11 Questions: Annie Boccio and Julia Roy

11 QUESTIONS FOR MEDIA MAVENS ABOUT READING

Due to the little tiny bit of controversy in my “riding fences” post, I asked a few media mavens to answer a few quick questions about their reading habits and how they see themselves as readers.

A big thank you from me goes out to the participants from our small social media circle. Still waiting to hear back from iJustine, but here are the participants in this impromptu study: DYKC, CC Chapman, Annie Boccio, Julia Roy, Eric Rice, Amanda Gravel, Chris Brogan and Jeff Pulver.

I am breaking the results up across several posts, in the interest of spacing.

Please leave a comment with your answers/thoughts; I’ve posted the questions below to copy and paste. Thanks, and enjoy!

1. In one (can be hyphenated!) word, how would you describe your career, culture or identity. E.g., “I am a(n) ________.”
2. Do you think this identity has been represented well in art (including fiction, film, poetry)?
3. What do you typically do on long trips (plane, train, auto) for entertainment?
4. What traditional paper & print media, if any, do you read on a regular basis?
5. What is the last fiction novel or short story you remember reading? When was this?
6. What is your preferred genre for fiction and/or non-fiction?
7. Would you rather read a novel or listen to it?
8. Approximately how many page books do you buy in a year for yourself or other adults?
9. Please pick up the book nearest to you now. What are the first and last words? What is the title?
10. You’ve just been given $300 gift card to Borders right before a 3-week trip to an ‘off the grid’ island. What do you buy?
11. What connections, if any, do you see between social media and traditional fiction?

1. In one (can be hyphenated!) word, how would you describe your career, culture or identity. E.g., “I am [a(n)] ________.”

ANNIE BOCCIO: Suburban-Geeky-Mom
JULIA ROY: I am a digital-girl

2. Do you think this identity has been represented well in art (including fiction, film, poetry)?

ANNIE BOCCIO: Only if you are looking for it, not in popular culture though.
JULIA ROY: Yes, I think being “born digital” is beginning to be represented in different artistic mediums.

3. What do you typically do on long trips (plane, train, auto) for entertainment?

ANNIE BOCCIO: Listen to radio, audiobooks or podcasts.
JULIA ROY: Listen to podcasts and vidcasts on my iPhone that I subscribe to through iTunes. Work offline — drafting blog posts, client outreach plans and other projects.

4. What traditional paper & print media, if any, do you read on a regular basis?

ANNIE BOCCIO: Daily newspaper, a novel every 2 months or so, at least one non-fiction book per month.
JULIA ROY: None. The only traditional print media I buy and read are books.

5. What is the last fiction novel or short story you remember reading? When was this?

ANNIE BOCCIO: Last novel I finished was The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perrotta, during November (for a book club.)
JULIA ROY: The Kite Runner, 6 months ago.

6. What is your preferred genre for fiction and/or non-fiction?

ANNIE BOCCIO: Character driven stories, genre doesn’t really matter so much to me if the characters are interesting.
JULIA ROY: I like Marketing and Mystery books.

7. Would you rather read a novel or listen to it?

ANNIE BOCCIO: Recently I’ve been listening, but I think I focus better when I read.
JULIA ROY: Both, I’d like to read it first and then follow up by listening to an audiobook version.

8. Approximately how many page books do you buy in a year for yourself or other adults?

ANNIE BOCCIO: Eight to Ten books. That’s down drastically because I have a giant stack of unread books to get through so I don’t let myself buy more.
JULIA ROY: 30

9. Please pick up the book nearest to you now. What are the first and last words? What is the title?

ANNIE BOCCIO: Transcendent, future. Title: Transcending CSS: The Fine Art of Web Design (such a geeky book!)
JULIA ROY: Before, commit. Title- Meatball Sundae

10. You’ve just been given $300 gift card to Borders right before a 3-week trip to an ‘off the grid’ island. What do you buy?

ANNIE BOCCIO: For off the grid I suppose I’d buy biographies, memoirs, histories, and a stack of short-story compilations.
JULIA ROY: All Seth Godin’s books.

11. What connections, if any, do you see between social media and traditional fiction?

ANNIE BOCCIO: The only connection I see personally is in the form of recommendations from others about what’s worth reading. The Facebook Bookshelf application is interesting but I haven’t really used it much.
JULIA ROY: Success hinges on the ability to tell a great story that people will talk about.