Book Tag: Meet the Blogger

I’ve been blogging for coming on to four years now, so it’s probably time I did this tag! Thanks to Mani for tagging me!

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Rules:

• Answer the questions from the original tag
• Tag the original creator (Bibliomavens) and the blogger who tagged you (Mani’s Book Corner)
• Tag up to 10 other bloggers

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Who is your all-time favourite Book Character?

Oh, I have no idea. I read so much that it’s hard to single one out – it will usually be whoever I’ve read recently and loved. Books and their characters who’ve stuck in my heart since childhood include:

• Nya, from THE PAIN MERCHANTSBook Review: THE PAIN MERCHANTS by Janice Hardy
• Artemis Fowl, from ARTEMIS FOWL
• The Famous Five, from THE FAMOUS FIVE

If you were stranded on a desert island, which book would you take? (Excluding survival books)

This is surprisingly easy: THE CROWN OF EMBERS, by Rae Carson. It’s probably my favourite book and I have read it more times than I can count (my copy is falling apart – I have managed to separate the paper cover from the plastic film that was fused onto it during production.)

And I know I can re-read this book a lot. I went on a Spanish exchange once, and it rained the whole week. The family either watched US daytime TV dubbed in Spanish, or read their own books. I hadn’t brought much with me, so I read this book cover to cover so many times.

What’s your most unpopular book opinion?

Either that a lot of books aren’t worth the hype, or that romances in SFF often contain really toxic elements (any love interest compared to any SJM character or most of the “darker” upper YA, like Jacks in Caraval, are immediate red flags for me.) Also, “dark” fantasy is rarely actually dark – it’s more like an aesthetic with moody characters than actually exploring dark themes.

What’s your weirdest bookish habit?

Hahaha, so here’s the thing – I don’t think my habits are weird. They’re normal to me, and I started them for logical reasons. My books are separated by size (to better fit on shelves because if you live in Central London, you want to maximise space, plus it looks nicer) and then it’s alphabetical by author (and order in which I read their books) within that. Because that’s easier to find. If a book is unread, it’s shelved with the spine into the bookcase and pages sticking out, so I can tell easily what’s read and not (and yes, I can easily tell you which book it is because of the alphabetical order.)

What character would you bring to a family event as your fake partner?

None! Honestly, it would spark too many questions about why someone was with me. My family don’t care or expect me to have someone with me at an event – also, I’m in a small, very close family, so it would probably be very traumatic for the character to suddenly get bombarded by all these questions and interest. If you end up at a family event, you will be the new person there, and everyone will want to know everything about you (and also why you were considered important enough to come!)

What made you decide to start a book blog?

I had just spent a year in Nepal as a volunteer in an International School. There isn’t much access to books out there – both in Nepali and English as I was told there wasn’t much of a reading culture by the local staff. The school library, therefore, acted as THE library for the entire expat community around it and mostly got new stock when new teachers arrived (or returned from their several-month-long home break) and had been asked to bring back stock ordered from the US, UK, AUS, NZ.

As someone who was used to constantly reading and being able to access new books, it was a weird year, re-reading again and again the few books I’d taken out with me and re-reading a few series from the library (there was a bit of YA and adult in the library, but not much.) I got back and wanted a place to talk about reading after a year where I couldn’t really (as there were few people my age or with my taste in books.)

What do you love the most about books and reading?

Being able to escape and imagine and see new worlds.

What is your field of study/desired profession/current profession?

I am in my final year of an Integrated MSci (Bachelors and Masters combined) in Natural Sciences. I started off studying Physics, Chemistry, and Maths, and I have specialised into Physics, focusing on Nuclear Physics. I am intending to start a PhD next year in Nuclear Physics (with a decommissioning focus), and ideally stay in academic for my career.

What are some book recommendations that became your favourites/obsessions?

I was given THE INVISIBLE LIBRARY, by Genevieve Cogman, for my birthday last year by the friend I trust the most for book recommendations. My birthday is just after Christmas, and then the UK went into a third lockdown, and this is what I read at the very start of that lockdown.

Within about an hour of opening the book, I’d ordered the other six books currently in the series (final book out this December!) They arrived within the week, and by the end of the next week, I’d read the lot. And that is one of the many reasons I trust this friend over anyone else to know what sort of books to recommend me.

What is the book you shove down everyone’s throat?

So this one does vary a bit by when I’m recommending and who I’m recommending to (age range, taste in books, etc.) However, at the moment, the book I’m recommending the most (and across age ranges) is THE HIGHLAND FALCON THIEF, by M. G. Leonard and Sam Sedgman. Well, I’m really recommending the entire series each time.

It’s the first in the Adventures on Trains series, which are mysteries (theft, murder, kidnap, etc) that take place on trains. Hal and his uncle Nat are on holiday and then end up invariably drawn into a mystery. It’s also gorgeously illustrated throughout, which plays into the story so well.

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Tag others

This tag allows for up to 10 other tags in its rules. I have to say, the process of tagging people always fills me with some nervousness and panic, which is why I don’t tag specific people. Instead, I am just going to throw it open to a “if you want to do this, consider yourself tagged.” I know some people find this weird and “lazy” and “against the spirit of tags,” but it’s honestly the least anxiety inducing way for me.