The Liebster Award — Takes 4 & 5!

Hello everyone, and welcome back! Happy November everyone! At this point, I’m just going to have to resign myself to the fact that I’m going to be posting very irregularly until I get my life together. I know I haven’t even posted an October wrap-up yet… and I’ve decided that I should continue procrastinating while I’m at it 😅🤷‍♀️ So be on the lookout for a combined October-November wrap at the end of this month! 

Instead, I thought it was about time I started catching up on the million tags I’m behind on! Thank you so much to Nefeli @ BiblioNebula and Becky @ Dusts of Magic for nominating me for the Liebster Award 🥰 For all of you who are reading this, go check both of their blogs out and give them some love — they’re both amazing people! I can’t wait to start answering their wonderful questions!

Also, as you’ve all no doubt heard by this point, a lot’s happened around the world during the week or so I last posted, especially in the US. I’m very purposefully going to avoid talking about *waves hand* everything (I only like politics when it’s fictional), but I do hope you’ve been staying safe, physically and emotionally — remember to “pour out all your worries and stress upon [H]im and leave them there, for [H]e always tenderly cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7 TPT) ❤️

And without further ado, let’s get started!!

The Rules

1. Say thank you to the person who has nominated you for the Award.
2. Answer the 11 questions the person has asked you.
3. Nominate 11 people.
4. Ask the people you have nominated 11 questions.

The meaning of the Liebster Award: “The Liebster Award is an award that exists only on the internet and is given to bloggers by other bloggers. The earliest case of the award goes as far back as 2011. Liebster in German means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome.”

Nefeli’s Questions

If you were to write a book, what would it be about?

Ooh, great question! I’ve actually had a couple of ideas for books during this pandemic, which is spectacular, as I haven’t been writing for fun in years. The current idea that’s taken center stage in my mind is about a main character reeling in the wake of a loved one’s death who rediscovers his love for books during a city-wide plague. I wonder where that last part came from 🤔

If you could give every person on earth the same book to read, which book would you choose?

The Bible. I call myself a bookworm, but when it comes down to this question, I can’t go with anything other than the Word of God Himself.

What’s the best first line you’ve read in a book?

I have no doubt I’ve read some fantastic first lines, but unfortunately, I can’t remember any of them… so I’ll just go with the first line of one of my recent reads:

I have a fatal flaw. 

Beach Read, Emily Henry

What’s your favourite book to screen adaptation?

Ahhh I admit I haven’t seen all that many book adaptations — but The Hate U Give was amazing. I loved every part of it, even the choices that the director made to cut or add some parts (which usually annoys me to the moon and back). It was a perfect adaptation of Angie Thomas’s original novel, and also a film that’s incredibly important for this day and age. (TW: police brutality, gun violence, death of a loved one (friend), racism, racial profiling, domestic violence, arson)

What fictional world would you like to live in?

I would love to live on the Street from The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep! Seriously, imagine befriending not one, not two, but five versions of Mr. Darcy?!

Tell me your favourite book from your country/in your native language.

From… America? Or from South Korea? *cue second-generation immigrant existential crisis* 😅

Hey, we can compromise! The Silence of Bones by June Hur is one of my favorites from this year, it was published in the US of A, and it’s set in Korea! Perfect!

Which author would you choose to write your biography?

Markus Zusak! He managed to make me invested in the most mundane details of Himmel Street in The Book Thief, so I think I can count on him to write my pretty uninteresting life into a beautiful biography.

Where do you find inspiration for your posts?

Pretty much everywhere? I think about books a lot, so whenever I go about my daily life, my mind almost immediately connects random things to my favorite fictional worlds, and ta-da, there comes another post idea.

Make a list of five of your favourite songs that you would like everyone to listen to.

Ahhhhh what is this. Five? Five?! Five?!?!?!

• “So Will I (100 Billion X)” by Hillsong UNITED — One of my favorite worship songs!!
• “The Schuyler Sisters” from Hamilton — We don’t talk about what I had to do to narrow 46 tracks of perfection down to one. Just know that it cost me.
• “The Starry Night” from Starry — Perfect for a crash course in how gorgeous musical theatre can be.
• “Promises” from Hadestown — Why does this have to be so sad and beautiful and happy at the same time?
• “Will Power” from Something Rotten! — Face it, we all need something like this in our lives right now.

Have you ever read a book that filled you with rage? Rant about it!

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell. I haven’t technically read the book, but I’ve read snippets, and honestly, that’s enough for me. The way that Park, a biracial Korean-American, is portrayed just… rubs me the wrong way. I could go on, but Lynn’s discussion post really puts it into perspective; I highly suggest you check it out. I don’t mean to attack anybody who enjoyed this book — it’s okay for people to like problematic books! As long as you realize and understand why it might be hurtful to other people.

