Bloggers Made of AWESOME: Jen H @ The Relentless Reader

Jen @ The Relentless Reader- I have Allison @ The Book Wheel and Rebecca @ Love At First Book to thank for introducing me to Jen H.  Why is Jen @ The Relentless Reader AWESOME? She recommends good books, she’s funny on Twitter and she’s all about trying to make the blogger experience better for others (ex: she’s totally not a fan of CAPTCHA and presents good reasons why!)

Bloggers Made of AWESOME: Jen H @ The Relentless Reader

Jennifer- when did you begin blogging?

June 28, 2012. I recently celebrated my one year blogoversary!

How did you come up with the name The Relentless Reader? 

I considered SO many names (Wisconsin Word Nerd, etc.). I asked friends and family for advice and posted a HELP ME PICK A BLOG NAME status on my personal Facebook page. But now I can’t remember where in the world the name came from. It definitely fits my personality though.

What are your thoughts on blogging today in an ever-changing book-ish world? Are blogs helping other readers connect with good books? 

I certainly hope we are! I love helping people find a great book, it’s one of the reasons that I love to blog. I know that other bloggers help me find fab books to read. Thanks to them my tbr pile is ridiculous!

When you are not blogging (or reading!)- what do you like to do? 


I love spending time with my kids. They are 21, 15, & 13. Their favorite thing is avoiding their nerdy mother. So, the whole hanging out thing doesn’t happen often 😉

Also, I like to find a series on Netflix and watch it obsessively for 3 days in a row.

Do you have a #literarycrush?

Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird. SWOON!

In your opinion, what book has been the best book you have read (so far!) in 2013? 

Oh man, this is so hard to answer. 2013 has been packed with great books so far! One fiction that has stuck in my mind is A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra. Is it my favorite of the year? Perhaps! I’ve also read some incredible nonfiction including The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown

You have a beach vacation planned. What are the 3 books that you must bring?

My summer reading doesn’t look much different from any other season. But if I HAD to pick just a few favorites they would be:

To Kill a Mockingbird (Have I mentioned how swoon-worthy Atticus is?)

The Catcher in the Rye (Yes, I love me some whiny teenage Holden)

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

(This list is subject to change on a daily basis)

Are you an e-book or tree book lover? Or does it not matter? 

I think I’ll always like tree books better. With that said, I’m glad that I have a Kindle. I held out on buying one  for a long time with some misguided idea of SAVING REAL BOOKS.

How do you find other blogs to read? Recommendations of other bloggers? 

When I first started blogging I had a heck of a time finding bloggers with the same reading tastes and sensibilities as mine. I thought for sure that YA book blogs were the only ones that existed! They aren’t my thing. (No hate mail, please!) I finally found a few that I loved and then stalked their blogrolls like a crazy lady. Since then I’ve found the best blogs in the land. I don’t want to name favorites though, that’s like naming my favorite child! BAD IDEA.

Jen H @ The Relentless Reader: Blog, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest.

78 thoughts on “Bloggers Made of AWESOME: Jen H @ The Relentless Reader

  1. Roof Beam Reader says:

    Yay! I’m a big fan / bloggy-twitter-facebook friend of Jen, too! She is indeed awesome! I like the “Atticus” answer, too. He’s a good man. 🙂

  2. I definitely like Relentless Reader better than Wisconsin Word Nerd, LOL! 🙂

    And hell yes, Atticus is totally swoon-worthy. And I love that name, Atticus. Great to learn a little bit more about you Jen!

  3. I felt the same way when I started looking for book blogs with similar interests. LOL

    Loved reading this!! Definitely agree you are a blogger made of awesome!

  4. I am another fan of Jennifer’s; I don’t have the same exact taste as hers, but oh boy, I love to “pick through” her blog and discover some great titles. She doesn’t just recycle same titles as everyone else on memes. As someone else who doesn’t read YA, (well I do maybe a couple times a month, only if it’s fantasy or dystopian) I appreciate the informative reviews. So thanks for featuring her today.

  5. Skipping Wisconsin Word Nerd was a good move. The Relentless Reader is a good choice, you read more than most people I know, even in the blogging world – impressive!

  6. Great interview ladies! Jennifer, I didn’t know you had a 21 year old! And I know what you mean, at first I thought YA book blogs were the only ones that existed too.

  7. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Jen. She’s amazing. And, one of the first bloggers I started to follow (she was the first I found who didn’t review YA). I totally thought she’d been blogging for years when I found her – I had no idea she was a mere three weeks more experienced.

  8. I would read your blog under any name 🙂 Also, I love that Atticus Finch is your literary crush! That’s the first time I’ve heard him as an answer to that question and cannot get over how completely superior he is to any of the more frequently mentioned YA male leads,

  9. I love Jennifer’s gifs! A very memorable blogger who has taken blog-world by storm. I hope it was one of my blogroll’s that she stalked (since so few of us still have a blogroll) I really can’t believe the blog is only a baby still.

    The Relentless Reader is perfect blog name, too.

  10. Wow, so many comments already, but I still need to chime in on Jen’s awesome book blogging and commenting! It’s hard to believe she’s such a blogging baby. Extremely precocious and always reading the latest books so I know what to watch for!

  11. I thought the only book blogs were YA forever too. I’ve just started figuring out blogrolls and love making my own community of readers who love the same type of books as me. Oh and I love that you put gifs in some of your posts. They always make me laugh. You are one of my favorite blogs. Keep up the awesome work, Jennifer!

  12. I like this interview! And I completely agree that it takes awhile to find like-minded readers…I am not a YA blog or reader, either, although I have “tasted” a few. But I survived my own teen years and those of my kids…and I don’t want to revisit that time! LOL

  13. Great interview, you two! Jen, you don’t look nearly old enough to have a child 21 — just sayin’. Loved that you love Atticus Finch too. SWOON. Does it have anything to do with Gregory Peck in the movie? Seriously, I love your reviews, your blog, and your sense of humor. And I hate Captcha!

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