LEIBSTER AWARD | PART 3

Awhile ago I nominated Martha who’s one of my favourite bloggers, readers, and all-around awesome people for a bookish Liebster Award. In her Liebster post, she nominated me right back! She says she wants to read my answers to her questions, so here I am, doing Liebster part 3! (If you want to see what you missed, you can see my part one here and part two here.)

Head over and visit her blog, say hi to her – and leave her a few comments! She’ll reply, and trust me, before you know it, you’ll have a new best friend.

So here we go, on to Liebster Part Three!

11 Facts About Me

1. I do not like really hot weather. It’s been in the upper 20s here this week (yeah, I know, that’s not even that hot, but this is the west coast and we do rain, not sun) and I’m basically melting. I am far too pale for this shit.  
2. I love watching murder mysteries, particularly the ones that are gritty and realistic. Which mostly means British ones. Like Prime Suspect, Inspector Morse, Sherlock and Luther. 
3. I have a new obsession with dark chocolate with sea salt. So good.
4. I want a pet racoon.
5. I like naps.
6. I love flannel pyjamas. And fleece sheets.
7. I have always wanted to live in England.
8. I hate football, but I love  those inspirational, pull-at-your-heartstrings football moves. Remember the Titans and The Blind Side FTW.
9. I love scarves.
10. I eat weird combinations of things, like apple and cheddar cheese or toast with peanut butter and nectarine slices.
11. I speak (some) French and Spanish.

My Answers to Martha’s Questions

1. What is the most overrated book you’ve ever read?

Hmmm. Probably These Broken Stars or Beautiful Creatures. I did not care for either of those. 

2. What about the most underrated? Anything other people hated that you loved?

I absolutely adore Neil Gaiman’s work with Terry Pratchett – Good Omens. I’m also in love with I Capture the Castle and 84, Charing Cross Road. And Travels by Michael Crichton, which is fantastic.

3. Do you have a special reading “spot” or ritual, or are you an anywhere, anytime reader?

A bit of both. Ideally I like curling up in a chair with the perfect lighting and a cup of tea nearby. Probably a cat or two on my lap. But I’ll read on the bus, at the bus stop, in the lunch room, in a waiting room, if I get bored watching TV, pretty much anytime.

4. Do you like book clubs? Why or why not?

I’ve never really had the opportunity to be in one. I think that on the one hand I’d be encouraged to read books I normally wouldn’t and it would be great to discuss what I was reading. I’d also love to have a group of people who loved reading in my life. But I do worry that it would end up feeling a bit like homework. I do meet up with one of my best friends to silently drink beer and read together, does that count? Sort of? Yeah, that’s all I’ve got.

5. Do you have a favorite book to gift to other people?

Pretty much whichever book most recently blew my socks off! Either that or whatever I think the recipient would like best.

6. Who is your favorite literary character?

Just one??? Oh man. I love Cassandra Mortmain from I Capture the Castle.  But also Augustus Waters and Hazel Grace from The Fault In Our Stars. And Matilda from the book by the same name by Roald Dahl. And Hermione from Harry Potter. Just… so many.

7. Ever read a line in a book that really blew you away? What was it?

Yes, probably lots. But I don’t remember any of them. I know there were a ton in The Fault In Our Stars, but I didn’t write them down. Also lots in The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett.

8. If you could rewrite the ending to a book, which would you rewrite, how, and why?

This isn’t a question I can really answer. I mean, there have been books that I got to the end and wasn’t happy. But that’s how the author chose to write it, and it’s their story. Changing the ending would make it no longer the story they chose to tell. I don’t think I can really pick any specific books I’d want to do that to.

9. Any favorite book blogs to recommend?

There are so many I love – check out the list on the right sidebar and go visit them! ==>

10. If you get partway into a book and just aren’t feeling it, do you give up or push on to see if it gets better? At what point does it go into the “unfinished” pile?

I’ll usually give it a hundred pages or so. But I came to the conclusion a long time ago that if I’m not enjoying a book, I might as well move on. After all, I’m never going to get through all the books I want to read in my lifetime as it is. Why waste time on ones I’m not enjoying? I also find that if I try to force myself to read a book I’m not into, I’ll just stop reading altogether. And that’s not worth it.

11. Which POV do you prefer–first or third? What are your thoughts on multiple POVs in a book, especially when both are written in the first person? 

I think it depends on how it’s done. I can’t say I’ve noticed a preference, but I do get irritated if a book is written first person and that means we miss out on info from other perspectives. But that can happen if it’s third person, too. So it’s more about the construction of the story. I don’t mind multiple points of view if they’re convincing and consistent.

My Questions

1. What was your favourite blog post you wrote this year? 
2. What was your favourite blog post you read this year?
3. Who’s your blogging idol?
4. If you could have dinner with any three authors, living or dead, who would they be? 
5. If you could have dinner with any three characters from books, fictional or non, who would they be?
6. What’s your favourite book of 2014 so far (either published this year, or previously released but you just read it)?
7. Which book can you not wait to re-read?
8. What’s one book you’ve read in the past 5 years that you think should be on everyone’s TBR list?
9. What’s one book everyone LOVED that you really didn’t enjoy, and (briefly) why?
10. If you could see any stand-alone book turned into a series, which would it be? Why?
11. If you could see any series that ended continue, which would it be? What would you want to see happen?

This time I’d like to nominate all the bloggers in my list in the sidebar – and all of you! Yes, YOU! I want to learn 11 things about each of you, and I’d like to know what you have to say in response to my 11 questions (or any of them you feel moved to answer! Feel free to check out the questions I asked in my previous two Liebster posts and pick and choose the ones that inspire you!). Don’t forget to share links to your Liebster posts in the comments so I can read them!

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