fairy skeletons.: Liebster Award the Second

Woohoo! Out of my blogging slump! So sorry for that unintended hiatus, but I'm back.

Oh my goodness - thanks to the lovely Adelyn Belsterling (doesn't she have a fabulous name?), I've been given another Liebster Award, and yet another excuse to tell everyone more about myself!

However, this is a slightly different version of the award, which involves modified rules:

• Post eleven facts about yourself.
• Answer the eleven questions provided by the person who nominated you and then create an eleven-question set for the next group of nominees.
• Choose eleven people to nominate and link them in the post.
• Let your nominees know they've been tagged - and no tag-backs!

I love the Liebster Award because it's a great way for us smaller bloggers to build community, and without further ado, I'll be building some community of my own by answering Adelyn's questions!

1. Who was your first book crush?

Oh, dang. That's hard. My first? Well, I've had too many to number, so let's see. I only really started having genuine book crushes when I started reading young adult literature just a couple years ago. The first books I had genuine fangirl attacks over were the Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare. So I suppose my first actual book crush was Will Herondale. However, before the fangirl era (which has stretched on into the present, by the way), I read Pride and Prejudice, which of course meant that I was unknowingly crushing REALLY HARD on Mr. Darcy. So I'll say Mr. Darcy as well, because who wouldn't?

2. If you could be any fictional character, who would you be?

This is quite possibly even harder. Elizabeth Bennet, though, probably - because her story has one of the happiest endings ever. She gets Mr. Darcy (+ escape from Mr. Collins), Pemberley, financial security for herself, financial security for her family, and a happily married Jane. It's kind of difficult to not want to be her.

3. If you could live in any fictional universe which would you choose?

The country of Herran, in The Winner's Curse, before the Valorian conquest. (Not a spoiler, don't worry.) It sounds like such an educated, enlightened, artistic country with a very rich culture - a place I would love to live in, intellectual and creative in equal measures. (Since it's based on Ancient Greece and all, woohoo ~) But really, the descriptions of Herran in The Winner's Curse make me ache to go there and be a part of that civilization.

4. Which author would you let take control of your life?

I was going to say Maggie Stiefvater, but then I reflected that this might not be the best idea. (Although she might turn me into Puck Connolly, which would be beyond amazing, she might also turn me into Joseph Kavinsky. Or *shudders* his girlfriend. If you're not sure what I'm talking about, read this book and this series, respectively. You may or may not regret it - feels warning in advance.) So I guess I'll say Kimberly Karalius instead. I know, I know - Kim is one of the other lovely people nominated by Adelyn in her original Liebster post, and not a traditionally published author (though I'm confident she will be soon!). And I might not be totally objective about this, since Kimberly is one of my Figment friends/acquaintances/general brilliant people who are supportive of me despite their obvious brilliance. But honestly, I'd love to think about how much magic my life would suddenly contain if it were one of Kim's stories. I could defy love fortunes, tell stories with flour, and even get a host of bees to do my bidding. (CLICK THE LINKS. GO.) Best of all, I would be the true heroine of my own fairy tale - complete with, no lie, a ship-worthy ship. *squee*

5. Which book has had the most impact on your life?

Though it's not one of my favorites in and of itself, Swordbird by Nancy Yi Fan has really affected my life because it was the first book I read by a young author (twelve years old HOW) and it got me thinking about writing. I figured that if she could do it, there was no reason I couldn't, and this is what helped me develop my interest and eventual passion for building stories as well as reading them. Although this push into writing may have contributed to what seems like my mental instability, too.

Yeah, we'll just gloss over all of that.

6. What was the last place you traveled to?

In terms of, you know, actually far from home, that would be New York City, New York. I went for the National Awards Ceremony of the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards (remember when I screamed about that?), so that I could receive my gold medal and silver medal. And oh. OH. OH. It was glorious. We went to see Wicked where I nearly cried of happy/sad feelings, to the New York Public Library where there was an amazing children's lit exhibit that had me mesmerized while the entire rest of my family seemed mildly bored, to a brunch place that served the most perfect slices of toast I've ever seen, to the Empire State Building because duh, and so many other places. Not to mention - CARNEGIE. FLIPPING. HALL. That had to be emphasized. I have no shame. That building, the emotions and high ceilings that have built it, it's all a work of art. Just thinking of it makes my heart swell with joy.

7. Which fictional character would you want to be stranded on an island with?

Definitely Elisa from the Fire and Thorns trilogy. She's resourceful, powerful, and totally kick-butt - plus maybe we could have a heart-to-heart talk while we're stranded. Elisa is just so good at life that I would love to get her opinion on things. And her intelligence would ensure that we got off the island once we were done.

I'm hoping we could become, like, best friends Hopefully we'd enjoy each other's company, you know? And I admire her so much as a ruler and person. I might just spend the first few minutes squealing, who knows.

Probably my most likely reaction, actually.

(I would've said Haku from the Ghibli film Spirited Away, but he doesn't talk much. I'd probably drive myself insane.)

