The Sunshine Blogger Award

Hey everyone!

So way back in April Lauren at My Paper Infinity tagged me in her Sunshine Blogger tag post, and I’ve had her post bookmarked ever since then to complete, how we got all the way to October without me completing it I don’t know! But then last week Layla at Readable Life tagged me in her version of it so I figured I’d take the time at the weekend to complete a double tag with both Lauren’s and Layla’s questions! So thank you both!

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The Rules:

• Thank the person who nominated you in a blog post and link back to their blog.
• Answer the 11 questions sent by the person who nominated you.
• Nominate 11 new blogs to receive the award and write them 11 new questions.

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Lauren’s Questions

Do you share your love for reading with anyone outside the blogging community?

My parents taught me to read at a pretty young age, I was definitely reading by the time I started school, we certainly always had books in the house but I don’t remember them reading that much when I was a child, although I do remember my dad reading me bedtime stories. My mum’s mum was definitely a big reader though, she lived just up the road and she always had a book on the go, I got to share my love of Harry Potter with her when she wanted to know what all the fuss was about, she also stole my copy of Northern Lights on a coach trip to Cardiff one year. I miss being able to chat to her about books.

What do you like and dislike about the book blogging community?

I love the community, in the past 10 months since I started blogging I have met some amazing people! I won’t list everyone but they know who they are! But genuinely the book blogging community, particularly the YA community are some of the nicest people you could meet, and they always have a word of encouragement for you if you need it.

Also the authors, I love how social media allows you to interact with some of my favourite authors, and so far none of them have disappointed me!

There’s not really anything I dislike about it, I’ve heard of some negative things, and I know it’s out there but so far I’ve never directly experienced any of it myself.

They say knowledge is power. What have you learned from reading?

I know a lot more about American and Russian politics, and psychology thanks to my degree. The most important thing I’ve learnt? It probably comes from To Kill A Mockingbird:

You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.

What are your reading pet peeves?

People who bend down the corners to mark their place in a book – That’s what bookmarks are for!

If you could swap identities with a fictional character for just one day, who would you pick and what would you do?

I think it would have to be Hermione Granger – a little clichéd perhaps but I was 10 when Harry Potter was released, I grew up with it and it’s a huge part of my life, and love of reading. What would I do? Good question, but wouldn’t just being able to do magic for a day be pretty cool

You have the power to bring one fictional character to life in your own reality. Who do you pick?

Okay – so I’m going to force myself to go outside the realm of Harry Potter for this one, but I’m going to stick with the fantastical and pick Silyen Jardine from the Dark Gifts trilogy by Vic James. I’ve read Gilded Cage and I’m partway through Tarnished City and I’m not really sure what to make of Silyen but he intrigues me and that’s reason enough right…

Is there a book you think everyone should read?

To Kill A Mockingbird, Harry Potter, His Dark Materials…

What’s your favourite quote?

It’s from To Kill A Mockingbird again, but not the quote above.

I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.

It’s a quote I used as part of my exam essay during my English GCSE and it’s always stuck with me.

Which author would you want to have dinner with? What would you ask them?

Tough question! My gut instinct would be J K Rowling, but then I think she’s probably been asked everything already so maybe not… I love James Oswald so I’ll say him, and I’d want to know what strange crime Detective McLean is going to end up involved with next.

What’s your favourite movie or TV show right now?

Another tough question! Maybe Lucifer… I used to love Criminal Minds, and I still enjoy watching it, I adore Spencer and Garcia, but it’s not really the same without Hotch. I do like Grey’s Anatomy too, and I was a fan of the BBC adaptations of the Strike books this summer.

Which food or drink would you love to try sometime? (in real life and the fictional world)

Food… Hmm I dunno, there’s bound to be something exotic I’ve never heard of but if you put it in front of me I’d want to try it. Drink… I’m always willing to try new gins! And I definitely need to go back to Barbados, I miss proper rum punch, I just can’t make it the same over here. Fictional wise? You’d have to try fire whisky at least once right, not so keen on the idea of pumpkin pasties though.

