Hotshot #13

“I’ve always been a reader. When we were little, my mom would read Harry Potter out loud to us while we sat around her. And my dad would read Where the Wild Things Are to me all the time. So reading was instilled in me at an early age. I also remember my mom would get calls from my math teacher, because I would sit in the back of the class and just read books while they taught.

I grew up in Grand Blanc, a tiny town in Michigan. It was a great place to grow up, but I was really excited to leave for college. I went to Loyola for English and Criminal Justice. At some point, I thought I was going to be a criminal defense attorney, but after a few years, I realized it’s really not for me. I speak in a very roundabout way, so I don’t think I could be concise enough. So, I added on an English major about half way through!

I was rereading a book that I had SparkNoted in high school, The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway. I started thinking about where the book came from. I read the spine and saw the little icon, so I started Googling it and I discovered the world of publishing!

In college, I had 4 unpaid internships, all in publishing at indie presses or academic organizations. I loved those internships, hated being poor, but just accepted that as part of my life, since publishing is notoriously underpaid. After the last internship, I got the full time job I have now in academic publishing.

About 2 years ago, I discovered book Instagram. I didn’t have anyone in my personal life that liked books as much as I do. So it was so great to find a community of people that loved bookstores and really wanted to talk about books all the time. It took me a couple of weeks to think of a name. I’m so bad at naming things, my first blog was called Eye Liner and Extra Frosting. I cycled through a bunch of bad names and finally landed on The Spines, because I really like the spines of a book, but also the imagery of a skeletal spine.

I consider coffee shops to be a place of community. I especially love @EverybodysCoffee! I always joke this place is like my home office. It’s a comforting home-away-from-home.”

- Megan, Book Blogger