You asked, I’m answering!

Before I get into the answers to your AMAZING questions, I just wanted to take a minute to say thanks so much to your outpouring of love! I was so overwhelmed by the fact that I now had 500 followers, and then I was even more overwhelmed by your comments and questions! Seriously, the book nerd community is such a great group of people! You are all so supportive and caring. Thanks so much everyone!!!!

Now, onto the questions and answers!!

Bludgers and Broomsticks asked:  If you had the chance to meet 1 author who would it be?

Do I have to pick just one?? Ok, I would have to pick Sarah J Maas. Yes, I am total trash for everything she has written, but it’s her personality that makes me want to meet her so badly! She’s just so bubbly, funny, awkward, nerdy, and seems like she could totally be someone I could get along with SO well! A few others I would like to meet would be Laini Taylor and JK Rowling 🙂

Poulami @ Daydreaming Books asked: What are your other hobbies besides reading and blogging?

NONE! LOL Well none now anyway. I used to play roller derby. It was one of the best things I’ve ever done in my life. The sport taught me just how strong I am and how much I can accomplish when I practice and stick with it. Unfortunately I broke my ankle BADLY at a roller Derby convention in Las Vegas and continuing with the sport was doing some major damage to my leg. The break resulted in a titanium plate and 6 screws to hold my bones in place. After the break, my derby name became Bionic Brawlberry (hence the blog name!!)

!is!ght asked: Best book on short stories?

I’ve never actually read a book that was specifically just short stories! Yes I know, shame on me! I have read a few novella’s that is a bind up of short stories that accompany a series….. if that counts then I would have to say The Assassins Blade by Sarah J Maas.

Kristin @ Kristin Kraves Books asked: What is on your perfect pizza? 😝

LOVE this question!! It’s mushrooms, olives (black and green), hot peppers, onions, pepperoni, and bacon. YUM! Even though the hawaiian pizza was invented in the town where I was born (no joke!) I will thrown down throat punches if you put pineapple on my pizza! Warm pineapple is just gross!

Mikaela @ The Well Thumbed Reader asked: What’s one unpopular bookish opinion you have? 😄

LOADED QUESTION!!!! I have so many. But my biggest unpopular opinion relates to diversity in books. I LOVE that diversity is such a focus for writers now. It needed to happen! But what makes me so angry is that authors are now trying to throw in as many diverse aspects in a book as possible. Not necessary! Most of the stuff they are throwing in there isn’t researched properly and doesn’t fit the story as a whole. They’re just doing it to prove the point that they’ve covered all the bases. STOP IT!! PLEASE! Gay characters, yes. Racism, yes. Ethnicity, yes. All of it – YES! But you don’t need to have it all in the same book! Cover a few and cover it well and properly!! And please, for the love of all that’s holy, do not use diversity as a plot twist! That aggravates me to no end. Diversity is diversity – a way of life. It is NOT a jaw dropping twist of the story (ok maybe if it’s done properly). I have so much more to say on this topic but I’ll stop here!

Teacher of YA asked: If you has to read only one genre for the rest of your life (I know, I’m mean lol), what would it be?

Such a hard question! I would have to say Fantasy (even though I’m currently trying to claw my way out of a massive Fantasy slump!). I just feel like fantasy can cover so much ground. So many different topics, time periods, and so much more!

Elena @ Sweaters and storms asked: Which book character would you want as a best friend and what do you think you two would do for fun?

This question couldn’t have come at a more perfect time!! I just finished Daughter of Smoke and Bone and Karou spoke to me! If you’ve read the book, then you’ll know what I’m talking about when I mention “the itch” – I swear I almost died laughing! That’s totally something I would do! She’s so bold, strong, funny, adventurous, and amazing! If she were real and my friend, I would love to just be able to hang out with her and Zuzana at the Poison restaurant. Drinking tea, eating food, and drawing. Why can’t fictional characters be real??

Joe @ Storey’s of Stories asked: I STILL want to know: What literary character would you ask to help you bury a body?

EASY! Kaz Brekker! The man is a criminal mastermind. He is slimy and finds his way out of the stickiest of situations. So basically, what I’m saying is, even if we were to get caught he would find a way out of it! Home free no matter what we do. The unfortunate thing is that, due to his injuries, I would have to do most of the grunt work! But hey, bury a body and no way to get caught – I’d say it’s a fair trade! And he wears gloves all the time…. in the modern world with DNA and fingerprint testing, there would be nothing to find. Yup, thought of it all!

By Hook or by Book asked: What is your biggest reading pet peeve?

So many!!! Oh so many! But if I had to choose my one biggest pet peeve, it would be the fact that my husband and/or kids ALWAYS bother me when I’m reading the last two chapters of a book. Never fails! I’m trying to get right into the dramatic and important ending and someone is right next to me, staring, asking questions, whining, talking……….. the nerve!

Sophie @ Blame Chocolate asked: Part one – What is the one book you think every parent should read to their kids?

The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas. There’s quite a bit of strong language and violence, but the message is something that pre-teens and teens need to hear!!!

Part two – If you had to leave your house immediately and never come back, which ten books would you take with you?

