The Mystery Blogger Award

This is my first time getting to do one of these posts- thank you to Bailey @ The Book Stack for the nomination!  Stop by and say hello if you haven’t connected with her yet.

What’s the Mystery Blogger Award?

It’s an award for amazing bloggers with ingenious posts. Their blog not only captivates; it inspires and motivates. They are one of the best out there, and they deserve every recognition they get. This award is also for bloggers who find fun and inspiration in blogging, and they do it with so much love and passion. – Okoto Enigma

The Rules

• Put the award logo/image on your blog
• List the rules.
• Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
• Mention the creator of the award and provide a link as well
• Tell your readers 3 things about yourself
• You have to nominate 10 – 20 people
• Notify your nominees by commenting on their blog
• Ask your nominees any 5 questions of your choice; with one weird or funny question (specify)
• Share a link to your best post(s)

Three Things About Me

• MTV is my uber-guilty pleasure.  Seriously- when people badmouth reality TV, I will be the first to tell you it’s all scripted trash, but, I also can’t. stop. watching.  I’m currently watching the 74th Annual Hunger Games The Challenge: War of the Worlds (and missing Johnny Bananas and CT terribly, but good riddance to Bear).
• I once attended Johnson & Wales University for Equestrian Business Management.  I lived on a farm in Ohio- my aunt’s, not a random farm- the year prior and practiced dressage on a horse named Goober.  He was a gorgeous half-arabian gelding, and definitely a Goober.  Sometimes I feel bad I dropped out, but other times I feel like I dodged a bullet.  No idea what I was expecting to do with that degree.
• At least once I day, I feel the need to arm myself with a tinfoil hat.  Okay, I don’t really wear a tinfoil hat, but seriously…  Google Home and Alexa are pretty much my worst nightmares (I’m still waiting for SK to write this story).

Bailey’s Questions

What book have you been wanting to read, but keep putting off?

SO MANY!  I have 138 books on my “owned-but-haven’t-read” shelf in GoodReads.  Most notable on the list: Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski, The Winter King by Bernard Cornwell, War of the Wolf, also by Bernard Cornwell, and 11/22/63 by Stephen King.  All favorite authors.  Definitely afraid of expecting too much.

Do you dog-ear your pages and write in your books, or do you try to keep them pristine?

It depends on the book honestly.  If I bought it new in hardcover, or got it from the library I try to keep it pristine.  If I bought it used (which are my favorite kinds, because it feels like sharing the love between readers) dog eared pages are okay.  Writing in a book is a huge no-no for me regardless.  Feels like blasphemy.  (I’m cringing thinking about it right now.)

What do you do when you find yourself in a reading slump?

This actually happened to me not too long ago.  (Look at the November/December months on my blog- really not a lot going on.)  First, I read like the opening five chapters of everything I own.  Briefly considered re-reading a favorite (and didn’t), did change genres entirely, changed format (audio vs. ebook, etc.), and finally just settled on reading shorter fiction for most of January.  Tor’s free short fiction newsletter helped a lot, so did N.K. Jemisin’s How Long ’til Black Future Month?, graphic novels, etc.  Also buddy reads!  Because FOMO.

We all know the book is almost always better, but what movie adaptation did you really like?

I have a lot of these too!  I love movies almost as much as I love books.  Favorites include (in no particular order): JURASSIC PARK (but not The Lost World, that was a shitty adaptation), The Green Mile, Gone Girl was brilliant in all the ways, Keira Knightley’s Pride & Prejudice (though this one really isn’t as good as the book), The Gunslinger *ducks rotten tomatoes* (I’m sorry but the movie was great compared to the monotony of that first book, plus Idris Elba *drools*), The Hunger Games (I actually haven’t read this book *ducks more rotten tomatoes* but I love the movie!).

(Bonus funny question) Would you rather fight a 100 duck-sized horses or 1 horse-sized duck?

I mean- I’m probably a goner either way, but I’m a horse lover, and horses are pretty delicate already, so I gotta go with the horse-sized duck.

My Questions

• What’s one book everyone else seemed to love except you?  What didn’t you love about it?
• What’s one classic book you’re embarrassed to admit never having read? Alternatively, are there any books you’re embarrassed to have read?
• Do you set yearly reading goals?  What are they and do you meet those goals?
• If you could add one book to every high school English curriculum, what would it be and why?
• (Bonus question) Cersei Lannister, Sauron, Cthulhu, Pennywise, Professor Moriarty, Prince Jorg Ancrath, The Shrike, The Joker, and Darth Vader team up to form a EVIL alliance.  Who is the hero to defeat them all?

I Nominate:

Acqua @ Acquadimore Books | Paul @ Paul’s Picks | Monika @ Lauregalie Book Reviews  | Alice @ The Realm of Books | Jocelyn @ A Little Nerd Told Me | Tammy @ Books, Bones, & Buffy | Aaron @ Swords & Spectres | Drew @ The Tattoed Book Geek | Kat @ Here There Be Dragons | The Dacian She-Wolf | Nadine @ Nad’s Book Nook | Imyril @ One More | On My Bookshelf

If I didn’t nominate you, but you’d like to participate, please consider yourself nominated!  Drop me a note below and I’ll add you to the links above!  And I know some of you blog a lot harder than me, so also no pressure to participate!