The Sunshine Blogger Award (2&3) // get to know me better with twenty-two questions

Thank you to Sophie from Sophie’s Corner and Jenna from Bookmark Your Thoughts for nominating me for the Sunshine Blogger Award!

You all should check them out! Sophie’s content is so interesting and she’s such a sweet person to chat with (she also just got married!!). Also, Jenna’s blog is so. fricken. cute. and she’s positively down-to-earth. They’re just two fantastic bloggers and human beings, and I’m really happy that they thought of nominating me (thank you both, again!).

I combined Sophie’s and Jenna’s questions and had so much fun answering them:

The Rules

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you in a blog post and link back to their blog.
2. Answer the 11 questions the blogger asked you.
3. Nominate 11 new blogs to receive the award and write them 11 new questions.
4. List the rules and display the sunshine blogger award logo in your post/or on your blog.

Jenna’s Questions

𝟷. ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴡᴀs ᴛʜᴇ ʟᴀsᴛ ʙᴏᴏᴋ ʏᴏᴜ sᴛʀᴏɴɢʟʏ ᴅɪsʟɪᴋᴇᴅ?

I wasn’t the hugest fan of The Waning Age by S.E. Grove. The premise was unique—but flawed—and the characters weren’t distinctly interesting either.

𝟸. ʜᴏᴡ ᴅᴏᴇs ʏᴏᴜʀ sᴛᴀʀ ʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ sʏsᴛᴇᴍ ᴡᴏʀᴋ ғᴏʀ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʀᴇᴠɪᴇᴡs (ɪғ ʏᴏᴜ ᴜsᴇ ᴏɴᴇ)?

My extremely basic rating system is actually just the Goodreads’ rating system 😅. It’s simple, but I find that it works for the most part. I add half a star when books don’t quite fit into a solid star category (which is something Goodreads should get on!), so I think it’s fair.

☆ I didn’t like it
☆☆ It was okay
☆☆☆ I liked it
☆☆☆☆ I really liked it
☆☆☆☆☆ I loved it

My only additional criteria is that five stars are reserved for books that made me cry. I published a post about three things my favorite books have in common a g e s ago where I explained how tear-jerking books deserve credit for prompting the emotional reaction 😂.

𝟹. ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴀʀᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ғᴀᴠᴏʀɪᴛᴇ ᴘɪᴢᴢᴀ ᴛᴏᴘᴘɪɴɢs?

I have two moods: ALL or NOTHING. That being said, I love a good combo pizza (no pepperoni or sausages, sorry meat lovers!) or a plain ol’ cheese pizza 😁.

𝟺. ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ʀᴀᴛʜᴇʀ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴀ ɢʀᴇᴀᴛ ᴘʟᴏᴛ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴍᴇᴅɪᴏᴄʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀs, ᴏʀ ᴀ ʙᴏʀɪɴɢ ᴘʟᴏᴛ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴀᴍᴀᴢɪɴɢ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀs?

Oof. I think I have to agree with Jenna that I’d rather read a book with a boring plot and amazing characters.

It’s ~ kind of ~ like: would you rather go to an amazing vacation destination with people you don’t click with, or to a boring vacation destination with your friends?

~ kind of. ~

No questions, I would choose friends (aka amazing characters) every-time 🤗.

𝟻. ʜᴏᴡ ᴍᴀɴʏ ʙᴏᴏᴋs ᴀʀᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴜʀʀᴇɴᴛʟʏ ʀᴇᴀᴅɪɴɢ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴡʜɪᴄʜ ᴏɴᴇ ɪs ʏᴏᴜʀ ғᴀᴠᴏʀɪᴛᴇ sᴏ ғᴀʀ?

I’m currently reading two books right now!

• The View from the Cheap Seats: Selected Nonfiction by Neil Gaiman
• Our Dark Duet by Victoria Schwab.

I’ve been reading the Neil Gaiman book for almost three weeks now, and although it’s taking me a long time to get through, I love it so far!

𝟼. ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴡᴀs ᴛʜᴇ ʟᴀsᴛ ʙᴏᴏᴋ ʀᴇᴠɪᴇᴡ ʏᴏᴜ ᴘᴏsᴛᴇᴅ?

My latest book review is for Wilder Girls by Rory Power! Everyone under the bookish sun has been talking about it, so I gave it a read at the beginning of this month. I’m not sure that it deserved all the hype, but it was certainly a unique and disconcerting read.

𝟽. ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴘʀᴇғᴇʀ ᴍɢ, ʏᴀ, ɴᴀ, ᴏʀ ᴀᴅᴜʟᴛ ʙᴏᴏᴋs?

