The Liebster 2.0

Yes people, believe it or not, I have been nominated for the Liebster for the SECOND time by the very fabulous Briana over at Reader, Writer, Critic. Briana, thank you, it was an honour doing this post. She informed me SIX DAYS AGO but um, because I was academically occupied, this post comes now.

These are the rules to be followed by a Liebster recipient:

• Thank and link back to the person who nominated you.
• List 11 facts about yourself.
• Answer the 11 questions asked by the blogger who nominated you.
• Nominate 11 bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers (You can't nominate the blogger who nominated you.)
• Ask them 11 questions.
• Let them know about the nomination.

Here are some facts useful for MOI 101:

1. I am short (barely 5'2"). But I have made my peace with it.
2. People come to me for breakup advice. Fact: I have only ever been in fictional relationships till date.
3. I don't own a single mass produced fandom tshirt. Parents don't believe in online shopping. (I have informed them that I am legally an adult. They don't care.)
4. I am the class nerd. Poor muggles think since I love books, text books are my favourite bedtime read.
5. I am currently high on chocolate (at the time of writing this sentence).
6. I hate eating chocolate when reading. Give me fatty, oily, spicy bags of chips please.
7. I can read anywhere (waiting rooms, standing room on buses, boring dinner parties) thanks to the smartphone age.
8. One of my professors is the nephew of the wife of my great-grandmother's younger brother. We keep track of relations like that.
9. I can't speak Hindi despite the language being compulsory for seven years. I have to watch Bollywood movies with English subtitles. (Yes I despise myself too; I hope to rectify the situation as soon as possible).
10. My friends think I'm going to have a whirlwind romance. I hope so too.
11. My biggest fans are my sister and my kid cousins. They are my pit crew.

And these are my answers to Briana's questions:

 

What post are you most proud of? (Link us to it please!)

Ode to a Washing Machine. I don’t know why – probably because I realized I can do funny exaggerations for the first time, I was surprised at myself.

If you had to pick two fictional characters to be your parents and raise you from baby to adult who would you pick and why? (They don't have to be from the same books.)

ATTICUS FINCH IS THE COOLEST DAD EVER. EVER EVER. If you ask why, slap yourself and read the book again. And if you don't know which book I'm talking about ...

Percy's mom, Sally Jackson from the Percy Jackson series is one inspirational woman. For twelve years she managed to hide Percy from monsters and willingly suffered an abusive husband to help her do that. And when she gets rid of him, *rubs hands* oh yeah. She kicks ass when it comes to her kid.

 

If you had to take the place of a character in a book, whose place would you take and why?

When I went through the Harry Potter rite of passage, I would write with fountain-pens, pretend I'm writing on parchments, and imagine I'm Hermione - she was the easiest for me to relate to what with the bushy hair and nerdiness.  Being Hermione, in addition to satisfying my childhood dream, would also be an honour. And it's not as life threatening, like Katniss.

 

Everyone always asks about your favorite part of blogging, but let's be real, there have to be things that you don't like. What is your least favorite part or the part that is the most challenging?

The frequency with which I have to post. My life right now is so hectic, sleeping for six hours straight is a privilege. And a blogging challenge (but something I enjoy) is coming up with a debate-able topic.

What has been your favorite read this month? (Or pick a few if picking one is too hard.)

The Hex Hall series. Most definitely. This month was busy college-wise, so this wasn't a hard question.

If you were to make a book cover that represented your life and personality what would it look like?

Like this.

At first I would seem like some mass produced humanoid giving monosyllabic replies and polite smiles to the unfortunate stranger, but once someone manages to peel off some of the whitewash off my walls (that looks wrong once I wrote it, it sounded impressive in my head – ANETA GET YOUR MIND OUT OF THE GUTTER) I’m pretty colourful. (Again that sounds wrong, but whatever.)

Of course you love books and blogging and all that good stuff but if you didn't spend time doing either one of those things, what would you spend all your free time doing?

What would I do with all the time I get if I weren't reading or blogging? God, I would probably spend my time in some mental ward. Seriously. Or if that didn't happen, I would probably not even be ME.

What's your favorite and least favorite genre and why?

Favourite genre? Anything that has a writing style with personality. But if I'm in a bookstore or browsing on Goodreads, it would be social drama. And historical fiction. I like reading about people even though they are insufferable.

Least favourite genre is easily romance. Or any of those sophisticated synonyms like NA and contemporary. I don't like the romance being the main course, it should be the seasoning. Basically it's all the same, with the traditional falling-in-love phase and sappy dialogues.

What makes you want to read a book (more than other books)?

If I have read another book of the same author that I loved ta-da it's instalove. Then the cover, the title, and the backside blurb, and Goodreads reviews  influence my decision.

How do you feel about book covers? Do you judge books based on them? Is it ok to? Etc.

Theoretically, it's not ok to judge books by their cover like they say. But it's impossible not to, ok? I do not like females and males in intimate positions, decapitated people, females with a close up of their face, shoddy graphics, and such. I unconsciously link covers with the genre of the book. I like covers that are thought provoking. It should be an art and a story in itself. One cover that suddenly feels as an example is Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys. Precious cover.

If you were to pick an author to write a book based on you and your life, who would you want to write it?

I have the plainest life possible. I haven't changed anyone's life. Elementary school and middle school was filled with uninspiring teachers. I didn't have a posse in high school, college isn't that fun either. The only portion biograph-able is my family which is angst and drama - ridden. I'm guessing Patrick Ness can find the thread of a story buried under all that mundane details. And with that writing of his - WHAM nobody would care I'm a nobody, it would be an instant bestseller.

 And these are my questions to the nominees:

1. How did books become a part of you?
2. Which writer would you accidently want to meet?
3. "You read fiction? Hmph. Why would you read about witches and zombies and kids with superpowers? What a waste of time." Please comment. I really need an answer.
4. List top three things you hate.
5. Which superpower would you like to have? Feel free to invent one.
6. What's your biggest vice?
7. Which book comes to your mind when I say: a) Swords b) Yuck c) LGBT
8. When you were a baby, what did your parents do to put you to sleep?
9. If you had to witness the end of the world, how would you prefer it - fire or ice?
10. Which book failed massively to live up to the hype for you?
11. If you could keep a mythical creature as your (pet?) what would it be? What would you name it?

And now, the nominees are:

(Thank you for the drumroll)

Andie @ Metaphorical Musings

Lola @ Hit or Miss Books

Kaitlin @ Always Write.

Gabs @ My Full Bookshelf

Louisa and Katie @ A Novel Adventure

Alexia @ Adventures in Reading

Angel @ Spare Reads

Ashly @ Book 'n' Go

(I do know how to count and I know that's only eight, but it's hard finding a blog that you like AND satisfies the nomination criteria.)

Oh and by the way,

(Pic courtesy of deviantart)

 

That blonde is me, ok Percy? Even though I'm not a blonde and you love Annabeth to the depths of Tartarus.