I’ve know Brittney for a while now. Not overly closely, but enough to have had a few interesting book related conversations with her. Where I normally see Brittney, is flitting around the Flickr Your Books group, passing on sound advice, offering book recommendations and generally ticking off books at an envious speed of knots.

What intrigues and delights me most about Brittney, is the profound ‘flavour’ of books that she tends to focus on - works by Camus, Capote, Chekhov; authors that many people of Brittney’s age would turn off to. Brittney is defiantly a reader way beyond her young years and for that she has my utmost respect. Anyway enough babbling on from me, here’s Brittney:

I’m Brittney Elmer and I’m twenty-one years old. I was born in Utah and have lived there all my life. I’m currently finishing my Bachelor of Arts degree in history at the University of Utah. I have a mom, a dad, a step mom, three brothers, a half-brother, a stepbrother, and a stepsister. I also have two cats, Sox and Bob, and a dog, Cosmo. I’m a full time student who reads (obviously) in my spare time. When what I’m reading doesn’t appeal at the moment, I’m usually listening to music, watching movies, or hanging out with my friends.

1. Favourite Genre? My favorite genre is general fiction but being a history major, I’m known to pick up a history-related book every now and then.

2. Favourite Book? My favorite book of all time is The Stranger by Albert Camus. I first read it my senior year of high school in AP English Literature and fell in love with the sparseness of Camus’s prose, his philosophical undertones, and how different the main character, Mersault, is from any other character I’ve encountered in literature.

3. Why do you love reading so much? I love to read for many, many reasons. My main ones are escapism and seeking knowledge. I find reading to be more beneficial to me than watching a majority of the movies out there or playing video games, etc. I love reading for the sheer fact that it gives me something to do and I take something with me after doing it. Reading, for me, is more than a hobby; it’s a way of connecting my feelings and opinions with others through the discussion of written material.

4. Favourite reading place? I love reading in the bath or in a café with a mug of chai tea next to me.

5. How BIG is your reading addiction? My reading addiction is big considering how young I am. I don’t have a huge book collection (about 130 books, is all) but I’m constantly getting more books. As of now, my reading tally for 2008 is forty-four books and nineteen plays.

6. How do you normally add books to your collection? I order a lot of my books for Amazon.com or Half.com but am mostly given books at gifts. I recently discovered Bookmooch.com and love it. I’ve received some great books and it’s supplied me with ample reading material.

7. How do you decide what to read? I generally read what catches my eye. I’m fortunate to have some bibliophile friends who are constantly badgering me to read certain books, like House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski, but it’s always a good thing because I tend to enjoy what my close friends recommend. I’m also stopped by books while walking down aisles in bookstores and libraries. It isn’t rare to see me stop suddenly while browsing a bookstore and backtrack a bit when I see something that looks interesting! I also get caught up in reading material from school. Last semester I took a class on classical mythology and devoured The Odyssey, The Aeneid, The Theban Plays, and a handful of plays with Euripides. I hope to tackle The Oresteia by Aeschylus before the year is out as well.

8. Ebooks - love or hate? I honestly haven’t had much experience with ebooks. I spend enough time sitting in front of a computer that when I want to read a book, I like to lie around somewhere and feel the weight of the book in my hands. I do like audio books though. I listened to the last two Harry Potter books read by Jim Dale and enjoyed them immensely.

9. Has reading inspired you to do any serious writing yourself? I’ve been writing for about eight years but anything I’ve considered serious up until now no one in their right mind would publish! I hope, at some point, to be inspired enough to write something passable. I do dabble seriously; that, I will admit to but only for my reading pleasure!

10. What single piece of advice (or tip) would you give to fellow readers? Don’t feel the need to read a book just because it’s popular or on a bestsellers list somewhere. Read what you want and don’t let other people’s choices solely dictate your own.

Brittney, I said that you were wise beyond your years and this excellent interview has just proved that. Thank you so much for taking the time to give a peek into your reading life.