Recently, I was nominated for a SECOND Liebster Award by the wonderful Rachel over at Confessions of a Book Geek. Thank you so much, Rachel! If you would like to read the answers from my first post as well as find out the rules for the award, you can check it out here. I’ve cut a few of the questions from Rachel’s post as I answered some of them the first time or in other posts.
1. What is your preferred reading format? E-book, paperback, hardback?
I’m going to be pretty specific: I prefer floppy paperbacks. You know the ones that when you open them to the middle, they just flop open and stay that way? Yeah, they’re the best.
2. If you could only recommend one book for another to read, what would it be and why?
Goodness, this is hard. I’ve probably recommended this book at least a hundred times on this blog, so I’m just going to go with that one (though really it would depend on what type of books the person likes, etc.): The Humans by Matt Haig (you’re not surprised, are you? Ha). I pretty much try to mention this book at least once a week. Haha.
3. One of the recent themes of Top Ten Tuesday was: if you like this TV show/film, you should read this book. Provide a book recommendation based on your favorite film or TV show.
Well, first, I’m going to link to my TTT post from that week. Now for this question: As I’m so freaking excited for the premiere of Teen Wolf on Monday, I’d recommend Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater if you like Teen Wolf. 🙂
4. What is your opinion on commenting on blog posts?
I’m the type of person that if I relate to something or enjoyed reading something, I want to tell you. So I enjoy commenting on people’s blog posts if I like the post. Sometimes I’ll just like the post if I’m kind of in a rush or don’t know what exactly to say but still like the post.
5. What is your most anticipated read of 2014?
I’m going to give you two. First, Ian Rankin wrote a stage play called Dark Road that I saw in Scotland right before I moved home. It is being published in book form next month, and I can’t wait to get my hands on it. Second, Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins (duh). This shows you how wide ranging my book tastes are.
6. We all know about blogger hype, which book have you read which did not live up to the hype?
7. Name one author whose books you will always read.
Ian Rankin. Hands down. I’ve read every single book he’s ever published, and I would read his grocery lists.
8. There are certain bloggers whose opinions I value, when they give a good review I will go out of my way to read that book. Name a blogger whose opinions you value and explain why?
Booknerderie, Girl in the Pages, and Drifting Pages (though she hasn’t posted many reviews; I know her irl and we discuss books on Skype all the time). There are several more, but these are the ones that came to mind right away.
9. What is your favorite part of blogging? The book tours, the reviews, the memes, the community…?
The community, hands down. I love being able to discuss books and reading with so many people. I’ve also made a couple of really cool friends, like the seriously awesome Annette at Booknerderie. We talk pretty much every day, including watching and discussing So You Think You Can Dance at the same time. That’s what I was hoping for when I started my blog: finding new books and new people to love.
10. What’s your favorite of your own blog posts?
Hmmm. Either my Love Letter to Books or The Problem with Books. I like discussion posts. I need to do more.
11. What’s your favorite word and why?
Pandemonium. It’s just a great word.
12. How long do you spend reading blogs each week?
A lot of time. I don’t know. I’ll just guess around 30 minutes to an hour a day.
13. When is your favorite time to blog?
The morning.
14. Why do you think people blog?
I don’t know why other people do, but I can tell you why I blog: Books and reading are my main passion in life. One of my favorite things is telling people about the books I’ve read and loved. I also LOVE when my friends come to me for book recommendations because they trust my judgment. What better way to do that as often as possible than on a blog? I get to tell people about the books I love and find new books to love through other people.
15. How long does it take you to compose an average blog post?
It depends. If it’s a TTT or meme like that, it usually takes between 15-30 minutes. A review usually takes a little longer, mostly because I write it, leave it alone for a while, then come back and reread it to make sure it makes sense and isn’t just me rambling (it’s usually just me rambling anyway).
16. What do you think makes a good blog?
Passion. If I can tell how much you loved something (or didn’t), it’s going to make me want to check it out. If I can feel your passion through your words, chances are I like your blog.
I also enjoy having discussions in the comments, so bloggers that take the time to respond to my comment and have conversations about the books/posts instead of just posting it are my favorites. I try to respond to every comment. 🙂
17. How do you find new blogs to follow?
I find a lot of new blogs to follow through Top Ten Tuesday. Also, if a blog I already follow and like links to another blog, I usually click through to check them out and follow if I like what they post.
18. Would you ever stop following a blog? Why?
If a blog I follow consistently posts reviews for books that I am just not interested in, I might unfollow; I might not though if I like their reviews or the way they write because I might end up trying a book I wouldn’t have originally. I would definitely unfollow if a blogger was rude to their followers for some reason or if they posted something that was offensive to me.
19. When do you find it most difficult to blog?
It’s not difficult for me to blog at any specific time or anything, but it is difficult for me to blog when I didn’t like a book. I have difficulty giving a book a low rating even if I didn’t like it. I know that’s stupid, but I am generally a pretty nice person (at least I try to be), and it feels like I’m insulting an author, especially since they put their heart and soul into writing that book. I’m getting better at this. I will never actually give a book a higher rating if my opinion doesn’t match it; I just feel bad doing it. Haha.
Blogs I’m tagging! Feel free to answer what questions you want. I know there’s a lot.
Caught Read Handed 