30 Bookish Facts About Yours Truly That Will Confirm All of Your Suspicions . . .

. . . Yes, yes I do have problems.

This post was shamelessly politely stolen from Cait at "Paper Fury."

1. Currently reading?

Like a thousand books. Okay, really it's just A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin, Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow, Passenger by Alexandra Bracken, and The Fangirl Life: A Guide to All the Feels and Learning How to Deal by Kathleen Smith. But those first three books are big.

2. Should’ve read, like, yesterday?

Or maybe more like last year? Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. How have I not picked this up yet?

3. Book that impacted you?

You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) by Felicia Day. It wasn't one I'd really expected to impact me that much, but I was going through a rough patch with my writing and it gave me a good kick in the pants with some motivational words of wisdom. Plus, it's Felicia Day. You can't help but love her and everything she does.

4. Hyped vs backlist titles?

I like and dislike both for different reasons. The good thing about hyped books is that everyone's talking about it, so it's on my radar when maybe it might not have been. And once I read it, I have plenty of people to talk to, and those people might have conflicting opinions. It brings up good discussions. But if it's a hyped book, sometimes I end up hating it because I've set my expectations so high based on the five-star reviews that basically go something like, "OSIJDGOUIHSDJFK I CAN"T EVEN READ IT NOW YOU WON"T REGREAT IT OMG I CAN"T EVEN TYPE JUST GO IT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFEEEE." If I read something like that, I'd better get a life-changing book, and often it's not the case.

Backlist books are great because I can go into it with zero expectations and either be pleasantly surprised and wow-ed or find it to be totally blah. Either way, it's a mystery to me, which makes it all the more exciting. However, I'm usually the only one that's read it, so if I want to talk about it with people, I have to basically bind them to a chair and put duct tape over their mouths while I force the book on them. Don't worry, I'm still nice about it. I'll turn the pages for them when their hands are quite literally tied.

I told you I have problems.

5. Current series crush?

Apparently Starflight by Melissa Landers is going to be a series? So color me ridiculously excited for that.

6. How strong is your self-control around books?

Ha. Haha. Hahahahahahahahahahaha........

Again, I have problems.

7. Plot vs characters?

Characters all the way. Don't get me wrong, an amazing plot helps, but if I don't like the characters, I don't like the book 99.9% of the time. How am I supposed to care about a story when I couldn't care less what happens to anybody in it?

8. Would you write under a pseudonym?

Probably not, but I guess that's subject to change. 

9. Would you marry your bookshelf?

My bookshelf is too problematic for that. We'd never work out. It's constantly being rearranged and bowing in the middle of the shelves. That's too many unknown factors for me.

10. Do you ever get sick of reading?

Not really, only because I find it impossible to get sick of reading in general. I might get sick of the books I'm reading, but that's only because seven other shiny books are calling to me from my problematic bookshelf. So I might get into reading slumps because I simultaneously want to finish the books on my nightstand and also stop reading them right there.

11. Random bookish memory?

I have lots of memories from when I was younger of me tiptoeing out of bed at night to read on the stairs with a blanket. See, I shared a room with my brother, so I couldn't turn the light on, but there were lights above the stairs. And the way they were positioned, I wouldn't be seen by my parents (until they came up to bed later and found me asleep on the stairs. Totally safe.), and I could sometimes listen to whatever show they were watching. I was a sneaky little thing.

12. Character you relate to?

I'll name a few: Hermione Granger, Cath from Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, Ellie Sweet from the Ellie Sweet series by Stephanie Morrill, and Calvin from Calvin & Hobbes by Bill Watterson.

13. Do you own bookish merchandise?

Yes, indeed! I have Deathly Hallows Earrings, a Snitch necklace, a Time-Turner (sadly without actual time travel functions), a Harry Potter charm necklace, a Harry Potter bracelet made with actual pages of the book (used book), a Mockingjay pin, a "Not all those who wander are lost" tote bag, a Ravenclaw Quidditch team captain shirt, an "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good" t-shirt, and several stick-on Harry Potter quotes in the HP font that are up on various walls around our house. Oh, and Pop! dolls: Dumbledore, Harry, and Fang, so far.