Have you ever read a book that filled you with happiness? Rave about it!

Perfect change in tone! I’ll go with Winter by Marissa Meyer, Book 4 in the Lunar Chronicles. This was just the perfect finale. All of my OTPs were fulfilled, and if that doesn’t count as something that made me happy, I don’t know what does. This is the last book in a series, so I’ll be putting my full raving into the drop-down in case of spoilers, although I’m not going to talking about any major plot points. But just in case.

Some of my favorite moments from Winter!

• “It was unnerving, to think she was being psychoanalyzed by someone who frequently complained that the castle walls had started bleeding again.” AHAHAHAHAH
• “‘It’s just like the one Scarlet had.’ He flipped the gun in his palms, running his thumbs along the barrel. ‘She shot me in the arm once.’ This confession was said with as much tenderness as if Scarlet had given him a bouquet of wildflowers rather than a bullet wound.” PROTECT WOLF
• “‘Wait,’ said Winter as Scarlet nudged the podship forward. Scarlet’s heart dropped. ‘What?’ she said, scanning the part for a thaumaturge, a guard, a threat. Winter reached over and pulled the pilot’s harness over Scarlet’s head. ‘Safety first, Scarlet-friend. We are fragile things.’” True though 😂
• “‘Help me. Fight for me. And I will be the first ruler in the history of Luna who will also fight for you.’” YOU GOOO CINDER
• “‘We’re going to overthrow Levana, and by the stars above, we are going to make Cinder a queen so she can pay us a lot of money from her royal coffers and we can all retire very rich and very alive, got it?’ Winter started to clap. ‘Brilliant speech. Such gumption and bravado.’ ‘And yet strangely lacking in any sort of actual strategy,’ said Scarlet.” 
• “Throne scoffed. ‘Careful is my middle name. Right after Suave and Daring.’ ‘Do you even know what you’re saying half the time?’ asked Cinder.”
• “And they all lived happily to the end of their days.” 😍😍
• And also that one moment when Scarlet and Wolf are reunited during the final showdown and Wolf is like “I’m so sick of the taste of blood” (PROTECT HIM) and Scarlet’s like “well good you’re going to have to adjust to being vegetarian when I take you home to France” and Wolf’s like “you still want me?” and Scarlet’s like “why would I have changed my mind” and I’m like WAAHHHHHHH 😭💖
• SCARLET AND WOLF HAVE MY WHOLE HEART CAN YOU TELL
• I REALLY NEED A REREAD AT THIS POINT

Becky’s Questions

Was there any book that you loved so much but hated it at the same time?

All for One by Melissa de la Cruz. The final installment in the Alex & Eliza trilogy was delightfully, terrifyingly angsty, and I loved/hated every second of it. When I first started this series, I was in the deepest throes of my Hamilphase and by that point I would have read a cookbook if it had the word “Hamilton” in the title. But by the time I reached All for One, I was a bit tired of the author’s historically inaccurate narrative decisions, and how she chose to completely disregard the entire Reynolds Pamphlet incident was the final straw. But I also loved how she portrayed Maria Reynolds — and all that romantic angst was just… 😚

So yeah, mixed feelings.

Which character annoyed you so much in a book?

Oh goodness Maxim and Emira Maresh from the Shades of Magic trilogy. Everyone seems to be in love with Kell’s adoptive parents, and meanwhile here I am fuming over how they treated him in A Gathering of Shadows. They annoyed me so much, even in the last book, which everyone seems to agree is their redemption arc?? Like, no?? They were abusive and treated Kell disgustingly and ugh. Still not over that.

Tell us a bookish fact about yourself!

This is just an excuse for a quick reading update, but I started Six of Crows yesterday! And I am FREAKING OUT, FOLKS — FREAKING OUT, I TELL YOU. I simultaneously feel like slapping and hugging Kaz Brekker (he’d probably do something brutal to me either way). I want Matthias and Nina to GET TOGETHER ALREADY. I want to sit Inej and Jesper and Wylan and the rest of them down on the couch and feed them all some hot chocolate.

Translation: FIVE STARS INCOMINGGGG.

Have you ever got your book signed?

Sadly, no… 😢

If you could ask your favourite author one question, what would it be?

I’d ask Sabaa Tahir, author of the Ember Quartet, one of my all-time favorite YA fantasy series: On a scale from 1 to 10, how destroyed am I going to be when I finally get to read A Sky Beyond the Storm? 

Cancel that. We all know it’s going to be a 10. My real question: On a scale from 1 to 10, how well is my OTP going to work out?

(Don’t you dare say 1. Don’t you dare.)

Which genre do you always read?

Fantasy!! SFF and historical fiction are my top genres, but I’ve found that fantasy is the one I can always count on to make me happy.

