1000 Followers Q&A

Hi all!

I hope everyone is doing well during these difficult times!

I genuinely can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’ve reached 1000 followers on my blog! This is so amazing and I’m so thankful for each and every person that has followed me: whether you’ve been here since the beginning or only discovered me yesterday. I really appreciate each and every one of you.

To celebrate reaching this milestone, I asked my followers (on here and Twitter) to ask me questions about whatever they wanted: blogging, reading, life, etc. And now I’m going to answer those questions!

Erin asked: What’s your favourite post of yours? What are the best blogs you follow?

This is a great question! I love being able to show appreciation for my own work and the work of my friends!

My favourite post of mine is Recommending Books Based on Lady Gaga’s Chromatica. Lady Gaga’s sixth album came out two months ago and I was obsessed from the second it came out. So I wrote up a post recommending a book for each of her new songs! Please check it out, I love it so much.

The best blogs I follow are:

• Silvia @ Silvia Reads Books: Silvia always has some amazing book recommendations, usually books I’ve never heard of before. She is also the queen of queer webcomics as well as queer movies and shows! I always find a new favourite based on Silvia’s recommendations. My favourite post of Silvia’s is: So You Wan’t to Get Into Mo Dao Zu Shi
  
• Steffy @ Little Booky Nook: Steffy writes such amazing discussion posts and always manages to get right at the heart of each topic. She’s also super funny and one of the nicest people on this platform (and Twitter too!). My favourite post of Steffy’s is: Ranty Rant – F*ck Love Triangles
  
• Rach @ Anxious Nachos: Rach is a machine when it comes to blogging! Over Pride Month, she posted every single day with queer book recs. I discovered so many new books because of her! My favourite post of Rach’s is: 63 Diverse Adult Fantasy Books You Can Read Instead of Reading Books by Old White Racists
  
• Ash @ Wild Heart Reads: Ash is the person I go to when I want fantasy recs! I’ve picked up so many books I never would have if it hadn’t been for her, and which I ended up loving! If you’re looking to expand your fantasy TBR, definitely check out Ash’s blog! My favourite post of Ash’s is: The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water Review
  
• Rae @ Bookmark Chronicles: Techinically, Rae has moved onto Booktube now but she still updates her blog with her videos! Rae’s content has always been focused on intersectional feminism and supporting all women. Her discussion posts are always amazing and so informative! Rae’s also started a book instagram with her friend called Wine by the Book. My favourite post of Rae’s is: Problematic Authors
  
• Jami @ Jami Shelves: Jami has so much fun original content on her blog, I love checking out what new creative post she’s thought up. Jami also reads some really interesting and sometimes obscure books I haven’t heard of before, so I love getting recs from her too. My favourite post of Jami’s is: Recommending Books Based on Random Wikipedia Entries
  
• Shan @ Shan Shelves: Shan’s blog is dedicated to queer books! I’ve found so many new favourites from Shan and I love screaming about books and buddy reading with her! My favourite post of Shan’s is: A Walk Through my DNF Shelf
  
• Aria @ Book Nook Bits: If you want to read amazing discussion posts that will make you think, definitely follow Aria’s blog! Aria’s posts are always so creative and informative, I wish I were able to write something half as clever. My favourite post of Aria’s is: Do You Use An Online Persona For Book Blogging?
  
• Sakhile @ Sakhile Whispers: Sakhile is on a blog hiatus at the moment, but she’s still one of my favourite bloggers and someone you should definitely follow! She has the best book recommendations, and I love her really creative content. My favourite post of Sakhile’s is: Passport Books – Travel Through Literature In These Trying Times

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Erin also asked: What are some of your unpopular opinions (on movies, shows, book characters)

Ooh this is a great question! And I think a lot of people are going to hate my answer but …

I don’t get the hype around Six of Crows. 😅

Like don’t get me wrong, it’s a pretty good series! But the way so many readers act like the book did something miraculous is weird and just plain … wrong? This isn’t the only heist book out there and I’m over people acting like it is. This also isn’t the only found family/group POV book out there and, once again, I’m over people acting like it is!

I’ve seen so many people praise this book/series as the paragon of YA and like … yeah, it’s pretty good. But it didn’t do anything that hasn’t already been done.

Sorry to the fans!

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Sarah asked: What has been the experience that changed your perspective on book blogging the most? (Could be good or bad or both)

ARCs, for sure. I’ve seen a different side to the way people behave when it comes to ARCs and it’s just downright nasty. People argue and hoard ARCs, then sell them for 3x the price for a profit … even though ARCs shouldn’t be sold.

I used to be in on the hype for ARCs until I started getting exhausted with them. I felt like I had to be constantly requesting them to be in on the discussion on Twitter, even though I wasn’t necessarily interested in the book in the first place.

