The Liebster Awards

So this is new- I was nominated for the Liebster Award by Tom Goodyear, friend and fellow blogger [check out his blog-here]. The Award is designed to connect blogs and I for one am all for it! It's very simple really, Tom has sent me a series of questions made by BethanMayBooks, which I am supposed to answer and then pass on some of my own questions to other bloggers (which I will link to at the bottom). For more information about the award check their website here, but without further ado, onto the q'n'a.

1 – Our society has been overrun by a totalitarianism dictatorship; knowledge is power, so any sources of knowledge are illegal and actively destroyed. Including books. It is thirteen minutes past two in the morning and your door is being hammered in by a battering ram. They’re here. They of know your collection. But they do not know of your escape tunnel in the cellar. You grab one book. What is it?

Tough one, 'cause I have my favourites like Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Jane Eyre and High Rise. But, I think I will have to go with Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 as not only one of my all-time favourites but as a reminder of why I'm fighting, and hopefully to be able to use it to bring people towards the cause. 

2 – Speaking of terrifying dystopias, which one keeps you up at night? (Not figuratively, just, which do you believe is the most scary)

Surprisingly, I think it's Torchwood's Miracle Day- where for some reason everyone stops dying, however, injuries and pain remain. Mostly because it seems so innocent at first, as the title suggests a Miracle, nobody will ever die. What keeps me up at night though is all the complications that arise that truly make it a dystopia. 

3 – You’ve had a hellish morning in work and you’re grateful to escape to the staff room/kitchen/canteen etc for lunch. Martha from three desks over is there, engrossed in a new book; the cover has a man’s naked torso on it so you keep walking (because for argument’s sake you’re like me and not a fan of romance/erotica etc). Phyllis is making a cuppa with her nose stuck in a book, but on closer examination, it’s the same one Martha’s reading. You sit at the table across from Susan and Suzanne and they’re poring over the same book, Sue eagerly assuaging Sue that she can borrow it after her because it’s so good.

Except, it isn’t. It’s domestic violence masquerading as risque S & M. Even your bloody mother has read it.

So what book do you despise that everyone else loves?

Ok, so I have a few. I am notorious for having very strong opinions on books. I avoided altogether such a series as is described here. But my guilty hates are Cormac McCarthy's 'the Road' and Jean Rhys 'Wide Sargasso Sea'. And before people rip into me, let me explain a little why. For 'the Road' its simple, some of the events were way to coincidental, and being raised on apocalypse 'what ifs' by my dad, parts of it are too inaccurate as to what would happen in real life. 'Wide Sargasso Sea' is a little more complex, I love Jane Eyre and fully support a prequel written on Bertha Mason, Rochester's first wife. However, I expected this book to explore mental health and race more deeply than it did. I found Antoinette hateable, her only aspirations were to marry and her portrayal of mental health was confusing, leaving me with no sympathy for the character. On the other hand, it was supposed to make me hate Rochester it had the reverse effect- after the date rape he suffers (which nobody else seems to pick up on), he still tries to care for a character than I would've happily abandoned in his situation. Sorry, rant over.

4 – Speaking of unappealing, cliched book covers; what kind of cover to you find yourself instantly judging?

The cliched romantics, with a woman in a flowing dress in the arms of strong, muscular man. Need I say more?

5 – Despite the towering odds stacked against you, the gargantuan spider guarding the entrance, the most spirited attempts of that group of flesh eating cultists you stumbled across, and your debilitating fear of the dark; you have made it to the deepest part of the temple where it is rumoured Telmarric the Oathslinger’s magic crystal is hiding. You face an enormous bronze door featuring an inspiring pattern of faces stretched into the most hideous and gruesome visages. As you approach, the ground beneath your feet begins to shake. It begins to crack. You grasp the arm of your companion to stop yourself slipping into the widening abyss at your feet.

What fictional character is your companion?