As you can see, besides books, this is what my paychecks go to. And I'm sure I'm forgetting some.

14. Controversial opinion?

I despise The Catcher in the Rye. Couldn't stand Holden, couldn't stand the story. I spent the entire book moaning and groaning. It is the only book to date that I have angrily tossed across the room once I'd finished it with a, "Thank god that's over!" But people either seem to love or hate this book, there's no in between.

I also couldn't get into The Book Thief. I tried for a hundred pages before DNF-ing it.

15. NOTP?

If we're talking canon, Calaena and Dorian from the Throne of Glass series. I will forever ship her and Chaol.

If we're talking headcanon, Harry and Voldemort. Who the hell came up with that?!?!

16. Why didn’t I love this?

Girl In the Arena by Lise Haines. Just--like--what--no. I read it ages ago for a book club, but dear sweet lemon drops, this book was everywhere. And what's with the lack of quotation marks when doing dialogue?! It tried to copy every other dystopian book out there, but only the worst parts of every dystopian book.

Also Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. I felt very ambivalent about it. It was a little juvenile for a YA book and took forever to get to the actual point of the plot. Also? Not creepy. Poor advertising on marketing's part.

17. Hardcover vs paperback?

I love to read paperbacks but display hardcovers.

18. Do you ever like villains?

More often so in TV shows than books, I've found. I wish that weren't the case, though, because well-done villains can be some of the best characters ever. Ooh, but the characters in Nimona by Noelle Stevenson were fantastic! Lots of wonderful villainy there.

19. Cringeable reads?

The Haters by Jesse Andrews. Here is the point where I DNF-ed: "Dick harm is a thing that comes up with us a lot. It's kind of our go-to trope. [...] Basically, the idea is, if something is really great, we get so amped that we have no choice but to do harm to our own dicks. That is the true measure of how wonderful a thing can be."

Is that enough of an explanation as to why I couldn't even stand to continue?

20. Where do you get your books from?

Our Indie bookstore and the library, primarily.

21. Haunting read?

Ooh, that's tricky, but I'm going to have to go with We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. I can't say much more without giving it all away, which would completely ruin the experience for first-time readers.

22. Highly anticipated upcoming release?

The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli (which seems to be coming out on my birthday next year!) and Heartless by Marissa Meyer. I'm not even a huge Alice in Wonderland fan in general and I know it's going to be amazing because, duh, it's Marissa Meyer.

23. Annoying character qualities?

Being blaaaaaaaaaand. I think I would rather hate a character than be bored by them.

24. Least favourite genre?

There's no genre I can't stand, but I'll just say non-fiction, because unless it's freaking amazing, there are a thousand other fictional worlds I'd rather dive into.

25. Best tropes?

Ambiguous and/or bittersweet endings. Retellings of any kind. Klutzy characters. Actual introverted fangirl protagonists. Short chapters. "I-hate-you-no-wait-I-love-you" romances. Slow-burn romances. Characters without families who find friends that are like family. Villains with a heart for one specific thing or character. Time travel. Etc.

26. Rereading?

In theory, I'm all for it. But the reality is I rarely have time to reread anything when there are NEW AND SHINY books to read.

27. Have you abused a book?

Yes, but not always on purpose, besides the Catcher in the Rye book-throwing incident. I also underline and write notes in the margins of books I adore, on occasion. But this one time I was reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone on the stairs for the umpteenth time when I was little and the book completely split in half because of how many times I'd read it. We've also had to tape loose pages back to the binding.

28. Series you quit on?

Beautiful Creatures, but only because I got distracted and totally forgot what happened in the first two books. I'll probably go back one of these days, but not in the near future.

29. Wish it wasn’t a standalone?

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child! I'd love more stories about Albus's adventures at Hogwarts.

30. Bad bookworm side-effects?

Forgetting about real life responsibilities and suddenly e-mails and chores are piling up and that unfolded laundry has been sitting there for a week and what do you mean I have to change for work in five minutes?

Problems, I tell you. I. Have. Problems.


Tag, you're it! Answer some questions in the comments or steal this for your own blog, if you'd like!