I tend to read YA because those are the types of books the blogs I follow normally read and recommend. However, I prefer NA stories as they’re more ~ relatable ~ because they address the issues I’m facing right now as a NA 😅.

𝟾. ɪs ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴀ ᴘᴏᴘᴜʟᴀʀ ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ ʏᴏᴜ’ʀᴇ ɴᴏᴛ ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴇsᴛᴇᴅ ɪɴ ʀᴇᴀᴅɪɴɢ ᴀɴʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ʙʏ? (ᴇʟᴀʙᴏʀᴀᴛᴇ ɪғ ʏᴏᴜ’ʀᴇ ᴄᴏᴍғᴏʀᴛᴀʙʟᴇ ᴅᴏɪɴɢ sᴏ!)

I’m with Jenna here. Unless I knew an author was a 💩 person, I wouldn’t entirely write off a book based on who wrote it.

𝟿. ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴍᴀʀɢɪɴᴀʟɪᴢᴇᴅ ʀᴇᴘ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ᴍᴏsᴛ sᴛʀᴏɴɢʟʏ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛᴏ sᴇᴇ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴏғ ɪɴ ʙᴏᴏᴋs?

This is tough. I’m going to steal one of Jenna’s answers again and say biracial characters. The world is so mixed now, and, being mixed myself, it’s comforting to see some of the personal issues I face addressed in stories (Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman represented biracial identities well!).

I’d also love to see more Southeast Asian/Pacific Islander representation. There has been hoards of amazing books with Asian protagonists coming out this past year, but I don’t see as many stories with this subcategory of people.

(Side note: I really want to do a “read me” type of read-a-thon where I read stories with Indian or Filipino protagonists, so please do leave me recommendations!)

𝟷𝟶. ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪsᴛᴇɴ ᴛᴏ ᴍᴜsɪᴄ ᴡʜɪʟᴇ ʀᴇᴀᴅɪɴɢ?

Not usually.

I do have a distinct memory of listening to the Ashitaka and San theme from Princess Mononoke while BAWLING my eyes out at the ending of The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson (that’s a five star read for you 😅).

𝟷𝟷. ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴘʀᴇғᴇʀ ᴛᴡɪᴛᴛᴇʀ ᴏʀ ʙᴏᴏᴋsᴛᴀɢʀᴀᴍ?

Neither 😬. I deleted my Instagram and Twitter months ago because I didn’t like how much time I was needlessly scrolling.

Buuut, I still stare at ~ aesthetic ~ book pictures and read bookish updates on Tumblr sometimes. So I guess… Tumblr?

Sophie’s Questions

𝟷. ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴀʀᴇ ʏᴏᴜʀ ғᴀᴠᴏʀɪᴛᴇ ʙᴏᴏᴋs ᴛʜɪs ʏᴇᴀʀ?

I made a post about my top five favorite books so far this year which you can find here!

TL;DR? They are:

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

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1. Saga by Brian K. Vaughan
2. What I Know For Sure by Oprah
3. On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
4. Stronger, Faster, More Beautiful by Arwen Elys Dayton
5. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

I also recently finished and LOVED Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman 🤗.

𝟸. ɪғ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴏɴᴇ ɢᴇɴʀᴇ ᴏғ ʙᴏᴏᴋ ғᴏʀ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴇɴᴛɪʀᴇ ʟɪғᴇ, ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ʀᴇᴀᴅ?

Science Fiction! It encompasses everything I love—technology, horror, mystery, romance—so I don’t think I’d ever get bored. I babbled more about why I love science fiction in this post 😁.

𝟹. ɪғ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ᴄʜᴏᴏsᴇ ᴏɴᴇ ʙᴏᴏᴋɪsʜ ᴄʀᴇᴀᴛᴜʀᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴋᴇᴇᴘ ғᴏʀ ᴀ ᴘᴇᴛ, ᴡʜᴏ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄʜᴏᴏsᴇ?

I’m going with one of the more stereotypical answers and choosing a hippogriff from Harry Potter. I mean, how cool would it be dip out of a situation on your flying pet? Plus, it’s like two-in-one! Is it a bird or a horse?

𝟺. ᴡʜᴀᴛ ɪs ᴏɴᴇ ʙᴏᴏᴋ ᴏɴ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʙᴏᴏᴋsʜᴇʟғ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ᴛᴇᴀʀ ᴛᴏ sʜʀᴇᴅs?

