Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award Tag

I was tagged for the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award by Sunny @ Blue Sky Bookshelf, Shae @ Shae Has Left The Room and Nicole @ Nicole's Novel Reads. That means I have 30 questions to answer! I actually don't know who started this meme, but all the credit of the idea to her.

Guidlines: 

• Thank the blogger who nominated you and link back to their website.
• Post the award's logo on your blog.
• Answer the ten questions you have been asked.
• Nominate 10 other bloggers and ask them 10 other questions. 

Questions from Sunny:

1. What YA book to movie adaption is your favorite?
Does Harry Potter count, even though it's technically MG? Because I'll always love those. All of them. I don't discriminate, even against the first two. I haven't see a lot of the adaptations this year though I really want to. I am a fan of The Hunger Games movies and Divergent was good too.

2. Do you listen to music while you read and if so, who's your go-to artist?
No. I like zero distractions when I'm reading. If there's anything going on around me, I will completely tune it out. I want to be fully in my head and in the story. This makes it difficult for me to read when other people/things are demanding my attention. 

3. What's the best book you read this year?
No way can I pick one here: I'll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios, Every Word by Ellie Marney, Lady Thief by AC Gaughen and Rites of Passage by Joy N. Hensely are all up there. 

4. What's your favorite and least favorite genre to read?
This is so hard, because I'll read anything if the story sounds good! I don't like text books? I guess I don't usually go for horror, or anything too gory. Though I might if the love story was worth it. Recently I've been reading more fantasy than contemporary and loving historical fantasy in particular.

5. What did you rate the last book you read and why? (DNFs count)
Four stars to Princess of Thorns by Stacey Jay. I thought I wouldn't like it, but ended up enjoying it so much! Mostly because the characters surprised me. They both made me angry, but their growth was incredible, and the swoon was nice too. :) It's not really a fairytale retelling though. 

6. Do you like reading outside or inside better?
I LOVE to read on the beach, but I rarely get to do that anymore, since I have little kids that I need to watch at all times. In the winter, I definitely want to be somewhere cozy inside. But I'm not picky. If I get a concentrated time to read, I'm happy!

7. Who's your favorite OTP? (one true pairing/fictional couple)
Remember when I said I can't pick just one? Some of my favorites are Froi and Quintana from The Lumatere Chronicles (actually all of Marchetta's couples. Jonah and Taylor are another type of Froi and Quintana). I will forever love Anne and Gilbert from Anne of Green Gables. Oh also, Sydney and Adrian from the Bloodlines series. And Mycroft and Watts from Every Breath! Now, I'm worried I'm forgetting someone important. See. I'm terrible at this. 

8. Gifs or no gifs in reviews?
No gifs. First, I have no idea how to use them. Second, honestly, I think the flashing is distracting. I typically ignore them when reading a review. I also don't like vlog reviews. I'd rather read the information than watch it. But I do love many bloggers who do gifs, and I'm always impressed with their ability to find comparison images.

9. Do you read more ebooks or physical copies?
Mixed. Some books I want to read in ebook and some in physical, but I get arcs and finished books all different ways.

10. What's one book you wish everyone would read?
I'm not sure I can think of one. It's definitely worth it to step out of your favorite genre and read a variety of things, but I recognize that not everyone is going to love every book. I'm not sure I could recommend one thing across the board. What I prefer is to make targeted suggestions. Though my Sunday School brain wants to shout the Bible! 

Questions from Shae:

1. What’s your favorite age category and genre?
I've been loving historical fantasy recently, but I don't think I have a forever favorite genre. I'm not sure about age either. I have been skewing towards YA recently, but I do love books about adults and younger children too. This is too hard. Sorry for the wishy washy answer!

2. If you could erase your memory and read one book again for the first time, which book would it be?
Such a good question! I'm going with Twilight. I LOVED that entire series when I first read it, but it has lost its shine and I think Bella is so annoying now. I'd like to go back and relive the magic again for the first time. Also, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban! 

3.  If you could physically force everyone on Earth to read one book, what would it be?

See question 10 above. I admire people who believe so much in one book they will push it on anyone. Though I see reading as so subjective that this is hard for me to do personally. But I will blast my love for certain books to others I think will love them too! 

4. What was your nonfiction reading obsession as a kid?

I don't know if this counts, but I used to love the American Girl doll books, and was fascinated by the real history section at the end of each story. My favorite was Samantha who lived in the early 1900s. Basically, I've always loved history. 

5. If you could live (not visit, LIVE) in any other country except for the one you live in now, which country would it be and why?

