The Liebster Award, AKA Answering A Bunch of Questions About Myself

A couple of weeks ago Julianne at Outlandish Lit nominated me for the Liebster Award (does anyone know what a “liebster” is??), the general idea of which is to share a few things about yourself. So if you have no interest in knowing more about me as a person, stop reading now because you’ll be bored. If you are interested in knowing more about me as a person, stop reading now because what I have to say is incredibly boring! If you are crazy and decide to read on anyway, make sure you check out Julianne’s blog first – she always writes about great books and really is one of my favourite book bloggers (not that I play favourites or anything).

The Rules:
1. Make sure you thank and link back to the person who nominated you.
2. List 11 facts about yourself.
3. Answer the 11 questions put forward by whoever nominated you.
4. Ask 11 new questions to 9 other bloggers.
5. Go to their blog and inform them that they have been nominated.

Here are 11 facts about me that you never wanted to know:
1. Along with working full time and reading like a fiend, I’m also doing a B.A. in Professional Writing and Publishing via correspondence.
2. I procrastinate like no-one has ever procrastinated before, despite the amount of stuff I need to get done.
3. I’ve recently started going to the movies by myself and I love it!
4. I’ve never put petrol in a car. Or driven a car. Or got my license. Whoops.
5. I have about half a dozen different styles of handwriting. Sometimes I like to think I was a forger in a past life.
6. I really love watching NRL (a football code here in Australia). I feel like it sort of goes against my bookish persona, but sometimes you just need to yell profanities at a tv screen and watch a bunch of guys bash into each other. It’s good for the soul.
7. I can’t get enough of watching old Disney films like ‘Beauty & the Beast’, ‘The Little Mermaid’, ‘Sleeping Beauty’, ‘The Sword in the Stone’ … basically any Disney film made prior to CGI becoming a thing. And even more than watching them, I LOVE singing along to the songs.
8. Pasta is my favourite thing to eat. My favourite way to have it at the moment is to cook some penne with a clove or two of garlic in salted water until al dente. Then I drain it, crush the cloves with a garlic crusher into the pasta, add a pinch of sea salt flakes, a crack of black pepper, a glut of olive oil and a splash of good balsamic vinegar (to taste). Then stir it all around, whack it in a bowl, grate some parmesan over and then devour it. Quick, simple, delicious.
9. I can crochet! I only know about three or four stitches, but I’m really good at those stitches.
10. I always get what I want on sale. For example, I saw this really nice coat in a shop and wanted it so bad, but didn’t think it was worth $300. A couple of days later I get an email from another shop selling nearly the exact same coat for half the price and discounted on top of that. This has happened to me with flights, hotel bookings, cameras, other clothes, books – the list goes on. I think of something I want, then I just sit back and wait for an email telling me I can get it for cheap. It’s a great power to have.
11. I love all animals except for: scaly things, anything with more than four legs or less than two, and anything poisonous. I firmly believe there is a special place in hell (or wherever) for people who are cruel to animals.

And here are my answers to Julianne’s questions:
1. Do you write in books? I didn’t in the past (except for my name in the front), but I’ve been doing it lately – just underlining quotes and making little observations. But always in pencil.
2. What two genres would you say represent your life? Um, probably fantasy because who doesn’t want to escape from reality (and magic is awesome); and detective/spy fiction because I am 100% convinced I would make a fantastic spy or detective. This is based on the fact that I always solve the mystery before the tv/book detectives, although I’ve never considered that this may have something to do with me being the omniscient viewer.
3. How do you feel about ARC’s? I’ve only just been introduced to the world of ARC’s but at the moment my feelings towards them are ones of joy and happiness.
4. What’s your least favourite animal? See fact 11 about me above.
5. What’s the scariest book you’ve ever read? I haven’t read a lot of scary books, but I do remember being really creeped out by The Woman in Black. The movie made me jittery too.
6. What song was most recently stuck in your head? ‘Marvin Gaye’ by Charlie Puth and Meghan Trainor. Such a great song and perfect for singing along to with my limited vocal range (I’m no Adele Dazeem you guys). ♫♫ Let’s Marvin Gaye and get it on♫♫
7. Do you listen to podcasts? Which ones? The only podcast I’ve ever listed to is ‘Serial’, but everyone listened to that, so I’m not very original. Sorry.
8. Who’s your celebrity crush? Completely unoriginal again – it’s Tom Hiddleston. But! I am rekindling an affection for Ralph Fiennes now that I can put that whole Lord Voldemort thing behind me. Sure he’s old enough to be my dad, but that voice. And those eyes. And that acting talent. But at the end of the day, they’re just people like you and me who have to buy toilet paper.
9. What was the best part of your day today? Remembering I have left over pizza in the fridge for lunch (it’s the little things you guys).
10. What’s your favourite thing to do when it’s warm out? Stay inside in air conditioning if possible. I really hate the heat, mostly due to the fact I have crazy fair skin and can actually get sunburnt on a cloudy day when sitting in the shade (I’m not kidding, this did happen to me).
11. Since it’s pseudo-St. Patrick’s Day today, what’s your favourited drink (alcoholic or non-acoholic if you don’t live that wasted college student life)? I’m not against a glass/bottle of sweet white wine (usually moscato). I will drink red, but only if it’s chilled.

And here are my 11 questions for the nominees:
1. Do you have any pets? What are their names?
2. Would you rather be eaten by a shark or a bear?
3. Have you been overseas? If so, what is your favourite place? If not, where have you always wanted to go?
4. Could you go a whole day without your mobile phone?
5. Do you prefer Marvel or DC? Do you even like either of these things (FYI, I will judge you as a person based on this answer)?
6. Based on the previous question, who is your favourite Avenger or Justice League member (also judging you)? If you don’t like these things, skip to Q.7.
7. If you knew you were going to die tomorrow, what would be the last book you read, the last movie/tv show you watched, and/or the last song you listened to?
8. How do you feel about drinking with straws?
9. Do you like cake? Why/why not?
10. What is your favourite thing about being a blogger?
11.  What’s one skill you don’t have that you’ve always wanted to learn?

And the nominees are:
I really don’t know who to tag for this one – I love being tagged in things, but hate doing the tagging. So, how about I just list a bunch of blogs you should check out – peeps listed, don’t feel like you have to answer my questions. If you’re not listed, feel free to answer my questions anyway – start your own Liebster post (tag me so I can see!) or answer in the comments below. TAGS FOR EVERYONE!!!
The Happy Typewriter
Running In My Head
Badfish Out Of Water
Blissful Nomad
GridThusTo
Marcel Smithers – Unpublished
Sloppy Etymology
Blu Chicken Ninja
cricketmuse