I don’t have many books on my bookshelf, but I was close to tearing Warcross by Marie Lu to shreds after it ended in a cliffhanger 😂.

𝟻. ɪғ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀʀᴇ sᴛʀᴀɴᴅᴇᴅ ᴏɴ ᴀɴ ɪsʟᴀɴᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ᴄᴀɴ ᴏɴʟʏ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴏɴᴇ ʙᴏᴏᴋ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ғᴏʀ ᴇɴᴛᴇʀᴛᴀɪɴᴍᴇɴᴛ, ᴡʜɪᴄʜ ʙᴏᴏᴋ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄʜᴏᴏsᴇ?

A chromebook so I could connect to the internet ha ha ha.

The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson! I’m a firm one-time reader, yet I always have the urge to reread this book.

𝟼. ᴡʜᴀᴛ ɪs ᴏɴᴇ ᴍᴇᴍᴏʀᴀʙʟᴇ (sᴘᴏɪʟᴇʀ-ғʀᴇᴇ) sᴄᴇɴᴇ ғʀᴏᴍ ᴀ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ʏᴏᴜ ʀᴇᴄᴇɴᴛʟʏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ?

Spoiler-free 🤔.

There’s a scene in Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee where the main character, Scout, is stuck having coffee with some racist townswomen. It’s memorable for numerous reasons, but the least spoilery one is the way the scene was written. It was like I was zoning out with Scout as the women bounced from one uninteresting topic to another with every sentence.

𝟽. ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ ʜᴀᴘᴘʏ ᴇɴᴅɪɴɢs, sᴀᴅ ᴇɴᴅɪɴɢs, ᴏʀ ʙɪᴛᴛᴇʀsᴡᴇᴇᴛ ᴇɴᴅɪɴɢs?

Happy! I like books that make me cry, but I like books that make cry happy tears even more.

𝟾. ᴡʜɪᴄʜ ʙᴏᴏᴋ ʜᴀs ʏᴏᴜʀ ғᴀᴠᴏʀɪᴛᴇ ᴇɴᴅɪɴɢ?

My gut reaction was to say The Final Empire again, but there were some details about the ending I wasn’t too happy about. Instead, I think any of Roald Dahl’s books, like Matilda or The BFG, had my OG favorite endings. It was so satisfying seeing good completely win over evil in those children books 😢.

𝟿. ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴅᴏ ʙᴇsɪᴅᴇs ʀᴇᴀᴅɪɴɢ?

I love hiking, spending time with friends and family, binging TV shows, and playing video games!

“I’m Just a Regular Degular Shemgular Girl.”

^Let me know if you know where that is from 😂.

𝟷𝟶. ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴀ ғᴀᴠᴏʀɪᴛᴇ ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴡʀɪᴛᴇ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʙʟᴏɢ ᴘᴏsᴛs?

Anywhere in the comfort of my house suits me fine 😌.

𝟷𝟷. ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴀ ᴡᴏʀᴅ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ɢᴇᴛs ᴏɴ ʏᴏᴜʀ ɴᴇʀᴠᴇ?

Hmmm. This isn’t so much of the word, but how the word is used: it irks me when someone calls another person boring. I don’t see how someone with a whole life and backstory can possibly be boring 🤷.

My Nominations

Breaking the rules here and only tagging a few people. Honestly, I’d like to nominate anyone taking the time to read this post, so please consider yourself nominated if you read this 😁.

Emma @ A Few Chapters Till Love / Heran @ BE FRISKY / Sarah Joyce @ The Library at Woodring Estate / Mary Drover @ Mary Drover Writes / Dani @ Perspective of a Writer

Again, don’t feel pressured into answering these questions. Please just know that I adore all of you and your blogs 👍👍.

My Questions

I included a couple of Jenna and Sophie’s questions!

1. What was your first blog post? (sorry, if this makes any of you cringe haha!)
2. Are there any “buzzwords” in book synopses that make you pick up a book without fail?
3. What marginalized rep would you most strongly like to see more of in books?
4. What are your favorite books this year?
5. Is there a bookish trend or trope you wish would end?
6. What’s your favorite post you’ve written?
7. What’s the funniest movie you’ve ever seen?
8. What’s the best joke you’ve heard? (can you tell I need a laugh 😅.)
9. Whose your favorite musical artist?
10. Is there anything exciting happening currently or soon in your life?
11. What is your favorite quote?

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This concludes this super long post — thanks for reading! And thank you again to Sophie and Jenna for nominating me!

Can you relate to any of my answers? How would you answer these questions? Let me know 😁.