The Liebster Award: The Rules + A Few Secrets Revealed!

Thank you to my lovely El (thebookishdamiselle) and Maw (dearmaw) for nominating me to do the Liebster Award! I also apologize for responding about 4 days late, but here I am now!

The word “liebster” is German and has several definitions: dearest, sweetest, kindest, nicest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, welcome, sweetheart and… boyfriend. Oh.

---

If you have been nominated for The Liebster Award and you choose to accept it, here are the rules:

• Thank the person/people who nominated you by providing a link to their blog in your Liebster Award post
• Give 11 random facts about yourself
• Answer the 11 questions from the blogger/s who nominated you
• Nominate 5-11 other blogs that have 200 followers or less
• Ask your nominees 11 questions of your own
• Inform the people/blogs that you nominated that they have been nominated for the Liebster award. Provide a link for them to your post so they can learn about it (they might not have ever heard of it!).
  

  ---

11 RANDOM FACTS ABOUT ME

1. I have a very strange taste in music. I don’t like sharing my playlists!
2. My favourite fruit is strawberry; my favourite vegetable is broccoli. I LOVE BREAD. And seafood. And Japanese food. And Italian food. I love food in general.
3. My favourite subject in school is Law.
4. I support Racial Equality and Women Empowerment.
5. I always stand up to people who joke about rape!!! (I hope you do, too.)
6. I’m a very opinionated person which could either be a good or a bad thing. Ha.
7. As of this writing, I’ve only read two classics: To Kill A Mockingbird and The Great Gatsby.
8. My best friend and I have been the best of friends for 8 years now. We’re total opposites, I love reading and she loves watching movies! She’s one of the few people I could trust my books with.
9. My favourite films are Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, Before Midnight, Love, Rosie, and Blue Valentine. I could watch these 5 movies for the rest of my life.
10. A very funny story: It was the Summer of 2008, I was 12, we were at the beach, and I stayed outside for god knows how long, pretending to read For One More Day by Mitch Albom under the scorching sun for the sole purpose of getting the attention of my crush. I’m going to hell.
11. A very sad story: He never noticed me. HA HA HA
    

    ---

I’m now linking you to their Bookstagram accounts!

Questions from El:

1. What book got you into reading?
   I have loved reading since I was a little monkey, but it was Percy Jackson and the Olympians that really got me into it.
2. How old were you when you realized that you have a passion for reading?
   I was 12!
3. If you had to pick ONLY one favorite book, what would it be and why?
   Why must you make me do the impossible?! Okay. Overreacting. It would be Just One Day by Gayle Forman. (Or Just One Year? Dear lawd.) It’s because I’ve never related with a character the same way I did with Allyson Healey. I found her so beautifully flawed and confused. How very teenager of her.
4. Choose ONLY one favorite author. Why did you choose him/her?
   Suzanne Collins! The Hunger Games means soooo much to me. I’ve reread the trilogy about 3 or 4 times. I don’t even know how many times I’ve seen the movies! There’s just so much depth in the story, and I found it comparable to our now. It’s not a good juxtaposition, but it’s real.
5. Where do you usually buy books?
   Local bookstores (National Bookstore; Fully Booked), Book Outlet, and random online stores I find on Instagram and Facebook.
6. Have you ever read “50 Shades of Grey”, and what do you think about it?
   No. I honestly don’t like the whole premise, but I’m not completely banning it. I may read it sometime in the future and see what I think. I saw the movie, though, and did not like it. I thought the ending was fine; I could only hope it ended right there.
7. What book changed your outlook on life?
   Wow. Heavy. I can’t think of a specific book that made me change my outlook on life, I don’t think it works that way. I think reading and reading and just reading, as a whole, changes you in some way. But since we’re talking, I recommend Wonder by R.J. Palacio—this incredible book promotes kindness.
8. Have you ever influenced somebody to read a book?
   Yes! I’m very proud of it. I got three of my closest friends into reading, although not as much as I do. We’ve known each other for almost 8 years, so it was really easy for me to find them books they’d enjoy. They trust me! Yay!
9. Do you like listening to music while reading?
   No, I get distracted easily. But I do have an app called Rain, Rain* and it’s the best for reading especially when I’m in a crowded or noisy place [example: school]. Instead of listening to your schoolmates bicker and shout at each other for reasons you don’t understand, you now have the option shut them up without being rude! WAHAHAHAHAHA. 
   *This is not an advertisement
10. If you’re going to recommend a book to me, what would it be?
    The Pact by Jodi Picoult. Seriously, you need to check it out! I was in a slump for 4 days and it got me thinking about so many aspects of life. It’s the perfect read for every teenager, adult, and parent.
11. Do you have any advice for young readers out there?
    Keep reading. Don’t mind what others think about your preferred genre, but don’t be afraid to read outside of it! Be humble. Enjoy. Love life.