What book do you think is better than the Harry Potter series itself? (be honest here)

So… I finally read the Harry Potter series three years ago after a lifetime of terror over movie Voldemort’s face. And I have to say, I enjoyed myself immensely, but it isn’t really the end-all be-all of fantasy for me? Don’t kill me? 😂

But anyway, for this question, I’ll just go with one of my (many) favorite books that I don’t talk about as much — A List of Cages by Robin Roe. It’s a truly beautiful book that deals with some very hard content matter (TW: extreme child abuse) but is written in such a touching way. If you’re comfortable reading about the topic, I highly recommend reading it.

Any recommendations?

You asked for it 😉

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• Contemporary
  • All American Boys by Jason Reynolds & Brendan Kiely (TW)
  • Bel Canto by Ann Patchett (TW: gun violence, death)
  • Far from the Tree by Robin Benway (TW)
• Romance
  • Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer (TW: suicide, alcoholism)
  • Sick Kids in Love by Hannah Moskowitz (TW)
  • Tweet Cute by Emma Lord (TW: cyberbullying)
• Historical Fiction
  • Feast of Sorrow by Crystal King (TW: slavery, physical abuse, murder, rape, suicide, death of a loved one)
  • The Silence of Bones by June Hur (TW)
  • Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson (TW: slavery, branding, violence, fire)
• Fantasy
  • The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep by H. G. Parry (TW: bullying, violence, death)
  • An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir (TW)
  • A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer (TW)
• Science Fiction
  • Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray (TW: gun violence, violence)
  • Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff (TW)
  • Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes (TW)
• Middle Grade
  • The Candymakers by Wendy Mass
  • I Lived on Butterfly Hill by Marjorie Agosín & E. M. O’Connor (translator) (TW: dictatorship, family disappearances)

Whew. You’re welcome.

If you were able to do anything with your favourite book character, what would it be? 

Imagine being able to choose a favorite book character? Can’t relate 🤷‍♀️😅

I would, however, like to feed Holland Vosijk some cake. Goodness knows he deserves it.

Tell us your whole day plan!

1. I wake up at 7:30 & get ready for (online) school. I like to get some Bible reading done during this time.
2. Then I proceed to spend approximately a million hours doing school stuff, with breaks to jam along to one of my Spotify Daily Mixes.
3. And oh don’t forget I need to eat lunch. I can’t go without my three meals a day 😂
4. I try to squeeze in some reading during my free periods, but it’s usually relegated to the end of the day right before dinner. If I even do get to pick up a book that day 😞
5. After dinner, I usually go on a walk around the neighborhood with my family if it isn’t raining.
6. I spend some time with my family before we all head to bed, usually around 11:30 or midnight. 
7. The end. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Which top 3 blogs do you love? Why?

Ahhhh I’m in love with every blog I follow, so this question was horribly hard to answer. Even if I don’t mention you here, know in your heart that I was thinking of every single one of you when I wrote up this draft!

• Rachel @ Joyful Creations is a gift. Her blog for Christian teenage girls has been so helpful for me — I feel so understood when I read her posts, knowing that there are people out there who are experiencing the same doubts, fears, and questions about God as I am. I particularly loved her post about whether or not Christians should listen to secular music; it helped me cut down the tracks from my own favorite playlists that I knew would do me more harm than good.
• Kat @ Novels and Waffles has a fantastic blog, and is somehow an even more fantastic human being?? Seriously, I love her blogging voice so much and the notification I get whenever she posts something new always puts a smile on my face. Also her aesthetic is gorgeous. Her discussion post about why she always reads a book’s dedication is one of my absolute favorites ever — I’m one of those people who reads every book literally from cover to cover (I even read the copyright page), so you can’t imagine how amazed I was to find someone else who also pored obsessively over the dedication.
• Naemi @ A Book Owl’s Corner is a genius. I am absolutely obsessed with everything she writes. Her posts are always filled to the brim with personality, and she also has the coolest ideas. And she managed to post consistently while taking some seriously intimidating-looking exams… how exactly is beyond me… 😅 In the latest example of her brilliance, Naemi’s post last week was a spectacular demonstration of what not to do in your NaNoWriMo project to draw in all the fans. 

Give us a character who would be loved by anyone (books, movies, tv series, etc.)

Is it humanly possible to not have had a crush on Gilbert Blythe at some point in your life?? Gilbert was my first fictional love and I’ll never be over how sweet he is. And the yearning in Anne of the Island was amazinggggg — even my elementary school self agrees 😂

That’s it for today everyone! Thanks for sticking around if you made it to the end of this ridiculously long post. Thanks again to Nefeli and Becky for the nomination and the fantastic questions!!

How about you? What’s a book that makes you happy? What fictional world would you like to live in? Chat with me in the comments!

And for those of you who have already read and suffered through Six of Crows: tell me it gets better for all of these broken darlings? 🥺

God bless, everyone!