Blog News: Liebster Award

So today I got a Liebster Award from Constance @ Craving Books. [Thanks Constance!] For those of you who are clueless as to what it is, Liebster means "dearest" in German and the award is something bloggers pass on to other bloggers they like or whose blogs they admire. It seems it has been around the blogosphere since about 2010 and appears to be going strong.

The Rules:

• List 11 facts about yourself.
• Answer the 11 questions asked by whoever nominated you.
• Nominate 9 bloggers with less than 300 followers and leave them a comment saying they've been nominated.
• Ask 11 new questions for your chosen nominees.
• You cannot re-nominate the blog that nominated you.

11 Facts About Me

1. My mom was told I would never learn to read by my teacher and principal. Shortly after that, I learned to read.
2. My first (full) name, Talitha, means "little girl" in Aramaic, and can be found in the NIV Bible in Mark Chapter 5 Verse 41: "Taking the child by the hand, He (Jesus) said to her, "Talitha kum!" (translation: "Little girl, I say to you, get up!"). It's the story of a girl, presumed dead, who Jesus wakes up.
3. I've taken fencing lessons (as in swordplay), but mainly as research for my fantasy books. I'm not that great at it, but I really liked using a sabre as opposed to an epee or foil.
4. I have two older brothers, both of which were high school athletes and went about shirtless in the summer. Due to this, I have a problem with romance covers where the guy has his shirt off, but I'm not sure why. Many of the guys look nothing like my brothers other than being buff, so maybe it has something to do with objectifying men? I will read the ebooks with those covers, but would probably never buy a physical book with that kind of cover, because I'm freakish about that.
5. I really like playing video games, but am AWFUL at anything shooter-style, probably because my brothers killed me too often in Halo, Perfect Dark, and Goldeneye. Therefore, I mostly play the Elder Scrolls games, the Sims, and Pokemon. Gotta catch 'em all!
6. I love vintage clothes and shoes. My first high school dance dress was vintage and looked like it came from the "Gone with the Wind" movie, minus sleeves. This picture is from when I wore it a second time.

   

   I'm in the red dress, with my friend Bethany in the black and white

7. I was born and raised in Montana, but currently live in Idaho.
8. My parents were avid hunters, so during the winters we'd eat a lot of venison (deer meat) and antelope meat. I'm definitely not a vegetarian. 
9. We once had a crippled deer live in our neighborhood through the winter, so we left apples out on the picnic table in our backyard so she wouldn't starve.
10. My parents also took us out and taught us archery (again, not my forte) when we were little, I was about 6-9  years old.
11. I actually have practiced with a real gun (shooting targets), but it's rather scary to me because I hate loud noises. I'd do it again, but I prefer reading books.

Questions from Constance:

If you had to be the main character of a book, what genre would you want it to be?

Fantasy, because I enjoy it so much. But definitely not something like A Song of Ice and Fire, because I wouldn't make the cut.

Which character are you most alike?

Hmm... I've taken a lot of quizzes, and much of the time I'm Katniss Everdeen, but I feel I'm a bit more friendly than that. Eowyn is probably my fantasy match.

If you had the chance to slap one character, who would it be, and why?

Hands up, I would definitely have to say Eragon of the Inheritance series. He ruminates on things to much and could use a little slap.

If you could revive one character, who would it be, and why?

This questions a bit hard, because there are some characters in A Song of Ice and Fire that I would definitely revive, but not too many people have read all the books yet. So here's my choice, highlight to view ONLY IF YOU'VE READ ALL THE BOOKS:

Jon Snow. If he's actually dead.

What book really let you down?

Unfortunately, it's one a lot of people adore. City of Bones, you disappointed me. Not only was I irked by the shirtless cover (see the 11 facts about me), the book didn't meet my expectations at all. I bought it as a hardcover because one of my favorite YA authors, Holly Black, did a snippet on the cover. I really hate to hate on books, but that one was not my cup of coffee.

What is your favorite book-to-movie adaptation? And the one you dislike the most?

My favorite would be The Lord of the Rings trilogy of books-to-movies. Only I wish they had made each book into two movies, since they overextended The Hobbit into three, and it is much smaller. One I really hated? Oddly, it is Twilight, a movie most people really liked. The casting was atrocious- none of the characters looked how I saw them in my head, overall, I just hated it. Of course, I was about through with my Twilight-phase when it came out, but still. I loathed that movie.

What book would you want to be made into a movie/tv show?

That is a tie between The Name of the Wind and The Way of Kings. Not that either would be done in a way that satisfied my perfectionism, but maybe more people would read the books.

Who is your favorite author, and why?

J.R.R. Tolkien. He's not everyone's favorite, but if I could write something the way he's written The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, I would definitely die happy.

What is the book that made you cry the most?

Hmm... probably All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot. He was a veterinarian in England a while ago, and wrote his beautiful memoirs later in life. If you are an animal lover, you'll laugh, cry, and love his books.

What do you like to do when you read?

When I'm reading, I try not to eat or be distracted, but if I want something to eat, it's usually dark chocolate. I also usually read in bed, as I have terrible posture otherwise.

Ebooks, Hardcovers, or Paperbacks?

If I had unlimited space, I'd definitely go with Hardcovers. Right now I've been reading mostly ebooks, as the closest big box bookstore is an hour away.

(I used Bloglovin' to gauge follower count. If you were nominated and have more than 300 followers: Congratulations, you still get this lovely award and my questions!)

My Nominees (in no particular order):

Patricia From Always, Tofu

Lina From Bibliophilic Geek

Carriejo From Carriejo's Book Blog

Jamie From Cute Peach

The Girls at The Bookwhore Diaries

Tamara From The Avid Book Collector

Cristina From Remember the Books

Jasper, YanLin, and Manali From The Last Page At Midnight

Maria From Maria, her impossible man, and the dragon

Questions for My Nominees:

1. What is your favorite time of day to read?

2. What makes your favorite book your favorite: the characters, the plot, or something else?

3. What is your favorite dessert?

4. Do you have a favorite villain? (Literary or otherwise)

5. What three books would you bring to a deserted island with you, if you had everything you needed (food, water, shelter, bookshelves, ect.)?

6. Which book do you consider underrated and under-read (people don't read it as much)?

7. If you could travel to another universe (bookish or otherwise), would you stay here or go?

8. If you could travel back in time once, where would you go, and what would you do?

9. Is there a book you think is over-hyped (a lot of people like it, but you don't)?

10. If you could meet any author (living or dead), who would you meet, and why?

11. Do you judge a book by its cover?

This was a lot of fun, thanks for nominating me Constance! Now, back to writing critiques...