Ooh so many choices, I've just started playing Dragon Age so I'm tempted to say either Alister or Morrigan. But I'm also bad at Dragon Age and they keep dying on me. Keeping within the dungeoning theme I think it would have to be Magnus (The Adventure Zone) or Vex'ahlia or Mollymook (Critical Role). They are my big Dungeons and Dragons obsessions right now. TAZ is a podcast by the McElory Brothers and is just great fun (although I've heard it gets really heartfelt later on), while Critical Role is a stream/podcast by recognisable voice actors and is such an immersive journey.

6 – Speaking of dungeon crawling, what would be the one thing to stop you in your tracks, turn your knees to jelly and send you packing?

As much as I pretend to be all big and touch and up for adventures, pretty much anything would stop me really. Spiders probably foremost, or just sheer claustrophobia.

7 – It’s the morning commute. It’s seven o pissing clock in the morning and here you are on a bus/train, surrounded by strangers, but you’re miles away. You cannot put this book down, you were up until somewhere gone one and woke up shortly after to your alarm screaming at you and the book on your face. You’ve fallen hard. You’re invested. And you’ve just read a line that’s knocked you for six. That lump is in your throat and your eyes are tickling and your nose is betraying you but there are people looking at you.

What line was your downfall?

Oh see this is not good for me. I cry at even suggestions of emotions. So pinpointing one exact line would be impossible. But knowing me, it would probably be one of the more reassuring line like 'it's going to be ok'.

8 – Speaking of public transport, if there was any way you could travel, any method from a work of fiction or otherwise, what would it be?

Sometimes I wish that it was still acceptable to ride a horse to work but then again not exactly practical. Teleportation is on my top list of wanted superpowers but the idea of scientific teleportation kinda freaks me out a little. The idea that your molecules may not be assembled back the same way is always at the back of my mind. But a personal TARDIS would be awesome- and I'll never be late again.  

9 – You’re scrolling through Twitter in a daze; you’ve had a long afternoon of [difficult work activity] and you just need to veg out. You’ve replied to four tweets with adorable cat gifs, tagged three celebrities in tweets fanpersoning over their shows, and retweeted eight furious tweets supporting a cause you will gladly die on a hill for; when your eye is caught by a sponsored tweet. IS TIME TRAVEL POSSIBLE? I believe it is and I believe I have the means. Test subjects required. No time wasters.

To what time period would you travel and why?

I would plan the perfect heist to steal all the books from the Library at Alexandria before it was sacked and bring it to the present. That way I'm not changing history dramatically, but I ensure that the knowledge isn't lost forever.

10 – Speaking of hideous cliches, which is your least forgivable?

I think this goes back to the Road, someone doing something just on a hunch or just cause and hitting the payload. Life isn't that kind.


Phew! So many good questions, not sure I'm going to match them. However, I will try and I will nominate-

Vicky- Vicky Lord Review

Domi - The Very Soul of Wit

Now here are my questions

1. You are only allowed to read one genre for the rest of your life- What is it?

2. If you were a travel writer- which fictional place would be your number 1 destination?

3. New Virtual Reality lets you live any book, which one would you choose to try first?

4. You have been charged by the city to create the ultimate superhero team. You are allowed up to 5 members both fictional and real. Who is in your team?

5. If you were a character in a book, what do you think your main obstacle would be?

6. Similarly, if you are a character in a book, who are you? The Hero, The Villian, The Sidekick, The Love Interest, The Comic Relief or just a Bystander?

7. Which book/film/tv series, if any, is guaranteed to make you cry?

8. You have the power to uncover one mystery from the past. e.g. solve an unsolved murder, or can uncover a lost artefact that explains something important. What do you solve?

9. If you have any creature (real or fiction) as a pet, what would you have? And what name would you give them?

10. I loved Bethan's questions so much, pick your favourite from the ones I answered and answer it yourself.

I can't wait to see what you guys come up with.