Now I only request ARCs for books I’m genuinely interested in and I feel so much better for it! I recommend that new bloggers (and those who have been around for a while too) follow this as well if you get a bit overwhelmed by ARCs.

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Aria asked: 1. How has your blog changed over the years? 2. Do you listen to music while you write? 3. If you could visit a fictional world for a week, where would you go, what characters would you want to meet, and what would you do?

1. My blog used to be very plain and I just focused on reviews. Now I incorporate discussion and recommendation posts — some of them are pretty unique if I do say so myself 😅.
2. Depends on what I’m writing! If it’s a blog post, I usually watch something while writing. If it’s writing fiction, then I can’t listen to anything.
3. Ooh, this is a hard one! But ultimately I’d want to visit the world from The Starless Sea! I’d immediately go visit the underground library and just explore the amazing rooms and books. I’d want to hang out with Zachary, Dorian, Mirabel and Kat. It would just be so much fun 😭.

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Christina asked: What book or series turned you into a reader?

What a great question! That book would be They Came on Viking Ships by Jackie French. I read this book in year 8 at school (I was 13) and as soon as I finished it, I became a lifelong reader!

It’s a middle grade novel about a young girl who is kidnapped by Vikings and forced into slavery, who then tries to survive along with her dog. She befriends the female Viking who kidnapped her and eventually becomes a powerful figure in the Viking community.

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Destiny asked: Is there any single piece of media – book, movie, show, game, whatever – that you feel like was THE most formative for you in your childhood or early teen life?

Ooh, what a great question! And a hard one too. But I would have to choose On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta.

This book was one of the first books I truly became obsessed with as a teenager. I’ve read it four times and I am still so in love with it just as I was as a 15 year old.

The book is about Taylor who is the leader of the boarders at Jellicoe High. In her final year of high school, her guardian, Hannah, disappears, leaving behind a mysterious manuscript about four teenagers who lived on the Jellicoe Road 20 years earlier. Meanwhile, the border wars start up again between the boarders, the townies and the cadets who camp nearby each summer — the cadets, who are lead by Jonah, a boy Taylor has history with.

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Steffy asked: What has been your favourite experience as a blogger so far?

This might sound cliche, but making friends!

I can’t believe how welcoming the book blogging community has been and how many amazing friends I have made. Seriously, I consider some of these people my best friends and would go all out for them, even though I’ve never met them before (aside from one — who actually asked this question hehe)!

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Gabs asked: Do you have any resolutions or plans for your blog from now on, content wise?

Ooh, I’m not sure! I sort-of have plans to make another readathon. It’s still all up in the air at the moment. But I might also have a new series starting on my blog — again, which is still up in the air and I don’t want to discuss yet 👀.

But we’ll see how it goes!

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Silvia asked: How do you feel your reading experience has changed through blogging and reviewing?

This is such a great question! And I’ve definitely noticed my reading experience has changed. I’m much more critical of what I’m reading then I ever used to be. When I used to read for pleasure, I would just … read. Lol 😅.

As I’ve grown and become more aware of issues in the world, I pay attention to the novels I read, especially when it comes to representations of race, sexuality, gender, disability, and more.

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Liv asked: What is your favourite and least favourite book cover?

Love this question!

My favourite book cover ever is The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon. It’s absolutely stunning — look at the dragon, look at the colours! Beautiful.

And then my least favourite cover is The Queen and the Homo Jock King by TJ Klune. Now, I love Klune’s books but this is one of the worst covers I’ve ever seen in my life. No offence to the cover artist but … what were you thinking?

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Ellyn asked: What about blogging has impacted or changed you the most?

I would say it’s helped me become a much better writer, and has opened up opportunities for me that I wouldn’t have thought available before. I get to interact with publishers, publicists and — most importantly — authors! Getting to interact with authors, whether it’s interviewing them or chatting to them on Twitter, it’s been an amazing experience.

It’s also given me more confidence to work on my own novel again! Which I’m thankful for.

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Sumedha asked: What about blogging excites you the most?

Making recommendation posts! I love talking about books that I’ve read and adored, and I want everyone else to read them too.

My favourite recommendation post is 50 F/F Books I’ve Read and Loved.

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Andie asked: If you could only watch one TV show for the rest of your life, with unlimited episodes, what TV show would you pick?

This is such a great question, and a hard one too! But I would have to choose Over the Garden Wall.

The show is about two brothers who get lost in the woods and try to make their way back home, with the help of a talking bluebird and a forest full of very weird, creepy creatures — while a demon hunts them.

If you haven’t watched this show, what are you doing with your life??!! It’s also a perfect show to watch during Autumn because of the aesthetic.

Thank you very much to everyone for sending in their questions!

And a million thank yous to everyone who has supported me over the years, whether you’ve been following my blog since the beginning, or just discovered me yesterday.

I love and appreciate you all. ❤️