Italy. I lived there in college for a semester and fell in love with the place and the culture. I love the idea of living somewhere that is so rich in history. You can be walking through the narrow streets of Rome and all of a sudden encounter something that was built over 2000 years ago. It was also then that I fell in love with town style living. Living in a place where you can walk anywhere, but also very quickly get out to the countryside. I lived in this town called Orvieto, where you could walk to the wall from anywhere and see the surrounding grape orchards, or go out into them if you wanted. Living in New England is like that in many ways, though less wine production and no renaissance art that isn't in a museum. I'm actually very happy where I live, except for the dead of winter.

Orvieto - original image source

6. If you could meet one LIVING author, who would you choose?
Melina Marchetta

7. If you could meet one DEAD author, who would you choose?
Jane Austen

8. If you could make one (ONE!) book boyfriend real, who would it be?
You see, I already have a man. So I'm not sure I'd want this book boyfriend to exist without his lady. I'm going to go with an out there guy though. I'd say Stephen Dene from Maureen Johnson's Shades of London series. In real life, I like those nice ones. But what I mostly want is for what happened to him at the end of the last book to not have happened. 

9. Name one weird and/or random thing that can be found in your room.
I don't think I have anything too crazy in there. Lots of books, of course. We do have a photo of my husband's grandfather and Ted Williams hanging on the wall. It's in a frame that includes a bunch of flies Williams tied. (They used to fly fish together in Canada.)

10. Describe an instance in which you were a reading/blogging black sheep.

Such a great question! I did not like ever popular Distance Between Us or Seraphina, both made me feel like a YA reading failure. 

Questions from Nicole:

1. What book would you recommend to your fellow book lovers? If the book is part of a series, you can include the series.

As I mentioned above, this has a lot to do with who you are. Right now I'm loving Anne Bishop's Others series, though. And I don't think you can go wrong with Melina Marchetta or Maggie Stiefvater. 

2. Who is your favorite author?

Some favorite authors: Melina Marchetta, Maggie Stiefvater, Jane Austen, Harper Lee, Megan Whalen Turner, Jandy Nelson.

3. Who is your most read author? Also, how many books have you read by the author?

According to Goodreads my most read authors are Julie Kagawa and Jennifer L. Armentrout. This sort of surprised me, though it probably shouldn't since both are very prolific. Sophie Kinsella comes in third. 12 + 12 + 11. The funny thing about JLA is there's a lot of her books I haven't read! 

4. Name 3 fictional places you would like to visit. 

Number 1 would be Thisby from The Scorpio Races. Of course I'd love to be a wizard and go to Hogwarts. I'd also love to visit Gen's world, though not during any scary war activity. 

5. What quote from a book will you never forget and why? 

I'm bad with quotes. We could even make that a bookish confession. I love reading on my kindle b/c I can highlight quotes, but I rarely remember them. There's nothing I can think of off the top of my head, though I know I was moved by many. 

6. What book can you read over and over again and never get tired of?

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.  That remains my favorite book. And wonder of wonders! It doesn't have any romance in it. 

7. What book made you cry?

I have a whole list HERE. But I don't think I've ever cried as much as I did reading The Kite Runner. 

8. List three book confessions.  

1) Sometimes I seek out spoilers or will read the last page in a book for my own sanity. I used to think this was a terrible thing. But knowing makes it easier to prepare myself, or avoid something all together. I've been burned too much by not being prepared.

2) I'm the ultimate mood reader. I have a very hard time forcing myself to read something I'm not feeling, or I've already decided I won't like based on trusted reviewers. This includes books for review. 

3) Besides love triangles, I actively avoid books with ghost/human relationships and bucket list plots.

9. When and why did you start blogging?  
I started blogging at the end of July 2012. I had done an Outlander read-along with a bunch of bloggers that summer, and the very generous Asheley @ Into the Hall of Books let me post my answers on her page. I loved being part of the readers community and that led me to starting my own blog. 

10. What are some of your favorite hobbies besides reading and blogging?
I don't have a lot of time for hobbies other than reading, which has always been my favorite. I have a busy family that takes up a lot of my time (which I love), and friends I get together with. I honestly, don't even have time for TV, because I've pretty much had to pick between that or reading/blogging. In the summer, I love being outside, biking or exploring places nearby. 

My nominees: 

Rachel/Jasprit @ The Reader's Den
Jenny @ Supernatural Snark
Mary @ The Book Swarm
Asheley @ Into the Hall of Books
Keertana @ Ivy Book bindings
Nick @ Nick's Book Blog
Carina @ Carina's Book Blog
Siiri @ Little Pieces of Imagination
Andi @ Andi's ABCS
(I realize all of you are busy this time of year, and I love you whether or not you make your own post xo)

I'm too lazy to think of more questions. You can just answer any 10 of the ones I answered above! Thank you Sunny, Shae and Nicole for your thoughtful bookish questions.