Questions from Maw:

1. What book/s did you regret reading and why?
   Slammed by Colleen Hoover. The writing made me want to take a nap and the relationship of the two characters was terribly crafted. Error 101: Chemistry not found. Shoot me now.
2. What quotation has affected you and your whole life?
   I’m not sure about this one, but I do have some favourite quotes. One of which is, “She’s somewhere by herself having the kind of fun we can only imagine.” by John Green. I felt like this one line was written especially for me. It’s just so simple yet so perfect.
3. Do you prefer reading a book while drinking a coffee or drinking tea?
   I love both, but I don’t really drink while reading. I prefer lying on my back, that’s why!
4. Who is/are your book boyfriend/s or girlfriend/s?
   Day from Legend trilogy by Marie Lu and Willem de Ruiter from Just One Day duology by Gayle Forman. Girlfriend? Hermione Granger. No need to explain why.
   
5. If you could be anyone in this world for a day, who would it be and why?
   Emma Watson. I have so much respect for this woman. She’s an inspiration to many and she’s done so much in such a young age.
6. Give me your top 3 favorite books.
   Why is everyone giving me a hard time?! [Screams internally] I’m just going to type in whatever comes to mind first: Just One Day by Gayle Forman, Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, and Love, Rosie by Cecelia Ahern.
7. If you could relate to one fictional character, who would it be and why?
   Allyson Healey from Just One Day. It’s not even a question of if I could because I could totally see myself in her, I believe that’s one of the main reasons I loved the book so much. Allyson lives a very satisfying life; she had her whole life planned ahead of her and she was okay with that. Until one day, she met Willem. She realised she was happy before, but not content. She realised she was missing out on a lot of things and there was so much she could do to make her life a little happier. “He showed me how to get lost, and then I showed myself how to get found.” It’s just so beautiful.
8. Would you rather stay at home alone or go out with friends?
   HOME. There’s no place I’d rather be. ~*No, no, no, no, no place I’d rather be!*~
9. If you could kill one fictional character, who would it be and why?
   Christian Grey. I don’t need a man telling me what to do! He is obsessive, pushy, abusive, and destructive. Seriously, if Christian Grey wasn’t rich and handsome would girls still find him “hot” or would he be considered a rapist?
10. If you could win a trip somewhere, who would you bring and where?
    I’d bring my lover to Greece. But first, let me find a lover.
11. Favorite song.
    Till There Was You by The Beatles

    ---

I NOMINATE THESE BLOGS I LOVE!

• Emma of emmasbookshelfblog
• Justine of bookwormaniac
• Skylar of halfbloodhuntress
• Nikki of aliceinwonderbookland
• Pearl of bibliopearl

MY QUESTIONS:

1. Tell us something interesting about yourself.
2. First fandom? It doesn’t have to be book-related!
3. Celebrity crush.
4. Favourite read of 2015.
5. Overrated book.
6. Underrated book.
7. Do you prefer reading the book or watching the movie first?
8. Favourite trilogy/series.
9. If you could reread a book for the rest of your life, which one would it be and why?
10. If you have the choice to ~*obliviate*~ (erase from memory) a book you’ve read, which one would it be and why?
11. If you could choose a literary career, what would it be and why? (Or take this quiz and share us the result)