A new regular feature here is Mondayitis, published every Tuesday, it features guests discussing a series of questions. People have their own view of the questions and some use them as a starting point while others actually answer them, in their own particular way.

What do you read?

I love to read and write young adult fiction. Occasionally I’ll read a “grown-up book”, but it has to something out of the box. Growing up I was a huge Enid Blyton fan. I loved The Famous Five, The Naughtiest Girl books and her boarding school series – Malory Towers and St Clares. I also loved the “Little House” series by Laura Ingalls Wilder and all the Narnia books.

As a teen, I became obsessed with Gone with the Wind and it’s still one of my favourite books. I also became a fan of Jane Austen and remain one today. I’ve probably read Pride and Prejudice a hundred times.

As an adult I struggled to find books I could be passionate about – until I discovered Harry Potter and then the wonderful world of YA fiction. Recent favourites include the Hunger Games trilogy, The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak, Matched by Ali Condie and Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments and Infernal Devices series.

I just finished reading Divergent by Veronica Roth, which is a fantastic dystopian YA novel.

Why do you read?

I’m a story person, and I think this is why YA appeals to me. Adult fiction is often too focussed on characters, leaving the story unsatisfying. I love to read books that have complexity. When I like a book, I’ll usually read it five or six times and love it when I can find something new in every re-read.

Do you read for work or pleasure?

I’m the kind of person who finds comfort in books and always has. I love getting lost in a story and obsessed with a series.

I’m a news junkie, which is fortunate as that’s also my line of work, so I read a lot of newspapers and journals. I also love to read biographies.

Do you read to your kids or someone elses kids?

I’ve always read to my kids and because I love YA fiction, my daughter and her friends often come to me for book recommendations. I love it because not only does it give me an opportunity to talk about the books, it’s also a great way to connect with the kids.

Can you do the Safety Dance while reading?

I couldn’t do the Safety Dance, but I’m pretty good at reading on the treadmill or step machine at the gym – does that count?

Are you a Discworld/Twilight/Harry Potter fan?

I’ve never read Discworld, I’m not sure why, maybe I should give it a try. I was very meh about Twilight. The writing annoyed me. The premise was interesting, but the story failed to deliver.

Harry Potter was a great passion for many years. I ploughed through the first four books in three days one Christmas and then discovered it’d be six months till the 5th book came out. No one I knew was reading them, so I went online and discovered the fandom. I was immediately hooked – so much so that I once won a competition to ask JK Rowling a question after the release of the 6th book. I loved the experience of Harry Potter – lining up at the crack of dawn on book release days, locking myself away to finish the book before I could be spoiled and dressing up for movie openings. I absolutely love Jo Rowling and am so excited to read her new book.

Would you attend a flash mob dressed as your favourite character?

Definitely, I already have runs on the board having dressed up as Professor McGonnagal and Narcissa Malfoy for movie openings and parties.

Vanessa is a writer and blogger who works full time in media and marketing. She loves to read and write YA fiction and blogs about family travel, internet marketing and creative writing. Her facebook page is here and she is also on Twitter