your fictional character crush, and why?

There are ton of really yummy characters in YA literature nowadays! For example, Nate from Sarah Dessen's Lock and Key, Sam from Sarah Ockler's Twenty Boy Summer...

Most recently though (as it's the last book I read) I would say Jacob, from Justina Chen Headley's North of Beautiful. What can I say? He's got a Beautiful Soul (a Jesse McCartney reference - sorry, couldn't help it). Just the way he goes beyond the superficial, how he really seems to understand Terra, his endearing quirks... I don't know, it's just really cute. He seems like a really interesting person who's got some depth to him.

8. What are some things you just LOVE to receive for presents? :)

Haha, well the fact that it's a present in itself is pretty cool! I actually kind of like getting surprises. In the way of, "oh wow, I totally wasn't expecting this of all things, but it's just so perfect!" Or odd/interesting things that are different or unique.

9. And finally, tell us 2 interesting/strange things about yourself that can spark conversation.

I really really like sticky notes. Post-Its are just so convenient, and they're all over the place.
I'm pretty random, so sometimes I'll just blurt out something really strange or odd, which can spark a conversation.

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Thanks for answering my questions, Deltay! If you don't know Deltay already, I recommend you stop by her awesome blog, Lucid Conspiracy, to check it out or say hello! Happy Friday, everyone!