Strangely enough, this scenario plays through my head a few times a month! I’m not even kidding! I imagine myself grabbing a box, tote, backpack, or whatever I can find and piling in as many books as I can! Right now I would have to say these are the ones I would save:

• Signed copy of Caraval
• Signed copy of Queen of Shadows and Empire of storms
• Signed copy of Frostblood
• Gryffindor and Ravenclaw 20th anniversary editions of Harry Potter
• The entire Harry Potter series

If you’re counting, that’s 13 in total. I cheated. But in my defence, I can carry 10, then give one each to my two kids and husband LOL!!!

Mandy @ Book Princess Reviews asked: if you go into any book world, where would you go and why? Also, where would you like to NOT get stuck?

I would love to go to Hogwarts and Diagon Alley!!! So magical! I want to be able to go into the Weasley brothers store, drink butter beer, eat the strange candies, visit the Gryffindor common room, Hagrid’s hut, and the Great Hall.

I would NOT want to be stuck in the Illuminae world!! Let me tell you, I have the worst luck in the world! A sickness and a company coming in and taking over the population of ships….. my chances wouldn’t be good! I’m strong and feisty, but my rotten luck would ensure that I wouldn’t last long.

Kyera @ Kyera’s Library asked: If you could have one magical or superpower, what would it be?

So I was just talking to another blogger about this the other day! My super power would be the ability to pause time. If I could do that, I could get everything done in a day! All of my blogging duties, house cleaning, and READING! I could probably finish entire books in one day if I could do that! Then I would have lots of extra time to play with my kids!! Either that or the ability to speed read. Either one ends up with me reading a lot with no guilt!

Iamdes @ De’s Random Thoughts asked: what genre you haven’t read yet but wouldn’t mind trying?

I think I’ve read pretty much every genre. I’m not really stuck to any specific genre. One that I don’t read much of though is horror and thriller. I love horror movies!!! But I have had back luck picking out horror books that I actually like. So I plan to give this one a shot really soon!

Marie @ Drizzle and Hurricane Books asked: Part one – If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be?

This is such a tough question!! Ireland for one. This is where my family originated and we have quite a few (distant) family members that I would like to meet. Not to mention it’s absolutely gorgeous! Another place would be The Galapagos Islands. The wildlife there is so amazing! Fiji is another one – I just want to sit on a beach or a hut in the middle of the ocean!

Part two – What is one trope you love and one trope you hate in books?

The love triangle!! Hands down hate it! I get that feelings are confusing but why?! I’m so over this!

Part three – What made you want to start blogging and what motivates you to keep going?

I started blogging because when I was in my early 20’s I didn’t know what to read. I figured it was time to move away from YA because I was no longer in the age range, but I really had no clue where to start with adult books. So I basically just stopped reading. It was awful! It wasn’t until I found You Tube videos and book blogs that I found so many new books. I relied on reviews to help me decide if the books I was choosing would be something I would be interested in. Those reviews changed my reading life (and amped it up about a million fold!) and it was my goal with the blog to help just one person find a read they were going to love. I’ve had so many people tell me they picked up a book because of my review and that’s what keeps me going 🙂

Anushka @ Going Through Books asked: Which book would you suggest a non reader to start with?

HHHmmmm this one was harder than I thought! I would first have to choose something that was shorter. If I threw a 500 page book at a non reader they would throw it right back! I would also need to consider their personality and interests. So maybe for a science fiction lover I would choose Ready Player One or The Martian. For a contemporary book I would choose I’ll Give You The Sun or The Sun is Also a Star. For a fantasy book I would choose Cinder. And for a history lover I would choose Between Shades of Grey.

Sydney @ Fire and Rain Books asked: What is a guilty pleasure book of yours (if you have one) aka a book that you recognize may not be great but still love anyway?

The Calendar Girl series by Audrey Carlan!! It’s an erotic romance series that I fell head over heels in love with! I didn’t expect that the story would be so in depth and well written. I expected just the erotic part. But the story and the characters are just so wonderful!!

Nicki @ The Secret Library asked: What book gave you the reading bug?

This one was REALLY hard! I’ve been an avid reader since I was about 3-4 years old. If it was a book, I would find a way to devour it! But I would have to say that the Fear Street books by R.L. Stine would be the one I would choose. I loved the Goosebumps books, but these I’ve read each and every one and multiple times! They were always small so I carried them with me everywhere!

Paige @ Turn the Paige asked: If you could only eat one brand of cereal for the rest of your life what would it be?

Love the food questions! I would have to say Sugar Crisp or Fruit Loops! When I was a kid I would have said Count Chocula but now the texture of the marshmallows just makes my skin crawl! Not to mention it’s no longer sold in Canada – BOOO

Anna @ My Bookish Dream asked:  Which side character would you love to see get their own book?

This one is so easy for me! I would have to say Lysandra from the Throne of Glass series! At first she was awful and then everything changed. We found out who she was and the lengths that she would go to to protect herself and those she loves. She is ruthless, brutally honest, and just flat out amazing!!! Watching her character grow was so interesting and I wish we had something dedicated just to her!

So those are the answers to your FANTASTIC questions!!! This was so much fun to do. Thanks to everyone who sent me their questions 🙂

Until next time, happy reading!!