Real Neat Blog Award

Thanks so much to the amazing Alysyn @ reinreads for nominating me for this award tag. I love answering questions on all things bookish! Please do check out her fantastic blog here.

The Rules:

• Put the award logo on your blog.
• Answer 7 questions asked by the person who nominated you & create 7 new ones
• Thank the people who nominated you, linking to their blog.
• Nominate any number of bloggers you like, linking to their blogs.
• Let them know you nominated them (by commenting on their blog, etc.)

---

My answers to Alysyn’s questions…

What’s a book you thought you’d hate, but actually really loved?
I was looking through my old LiveJournal I kept while I was at school, and I found my first ever book review, where I talk about this exact thing:

“A few weeks ago, my mum (who is a librarian at a local secondary school), brought home a book she had ordered for the library and asked me to road test it for her… She didn’t feel like she’d have time to read it herself (because she’s the slowest reader in the world) so she made me do it instead. When I read the blurb, I was all ‘Do I HAVE to?’ because the idea of a high school girl falling in love with a vampire didn’t desperately appeal to me… In fact, I thought it sounded a bit pants.

Anyway, once upon a free period, I couldn’t be bothered to do any of my school work… so I decided to start reading TWILIGHT instead.

AND I FELL UNCONDITIONALLY AND IRREVOCABLY IN LOVE WITH IT.”

I won’t post the rest of the review, because what follows is essentially the most shamefully embarrassing fangirlgasm in the entirety of internet history (I even describe Bella as relatable!)

BBC / tumblr.com via GIPHY

So, yeah… I’ve moved on from that obsession nowadays, but I have fond (if rather cringey) memories of the way it literally consumed my life, despite the fact that I thought it sounded ‘pants’ initially.

---

What trope or common feature in a lot of stories do you hate?
A book cliché I’ve always hated is what I call the ‘Hot-Best-Friend vs. Plain-Girl-Narrator Cold War’ trope. I’m talking about whiney protagonists who go on and on about how much more vibrant and kooky their friend is than them, how much prettier and more popular they are, and how much they feel like a pair of beige curtains standing next to them. Meanwhile, hot-best-friend is totally oblivious to the fact that plain-girl-narrator is silently fantasizing about (and perhaps even plotting) her takedown.

Paramount / tumblr.com via GIPHY

I appreciate that we all have our insecurities, and yes, this means that occasionally we compare ourselves to our friends, but honestly; friendships with this much jealousy in real life would be toxic. I would love to see far more books where the female main character actually likes herself, and doesn’t secretly resent/hate her best mate.

---

Do you have a favourite genre? What is it?
My favourite genre is CREEPY. I’m aware this isn’t really a genre, but basically anything that gives me shivers and/or nightmares is my thing. A lot of genres have the potential to do this (thriller, crime, mystery, dystopian, horror, supernatural, magical realism, etc.) yet not all books within these genres possess the rare and uncanny ability to get inside my head and creep me the hell out. Those that do impress me much.

---

Where do you buy most of your books? Which store or online site? Ebooks?
I buy a lot of e-books for my Kindle, but I prefer real books to have and to hold, so I can usually be found wandering around Waterstones Oxford (spending money I really shouldn’t) at least once a fortnight.

---

Do you have any bookish gift ideas?
Book tokens! People always say that vouchers are a cop-out present, but I love having money I don’t need to feel guilty about spending on something I want (as opposed to responsible grown-up things like… rent…)

BBC / ironkwoli.tumblr.com via GIPHY

---

There are two books on a shelf. One has an awful title & a beautiful cover, the other has a banging title & a horrific cover. This is all you know about the two books, but you have to buy one. Which do you buy?
I think I’d go for the banging title and horrific cover. I know it’s not always the case, but the title is more likely to have been chosen by the author than the cover art, and if it’s a cringey title it could very well be a badly written book.

---

My Questions for the Nominees…

• What would be the one book you’d recommend to someone who says they don’t like reading?
• Are there any books which have been made into a film where you think the film is better than the book? (And also, because I’m curious, which film adaptation do you think completely butchered a book you love?)
• How many books have you read this year, and how many are you aiming to read by the end of 2015?
• What’s a book that everyone else seems to love, but you were disappointed by?
• What do you think will be the next big trend in YA books (or books in general?)
• Which book on your shelf has the most beautiful cover?
• Which main character from a book do you think is most similar to you?

---

My Nominations go to…

Aura @ oxfordwriterslounge

Cristina @ mytinyobsessions

Giselle @ hardworkboulevard

Dimple @ enthrallingdimple

Bianca @ theultimatefangirl

Tori @ justadreamer24

Charley @ booksandbakes1

---

If you’ve already done this tag, or are super-busy at the moment, feel free to ignore, although I’d love to hear your answers to the questions 🙂