Friday Featured Blogger (29): Aaron Vincent of Guy Gone Geek!

I stumbled upon Guy Gone Geek totally by accident, on one of those rare days where I actually had free time and so checked up on new blogs. I'm so glad I did, because I'm very impressed by Aaron Vincent! He writes the most thorough reviews, and it's always a pleasure to to find a male blogger. Welcome, Aaron, to Steph Su Reads!

1. Tell us about yourself in a few short sentences.

Hello, my name is Aaron Vincent. If you direct translate my full name, including my middle name, it will read as, Brother of Moses to Conquer Thorns of the Saint. Sounds like an odd news headline, right? My parents are both cool and cruel for giving a long name. Just imagine my agony during kindergarten! I am 10 years old in Mars years (go figure!) and a system developer/programmer. I'm from the Philippines where it's sunny everyday...except for the monsoons. I don't drink, I don't smoke and I don't do sadness.

2. Tell us about your blog. When did you start it and why? Where did the name come from? What interesting things can visitors expect?

Guy Gone Geek is a two-month old book blog and as the name implies, maintained by a guy geek. Guy Gone Geek is actually the second name; the original was The Boy Who Reads. There's a huge problem with that original title because if you put it in a url, it will be theboywhoreads. Misreading this url will make you think that I maintain a porn site instead of a book blog and I sure don't want that. I let the Boy grow a little so now he's a Guy and he is Geeking over YA books, and there you have it: Guy Gone Geek.

I created this blog for two main reasons. First, to celebrate my first year of being a hardcore booklover. I've been reading books since I was a child but it's only last year that I got infected by the Can't Survive A Day Without Reading virus. Second, I thought that there's not enough male voices in the YA blogosphere. That's what you expect from my blog; a male voice expressing his passion for fiction. What you can expect on my blog, to put it simple, is me fanboying over YA awesomeness.

3. Can you tell us about what the state of YA lit is like in the Philippines?

I do think that YA lit is pretty big here in the Philippines. We have this Filipino Book Bloggers community where the majority of the registered members blogs about YA novels. I think this is quite a feat considering the fact that we don’t have public libraries here that endorse this kind of book – we buy everything we read. It is a country that loves to have fun and YA fiction, in general, is fun to read so it’s not a wonder why YA is such a big hit here.

4. Do you have any role models?

I recently categorized my book blogs feeds subscription on my Google Reader into 4 categories. Let me discuss categories 1-3 first. These are the book blogs I enjoy reading but they have some drawbacks. I call the first one Brains. These are the blogs with flawless writing and perfect grammar, but sometimes the person writing it feels distant and there's almost no connection between the writer and the reader. Then there is the Hearts. These are the bloggers that are extremely passionate it makes me feel privy to their lives. They have the tendency to become self-indulgent. The third are the Mouths. You'll read them just for the sarcasm and the laugh.

And then there's the fourth category which I call - for the lack of better term - Ones. These are the bloggers that has the perfect combination of brain, heart and humor. They know how to express their love for books and you can see it on their post. I’ll mention a few of them: Darren (Bart's Bookshelf), Adele (Persnickety Snark) - and for local bloggers: Tina (One More Page), Patrick (The Bookish Pinoy), etc. These people are those who I consider as my book blogging role models.

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

Tough one but I’m up for it:

The Hunger Games: I will never get tired of saying this: I owe my love for YA fiction to this series.

Fablehaven: This is my favorite MG novel. It delighted the 8-year old kid in me and if that kid is happy, this big guy here is also happy. Make the kid in you happy, too, and read this fantastic book.

Paper Towns: I read this novel 2 months ago and until now, it still got a hold in me. It changed the way I see people and I think if everyone will just read it, it would be easier for us to understand and accept one another despite all of our imperfections.

I’m really sorry Chaos Walking, Unwind, Ender’s Game, and Harry Potter. You guys know I love you and I think everyone should read you too, but you see, Steph is being evil and only asked for three.

6. HAH HAH. Way to sneak the rest in there. :P So you're about to spend 6 months living on a desert island with no access to the outside world. You can bring one person to hang out with, one electronic device, and a neverending supply of one type of food. Go!

Definitely John Green. His sense of humor is truly impeccable and I’m sure I will learn a lot from him. For reasons I think is pretty obvious, the gadget has to be an e-reader. It will really be nice if he and I will have discussions about his and my favorite books. And as for food, I’ll pick yogurt if it’s only me, but since I’m with a John Green might as well have his favorite food which is Pizza. Or we can compromise and have a Yogurt-Flavored Pizza instead. Yeah, Yogurt-Flavored Pizza, that will do. Yum! Now my question is: just 6 months, can’t we extend? ☺

7. What are some recent elements in YA lit that you've been enjoying? What are some elements that you'd like to see more of in YA in the future?

MPDG or Manic Pixie Dream Girl characters. The term was originally used for film characters and I don’t know if it’s the right term for book characters but it’s pretty close. They are these fun, quirky and mysterious girls that’s always the key for our lovelorn male characters to break out of their shells. Unlike their movie counterparts who are often shallow and static, MDPGs in books have depth and they are very exciting to read – for me at least. They are fascinating and really unpredictable. I’m certainly looking forward to read more books about them.

8. What does your dream house look like?

As long as my room is the size of football stadium, any house will do. Kidding. Isn’t it every booklover's dream to have a library of his/her own? No matter how grand the house is, it will not be my dream house if it doesn’t have a library. It also must have a cozy veranda facing a beautiful landscape where I can just sit and read a book the whole day.

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

BOOKS!! Well, that’s obvious. Apart from books, I also love receiving CD playlist. I really like those playlists with themes and tells a story. Take me to a journey with all the tracks you put on the playlist and you’ve got me. Basically, I love receiving gifts that is made by the giver not bought, so letters or baked goods will also do. But If you find this things too simple, an Alfa Romeo will be just fine. ☺

10. Finally, tell us 2 interesting things about yourself that can spark conversation.

I hope you find these interesting:

- I didn’t know my left and right not until that Beyonce “to the left” song came out. I always got confused with what’s left and what’s right. I don’t know the reason for this but I’m guessing that it’s some sort of brain damage or something. Thankfully, that song starts playing on the radio and a friend taught me this simple step that whenever I hear “to the” I’ll point down, and then if I hear “left”, I’ll point to the left. Until now, I still find myself singing that phrase on my head and doing that move from time to time.

- I can speak 3 languages, Filipino, English and Japanese. A lot of people tell me that it’s easy to get me mistaken for being Japanese when I’m speaking that language. I’m young, thus playful, you see, so I use this to pull prank on random strangers. Sometimes I pick a stranger in a shopping mall or wherever then ask him/her in straight Japanese where the comfort room is. I do hand signals for additional effect. When they already got what I’m asking and told me where the comfort is located, I will say thank you to them using our local language. You should see their reactions, it’s priceless!

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Thanks, Aaron! Be sure to stop by Guy Gone Geek if you're interested in reading incredibly insightful reviews.