Fridays with Friends: S.M. Nonnemacher

Today I’m launching the Friday with Friends series, which is (as the name suggests) a series of guest posts from fellow bloggers.

Today we have the fabulous S.M. Nonnemacher, who’s working on her first Young Adult (YA) novel (see full bio below). I asked her to share with us some of her top reading tips:

What’s your favourite novel in the whole wide world?

There are two things I look for in great books—the ability to invoke emotion, and humour. I love a book that can either make me cry or make me laugh. But I will always hold a special place in my heart for those select few that can make me do both.

I can’t explain why, but the book that has done this the best for me (over and over—I have two very frayed hard copies and an electronic copy) is PS, I Love You by Cecilia Ahearn. For those who haven’t read it, it is a story of a young woman (29-30) who loses her husband to a brain tumor very early on in the book. Through a series of monthly letters he penned before his death, her husband helps her to move on with her life.

The first time I read this, I was alternating between laughter and tears so often that my husband was concerned something was wrong. Even better, it can still make me laugh and cry, even after 20+ readings. 🙂

What book has had the most profound impact on you?

I have to say, I really struggled with this answer. So many books have impacted me. I really can’t narrow it down to one, but I can get it down to one author. 🙂

When I was a kid, I loved to read. My favorite author was Judy Blume. I read her books over and over. I wore many out, but would still read them, even if the binding had split, making one book two. Her characters were my friends as much as many of my real-life friends were.

If my parents wouldn’t let me do something a character in one of her books was allowed to do, I would often pull the, “but my friend So-and-so’s parents said yes.” I am amazed at how often this worked, especially since I now know that my mom read every book I did before she gave it to me. Oops! 😉

I was a shy kid, so I didn’t have as many friends as I would have liked. (What can I say, I am a shy extrovert.) Her books made me feel that I was surrounded by friends, even when I really wasn’t. They formed the love of reading that has carried me into adulthood, and drove my desire to write. It doesn’t get much more profound than that! 😉

Is there one particular ‘classic’ you think everybody should read?

I would probably answer this differently every day. I love reading classics, but I can’t say that there is just one that I think is the best. Some of my favorites are Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden, Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, and George Orwell’s 1984. (Wow, that last one really doesn’t fit in with the rest, does it?) 😉

Do you have a favourite writing ‘how to’ book?

This is another tough one. Usually, whatever I am reading at the time. 😉 My favorite writing book is probably On Writing by Stephen King, which chronicles his journey as a writer. For motivation, I go for The War of Art by Stephen Pressfield, which teaches writers how to overcome resistance (aka procrastination) to reach their goals. I am also a big fan of Bob Mayer and Kristen Lamb. 🙂

Tree-book or e-book?

E-book all the way! 🙂 I was sceptical when I first got it, but it didn’t take long to win me over. I have the Nook Simple Touch, an e-ink device. It is my second Nook (I also had the original), but both were e-ink devices, mainly because I love to read outside. 🙂

I love the portability of it—I always have my entire e-book library with me at all times, including my rather large to-be-read pile. I love that my Nook saves my place, and carries that page over to the app on my phone, just in case I find myself Nook-less (or, occasionally, with dead battery). 😉

Where is your favourite place to read?

My absolute favorite place to read in on the beach, but that only happens once a year. At this time of year, I like to curl up in the corner of my sectional sofa with a blanket and a cup of tea. In the warmer months, I love to sit outside in the sun. 🙂

Care to share your ‘to-read’ pile with us?

Another reason why I love my e-reader—it has over 50 books on it right now!! LOL! At the top:

• Death Benefit—Robin Cook
• Supernaturally—Kiersten White
• The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks—E. Lockhart
• Staying at Daisy’s—Jill Mansell
• Beauty Queen—Julia London

The list goes on, but is made up of mostly YA, Romance, and Action/Suspense/Mystery type novels. 🙂

Thank you so much, Ellen, for having me today! This has been a fun interview! 🙂

About S.M. Nonnemacher

S.M. Nonnemacher has loved reading for as long as she can remember. It didn’t take long for her to realize that she enjoyed creating her own stories as much as reading the creations of others. A lifelong daydreamer, she sometimes claimed her “characters” as actual friends, especially when it meant getting her way with her parents. Now, she writes full-time, diligently working toward the publication of her first Young Adult novel. When not writing or spending time her beloved husband, she can be found with family and friends, at a community theatre rehearsal, at a minor league baseball game, or relaxing with a cup of coffee or tea and a great book.

A huge thank you to S.M. Nonnemacher for sharing her thoughts with us all.