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Layla’s Questions

How many books have you read this year?

67 according to Goodreads, I started off strongly but I’ve definitely tailed off in the past couple of months. The nights are drawing in though so I foresee a few evenings curled up on the couch with a book in the coming months.

Who is your favourite Hogwarts professor?

Severus Snape! Perhaps he wasn’t the best of teachers but I loved chemistry at school so I think I’d love potions. Minerva Mcgonagall is a very close second though

What is the last book that made you cry?

I’m not really sure, maybe The Deathly Hallows….

Which book have you read that left a long lasting impression on you?

It’s already been mentioned a couple of times, but To Kill A Mockingbird, I still remember the first time I read it for my GCSE, which is now many more years away that I care to admit, and I’ve read it countless times since so many quotes from it are ingrained in my brain.

Favourite fictional couple?

I’m going to take my favourite fictional couples from TV rather than books – and pick three couples that all come from Aaron Sorkin dramas. Jed and Abbey Bartlet and Josh and Donna from The West Wing and Will and Mac from The Newsroom

Favourite book series?

There are too many to pick just one! Obviously I love Harry Potter, and His Dark Materials. I also really love the Rivers of London series, and the Inspector McLean books. And this year I discovered a couple of new crime writers that I’m really enjoying, the DI Robyn Carter, and Detective Lottie Parker books by Carol Wyer and Patricia Gibney, I’m also really enjoying the Dark Gifts books….

If you could live in any book world, where would you be?

I’m not sure, maybe Narnia, I always liked Aslan, otherwise I’d love to inhabit the London of Sherlock Holmes, although I could never compete with The Woman I would love to be part of his cases.

You’re going to be assigned a book character as a sidekick! Who do you choose?

This is hard! I mean someone who could do magic would be useful right? But I’m not sure, I loved Lexi in Unconventional, I think she’d be fun to have around a lot of the time.

What is your dream author collaboration?

This is another tricky one! Maybe Carol Wyer and Patricia Gibney, I’d quite like to see DI Carter end up in Ireland and have to work with Lottie Parker.

You also may have noticed I love His Dark Materials and Harry Potter, I don’t think I’d want anything resembling a crossover but I think a world imagined by J K Rowling and Philip Pullman would be pretty cool

What season do you prefer?

Summer! I am a warm weather person, which is why every winter I ask myself why I moved several hundred miles north to Scotland… That said I do enjoy curling up with a hot chocolate, blanket and a book in winter, it’s just the having to go out in the cold and the rain I hate.

What is your favourite Shakespeare?

I’m not the biggest Shakespeare fan, I do have Joss Whedon’s version of Much Ado About Nothing which I really enjoyed. I also quite liked Taming of the Shrew when I studied it at school, but I’ve not read/seen it since I studied it at A Level.

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My Questions

Not gonna lie, I’m stealing a couple of my favourites from above

• From Lauren – What are your reading pet peeves?
• From Layla – Favourite fictional couple?
• What’s the last book you read? Tell us about it in one sentence
• What’s your favourite ‘Classic’?
• If you could only read one genre for the next 5 years what would you pick?
• Tell us about a book on your shelves with a blue cover.
• If you could change the ending – or some other plot point – of one book which would it be and what would you change?
• Tell us about your dream book dinner date. Who are you taking? Author or character, and where are you going?
• Which book or TV series that’s ended would you bring back and why?
• Share a link to the best thing you’ve posted this year, and tell us why you like it.
• It’s Autumn, home of the Pumpkin Spiced Latte, what’s your autumnal drink of choice?
• Christmas is coming sooner that I care to admit – what should people be buying you?

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I’m not going to tag anyone because I think a lot of people have already been tagged recently but if you want to answer these consider yourself tagged!

If one or two of the questions above piques your interest feel free to share your answers in the comments!

Congratulations if you’ve made it this far!