The Sunshine Blogger Award

It absolutely made my day when the lovely Emer @ A Little Haze Book Blog nominated me for the Sunshine Blogger Award!

If you don’t follow Emer’s blog already, please do go and take a look. She writes such quality, insightful reviews of an amazing variety of books, as well as being a very active and encouraging member of the book blogging community!

What is the Sunshine Blogger Award?

The Sunshine Blogger Award is given to those who are creative, positive and inspiring while spreading sunshine to the blogging community.

How does it work?

• Thank the blogger(s) 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.
• List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo in your post and/or on your blog.

I think it is a wonderful idea to find out more about the bloggers whose posts we read every day. My answers are below:

1. When was the last time you cried while reading a book? What book was it?

I was reading The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt in the summer and it left me crying happy/sad/overwhelmed/too many emotions tears! It’s one of my top reads of the year – you can read my review here.

2. Who is your all-time favourite author?

Ooh, this is a cruel question! Honourable mentions must go to Khaled Hosseini, Margaret Atwood, Angela Carter, Madeline Miller, plus Malorie Blackman, Jenny Oldfield and Michelle Paver from my childhood.

However, for the power of her writing and the enduring impact she has had I’m going to go with Toni Morrison.

3. Have you got any pets? If yes show a photo if you can.

Unfortunately not – my brother is allergic to animal fur so I’ve never been lucky on the pet front.

However, I adore animals and actually trained to be a veterinarian for two years, but was unable to cope and left to pursue literature instead (which is no bad thing!) So here are a few highlights from my vet school years to satisfy humanity’s universal need for cute animal photos:

4. Do you prefer hot weather or cold weather?

Cold weather and cosiness! The only thing I don’t like about winter is leaving for uni in the dark and coming home in the dark…

5. What was the last book you rated five stars?

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt but I’ve already mentioned that one… before that it was If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin. It was such an intense story unlike anything I’ve ever read. If you missed my review you can take a look here.

6. What is your favourite food to eat?

Chocolate: I have a serious sweet tooth! It’s also become associated with a lovely family tradition where we sit down and watch a film together once a week with a box of chocolates to share.

7. If you could have any superpower, what superpower would you choose to have?

At the moment, I would love to pause time for a bit so I could catch up on the essays I’m writing for university!

8. What is your all time favourite film?

The film adaptation of The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky.

9. If you could travel to anywhere in the world where would you choose to travel to and why?

The Galapagos Islands because of all the wildlife. I would especially like to see the giant tortoises as they are my favourite animal. I was lucky enough to meet one while on a work experience placement at a zoo – you can see the picture above!

10. Who is your favourite side character from any book you’ve read?

I think Bertha Mason from Jane Eyre is fascinating. I love the focus Jean Rhys brings to her story in the imagined prequel Wide Sargasso Sea. In my Questioning the Canon feature I compare these two books and how they deal with issues such as gender and colonialism.

11. If you have bookshelves or a book case, how do you arrange your books (e.g. alphabetised, by size, by colour, be genre etc.)

Answer: squished! I don’t have enough space on my bookshelves… I do try and divide them into unread books, university required reading, poetry, plays, non-fiction etc. My special signed books have their own section too, but I wish I had the room to display them properly.

My questions are:

1. Who is the most under-rated author you have read? Shout about them here so we can go check them out!
2. If you were transported into a book, what genre would it be?
3. Tell us your favourite book quote.
4. Name a book outside of your comfort zone that surprised you or changed your perspective.
5. What is your favourite book that you had to study in school or college?
6. What is your number one book to film/TV adaptation?
7. If you gave one piece of wisdom to your younger self, what would it be?
8. What is your favourite hobby outside of reading?
9. Show us your favourite photo on your phone.
10. What is your biggest worry or insecurity about your blog? We all have them, so let us reassure you!
11. Free question: what do you wish people asked in tags, but they never do? Now’s your chance to answer it!

Thank you again for the tag Emer! I really enjoyed reading your answers and joining in myself. I’m looking forward to finding out more about other bloggers!

I nominate:

RAIN @ The Withering Blog

Charlotte @ Bewitching Books, Ravenous Reads

Alex @ Whimsy Pages

Amanda @ if there’s a haunted house in it i’ll read it

Reading Tonic

Anda @ The Busy Shelf

Jane @ Blogger Books

Sav @ Booked on a Feeling

Ally @ Ally Writes Things

Not So Modern Girl

Hamad @ The Book Prescription

Don’t worry if you’re not really into tags or are feeling overwhelmed by blogging at the moment, I promise I won’t be offended! Otherwise, I can’t wait to hear your answers 🙂