Friday, 11 September 2009

International YA Blogger Celebration: Marjolein from The Netherlands

I had a brainwave this week. It only happens every few years so I thought I would ride that wave all the way home. While Americans make up the vast majority YA bloggers, however there is a burgeoning amount of online reviewers springing up all over the globe.

And so, for the next two weeks, here at Persnickety Snark I will be introducing you to a number of awesome international reviewers. Places so far flung as Netherlands, Canada, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Germany, Argentina, the Philippines, Australian and many many more.

Please welcome the first guest for the Celebration of International YA Bloggers....

Name: Marjolein (some people from the US I know wanted to know how to pronounce my name - it goes like this: Mar -yo- line)
Country: The Netherlands
Blog: MarjoleinBookBlog
Twitter: Marjoleinbalm

Favourite New Find: Song of the Buffalo Boy by Sherry Garland, amazing book!
Bookstore of Choice: American Book Center
Author blog you are most likely to be found stalking: Meg Cabot

Book Blogging from The Netherlands
Best thing about being from The Netherlands?:
A person that is tolerant to all kinds of different people, no matter what culture or background!

What is the state of YA literature in your country?
It's getting more known here now many American YA novels are translated into Dutch.

How accessible are international YA titles?:
Very accessible, luckily!There is a large American Book Center with two stores, in Amsterdam and The Hague, and they can also be ordered easily from online bookstores.

Authors that you would recommend...:
Meg Cabot, Simone Elkeles, Aimee Friedman, Anna Godbersen, Maureen Johnson, Mitali Perkins. They where the first ya authors I've read and because of that they are always special and their books are just the best!

Most popular YA author in your country?:
Hmm have to think about that one, John Green is getting more known here at the moment, Maureen Johnson has many fans here, Meg Cabot is well known. By the Dutch authors is Francine Oomen pretty big now, she just launched a series called How do I survive myself? and every teen seems to read it! Oh, and Twilight is big here now too!

Best thing about YA blogging?:
You get to know a lot of books and authors, and I was very happy that I once got my first review copy, I didn't even know that existed! And I love to hear when an author is happy with my review. It is so much fun to talk with authors that are mostly in cities I only see in the movies. My life has changed because of book blogging. Certain things happened because of this that I didn't dare to dream about! And now I am even working on a ya manuscript myself!

YA blogs that you would recommend from your own country?:
I still haven't find another book blogger from the Netherlands, unfortunately! The only blog that comes to mind, but is broader dan ya, is the blog of the American Book Center.

Tomorrow: Rhiannon Hart from Melbourne, Australia

8 comments:

Rebs @ Book-Rants said...

good idea!

Adele said...

Cheers, there are many more to come. So many different countries represented in our blogosphere.

Thao said...

Way to go Adele. And thanks Marjolein for telling us about The Netherlands in terms of YA literature.

Luisa said...

Hello Marjolein, it's great to read all about you here! I really enjoyed this interview. Thanks to you and to Adele too.

Ebony McKenna. said...

What a great way to celebrate international YA bloggers.

And I love the new streamlined look you've got going here.

Melanie said...

This is a great idea, Adele. It'll be fun to get to know a few more bloggers. That's awesome that The Netherlands is a tolerant place.

Tarie Sabido said...

I am happy to discover Marjolein and her blog through this series! Marjolein, good luck with the YA novel you are writing! :D

bathmate said...

thhank you for your comments

Bathmate