8. Which book is your favorite guilty pleasure?

I'm pretty assertive about almost all of the books I read, so I guess there aren't any books I'm genuinely "guilty" about. However, if I had to choose one series, it would be the Shadowhunter Chronicles by Cassandra Clare - split up into the Mortal Instruments and Infernal Devices, of course. I sometimes get criticized for loving these so much because of their occasionally overt drama and their kissing scenes. (Those are so steamy it makes me a tiny bit uncomfortable, to be honest.) But I think they have genuine merit, and besides, I will fight to the death for the Herondales. So. (But please no City of Heavenly Fire spoilers! I haven't read that one yet!)

9. What book made you fall in love with reading?

Probably one of the more clichéd, light middle grade series I started in first grade, the kinds that never seem to end. I distinctly remember loving the Junie B. Jones series and the Magic Tree House series, though now I can't possibly fathom what I saw in them. I do owe those books my gratitude all the same, because without them, I wouldn't have made the leap to the wide, wonderful world of YA literature and classics that I love so much today.

10. If you could have any superpower, what would you choose?

Hands down, I would choose to have a photographic memory. Yes, this would be extremely painful because I wouldn't be able to forget traumatic sights and the like, but I could a) ace all my tests, b) throw exact literary quotes at people whenever I feel like it, c) REREAD BOOKS IN MY HEAD WHAT, and d) identify criminals accurately if I ever witness one. (Well, that got dark.)

11. What is the best book you have read this year?

Oh, that's excruciating. There's The Archived, The Winner's Curse, and The Scorpio Races, which I think were the big YA stunners for me so far. But keep up with me at my collaborative book blog, Literoses, where I'll be covering other great and not-so-great books!

Oh, and now eleven random facts pertaining to yours truly!

• I'm that one terrible person who never roots for the USA in any international sports events. Things like the Olympics, the World Cup (ahem)... I'm never cheering for America. What is this patriotism you speak of?
• I hate tomatoes but like salsa. Go on, judge me.
• I once ate raspberry and cucumber sorbet. It was awesome beyond belief.
• I have no idea why I'm talking so much about food, so I'll do a completely unrelated one: I watch two animes, Fairy Tail and Kuroko no Basuke. You are welcome to speak with me about either of these. Because I love them both.
• On a side note, the only team sports I actually like watching are soccer/football and basketball.
• But my favorite sport to watch is figure skating. (Sorry, but duh.)
• I'm a second-degree black belt in taekwondo. But I probably can't beat you or anyone else up, because...
• I'm short.
• I also have terrible reflexes.
• I have terrible eyesight to boot. My glasses actually make people feel sick when they try them on.
• I won a state-level spelling bee once. (Yeah, really.)

My nominations are:

• Ryanne (We spoke on Figment recently and you're so kind that I couldn't not include you.)
• Willa (I read your posts and Lit Up Review and just recently started following your personal blog. You're a great blogger.)
• Paola (I adore your thoughtfully written posts, your photography, your Tumblr, and your gorgeous voice! So basically a lot of things about you. Hopefully that doesn't sound as odd as I think it might.)
• Bethan (I only started following your blog recently, but I love the effort you put into posting and being nice to all of your readers.)
• Rose (Um, obviously. Your blog design is pages upon pages of pure genius, and your posts are always very thought-provoking.)
• Kristianna (You're one of the most hilarious bloggers I know, in the most positive way. Your gaming series had me cracking up so hard I was in tears.)
• Emily (I love meeting fellow teen writers, plus your blog is procrastination-inducing thoroughly entertaining. Congratulations on your awesomeness.)
• Mackenzie (So much beauty is contained in your wonderful blog, seriously. Plus I love your infectious positivity and creativity.)
• Kate (Another teen writer like me! I really admire how personable and involved you are on your blog and around the Internet.)
• Kara (Yet another teen writer! I just found your blog and Wattpad account, and your blog posts are so well-written and engaging. I have yet to really get into one of your Wattpad stories, but I hope to do so soon!
• Temple (I know, technically an author so it's a little odd of me, but I so wanted to nominate you! I've seen you around on YouTube and Goodreads and just started reading the blog, but I think you're super cool and can't wait to read Velvet.)

Also, there were some people on Adelyn's list that I would love to nominate but didn't in the interest of spreading the Liebster love as far as possible. So here's a short shoutout to AnQi, Cassie, and Kim.

Oh, and the nominees' questions:

1. What's your favorite breakfast?
2. What "unattainable" person (i.e., celebrity, fictional character, etc.) do you have a crush on?
3. What's a movie (an adaptation, an original movie, whatever!) that you really want to see made, and who would be in the cast?
4. If you could collaborate on a book with any author, who would it be?
5. If you could live in any time in history, where would you go? (Or would you stay in the twenty-first century?)
6. Do you have a nickname? If you don't, is there a nickname you wish people would call you by?
7. Describe yourself in a haiku.
8. Do you have any strange skills that not many people know about?
9. How good are you at keeping secrets?
10. What's the most valuable thing you've ever learned from a book?
11. Who is your favorite fictional villain?

Many thanks again to Adelyn for the nomination, and I hope you all find this as fun as I do!