The Sunshine Blogger Award x2

I was nominated for the Sunshine Blogger Award twice in the last couple of days – first by the fantastic Irena @ Books and Hot Tea and then by the lovely Shaz @ Shaz Reads.  Go check out their blogs if you don’t already follow them!  Thanks so much guys!

The Rules

1. Thank the person who nominated you and link back to their blog.
2. Answer the 11 questions your nominator has given you.
3. Nominate 11 other people and give them 11 new questions to answer.
4. List the rules and display the award

Irena’s questions:

1. What is your favourite period in history (the one you find most interesting)?

I’m going to shock everyone with this answer and say Classical – Hellenistic Greece.  I can’t help it, I’ve been obsessed with Ancient Greece since I was a kid.

But also, I did study Art History in college, and my favorite period was the Italian Baroque which was heavily influenced by the Protestant Reformation and subsequent Counter-Reformation and the Council of Trent, so that’s another period that interests me that I don’t usually talk about.  There – slightly less boring and predictable.

2. If you could be a fictional character for a day, who would you be and why?

This answer changes daily, but right now I’m going to say Inej from Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom.  I’d love to be that stealthy for a day.

3. What is your favourite TV show at the moment?

I’m so bad at TV….. I mainly watch British soaps and reality competition shows (Survivor, ANTM, GBBO, Bachelor/Bachelorette)…… sorry if you were expecting a more highbrow answer.  I just struggle to get invested in dramas because I feel like they usually take themselves too seriously, or are too violent, or…. something.  I don’t know.  I haven’t found a tv drama I’ve loved in a while.  That said, my all time favorite series is probably Black Mirror.  There we go.  Acceptably highbrow answer.

4. What is the best book you’ve read so far in 2017? (Or at least one of the best, I know it can be hard to choose.)

I have read so, so, so many good books this year, I already know my ‘best books of 2017’ post at the end of the year is going to be torturous.  But the two that really stand out to me are two that I actually read very early in the year: East of Eden by John Steinbeck and Pachinko by Min Jin Lee.

5. Do you have a favourite toy, from childhood or now? (Yes, I still buy toys for myself.)

Hmm, not really – though when I was younger I had a very impressive Beanie Baby collection.  I’m not sure where they all got to…..

6. Who are some of your favourite villains?

Voldemort/Tom Riddle from Harry Potter, Cersei Lannister from A Song of Ice and Fire, Big Brother from 1984, Cathy Ames from East of Eden, Edmund from King Lear.

7. What is the favourite place you’ve visited?

I’m cheating – I have two answers.  The first is Bologna, Italy, where I lived for a year, which is pretty much my favorite place on earth.

View from Chiesa San Luca; Bologna, Italy.

My second answer is Belgium, which fits the question better as it’s somewhere I’ve only visited, rather than lived.

Main square in Brussels – terrible quality as I’m lifting it from my Facebook.

I spent about four days in Brussels and Bruges in December during my year abroad, and it was stupidly pretty in both of those cities.

8. What is your favourite snack?

Tortilla chips and guacamole.  Also those Luna peanut butter chocolate protein bars.

9. If you had to choose, would you rather become a vampire or a werewolf?

Yikes, neither… I guess a vampire, if I had to choose?

10. Pirates or ninjas? 

Hmm, I’m not terribly keen on either… at the moment I’ll say ninjas, but I’ve recently started Black Sails at Chelsea’s urging, so if I get really into that maybe my answer will change.  (For anyone who is invested in my potential future enjoyment of Black Sails, have patience.  I watch tv maddeningly slowly.)

11. Share a quote you really like!

“If you show someone something you’ve written, you give them a sharpened stake, lie down in your coffin, and say, ‘When you’re ready’.” – David Mitchell, Black Swan Green

Shaz’s questions:

1. What inspired you to start blogging?

It wasn’t that anything inspired me as much as the fact that I was writing book reviews anyway, so I liked the idea of having them all in one place!

2. What is one thing that you wished you knew when you started blogging and why?

People love it when you comment on their posts.  Don’t be scared.  Talk to people.  (I got over this pretty quickly.  I’m pretty good at talking to strangers on the internet.  I’ve been at this for quite a while now.)

3. What are your top five favorite books or series?

Harry Potter, Les Miserables, The Iliad, A Little Life, The Secret History.

4. What is your favorite dessert?

Tiramisu, probably, but at my favorite gelateria in Bologna I always got one scoop of dark chocolate and one scoop of coconut gelato, and I would literally die for that right now.

5. What is the best vacation you have ever been on?

When I graduated college, I treated myself to a three week vacation to visit one of my best friends who lives in Germany, in Braubach.  So when I was there I also got to see Berlin (the coolest city ever), Frankfurt, Cologne, Marburg, and Koblenz, and then we also took a few days and went to Paris – I’d been to the south of France before but this was my first time in Paris, which was just as gorgeous as I expected.  The real standout from that trip was Berlin, though – my friend’s aunt let us use her flat while she was out of town, so we had this swanky flat all to ourselves so we kind of pretended that it was our own flat, I felt very European.  We also had the best Indian food I’ve ever tasted.

6. If you could bring to life a book or movie character for one day, who would you choose? What would you do with them?

I’d bring Sansa Stark to life so we can complain about men and plot to overthrow the patriarchy, and she can teach me how to sew.

7. If you had a million dollars, what would you do with it?

Pay off my student loans, buy somewhere for my parents to retire, and travel.

8. Do you like spending time outdoors?

In the summer, I love it more than anything!  I live in a stunningly beautiful place.  I’m not very sporty, but one thing I do love to do is kayak in the summer.  Or just sit out on my porch with a book.  In the winter, I would pretty much rather die than step outside.

9. What kinds of shoes do you usually wear?

Well, one element of my job involves physical labor, so I have to be practical and wear tennis shoes every day.  In an ideal world, oxfords, I guess.

10. What would your dream home look like?

I’m obsessed with modern architecture and buildings that have huge floor to ceiling windows – I love natural light more than anything.  But also there would have to be sufficient wall space for a massive bookshelf.

11. What is a fandom that you are envious of?

Hmm, I can’t think of any?

I nominate:

Chelsea / Hadeer / Steph / Ann / Fiction Fan

Charlotte / Maddie / Ally / Kristin / Sarah / Thrice Read

My questions:

1. What’s the last movie you saw and what did you think of it?
2. Do you have any weird or random talents?
3. What’s your favorite song at the moment?
4. What time of day do you do most of your blogging?
5. What’s your favorite museum that you’ve been to?
6. When’s the last time you went to a wedding?
7. Do you have a celebrity doppelganger?
8. If you were a cat, what color cat would you be?  (Very important question.)
9. Do you have a favorite publisher or publisher imprint?
10. Have you ever dressed up like a fictional character?  (Bonus points for photo evidence.)
11. What’s your favorite thing about your city (or state, or country)?