Liebster Award!

I’m honoured to say that I’ve been nominated for the Liebster Award by the lovely Lauren at The YA Book Spot. Thank you so much! 🙂

Rules:

• You must link back to the person who linked you
• Answer 11 questions from the person who nominated you
• Nominate 11 new bloggers and come up with 11 new questions to ask
• You cannot nominate the person who nominated you
• You must let the person you nominated know you nominated them

I was asked:

1. What is your favorite song/band?

First question, and I’m already stuck without an answer, haha. I don’t really have a favourite band or song, since I love so many different artists.

I’ve been listening to City and Colour a lot recently, since I’m going to see Dallas Green in May (which I’m so excited about!), and one song that I keep coming back to is The Lonely Life.

I also really love the Arctic Monkeys, and might be slightly obsessed with their new album. AFI has been a fairly constant fixture since I saw them in January, and Bastille, Mumford & Sons, and Vampire Weekend are also quite well-loved.

2. If you could have any power what would you choose?
Teleportation. That way, I could escape the cold Canadian winter whenever I needed to, I could attend author events since I’ve sadly never been to one, and I could travel the world for free. Never being stuck walking home in the middle of a thunderstorm is really appealing too.

3. Who is the one author you want to meet the most?
Rainbow Rowell. She just seems so lovely and the idea of fangirling over Benedict Cumberbatch with her just seems so perfect. And after reading all of her books, I came to the conclusion that I just really want her to be my best friend.

4. What’s your favorite childhood book(s)?
Harry Potter, Inkheart, A Series of Unfortunate Events, and The Paper Bag Princess. They’ve stood the test of time and remain some of my favourites to this day, which is truly the sign of an excellent book.

5. If you could have lunch with one character (from book/TV show/movie etc…) who would you choose?
I’m torn between Hermione Granger, the Doctor, Jess from New Girl, and the Darkling. I’ll probably go with the Doctor though, in hopes that I could charm him into making me a companion.

6. What’s your favorite quote?
I have so many favourite quotes – to the point where I once had the majority of my wall filled with post it notes containing quotes that resonated with me. Here are just a few of the ones I like:

“Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” – Neil Gaiman, Coraline

“A dream dirty and bruised is better than no dream at all.” – Laini Taylor, Days of Blood and Starlight

“Here’s what I think,” I say and my voice is stronger and thoughts are coming, thoughts that trickle into my noise like whispers of truth. “I think maybe everybody falls,” I say. “I think maybe we all do. And I don’t think that’s the asking.”
I pull on her arms gently to make sure she’s listening.
“I think the asking is whether we get back up again.” – Patrick Ness, The Knife of Never Letting Go

“I realized then that even though I was a tiny speck in an infinite cosmos, a blip on the timeline of eternity, I was not without purpose.” – R.J. Anderson, Ultraviolet

7. Where do you want to travel to the most?
I’ve always wanted to go to England. My Grandma came over to Canada during World War II, and I’ve grown up hearing stories about what it was like. I would love to finally meet some of the family members who live there, as well as visit the more touristy attractions.

8. Favorite book for this year so far?
2014 has been an excellent reading year for me so far. I’ve had a lot of 4 and 5 star books, but my favourite so far is Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan, which I reviewed here. It felt like it was written just for me, and I absolutely can’t wait until the final book in the Lynburn Legacy series is released!

9. What fandoms are you part of?
I haven’t been really active in fandom for a while, but I used to belong to the Harry Potter, Merlin, BBC Sherlock, Glee, and LOST fandoms. Now I just tend to fangirl over anything and everything in a completely unorganized fashion, regardless of the strange looks that I receive.

10. Do have any OTPs and if so who? (Can be from TV show/book/etc…)
Charlie/Claire from LOST. Nick/Jess from New Girl (though I also ship Nick/me). Alina/the Darkling from the Grisha series. Merlin/Arthur from BBC’s Merlin.

11. Who is your favorite character? Why?
Hermione Granger is easily my favourite character. She’s so real, and I can relate to her in so many ways. I love that she’s a bookworm and that she loves learning, since it showed me that there are people out there who are just as passionate about these things as I am. She’s such a loyal, determined friend who is perfectly capable of facing danger and standing up for herself. She’s such a great role model for young women, and I’m so thankful that J.K. Rowling created her.

Thank you again for the nomination, Lauren! And sorry this took so long to post!

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The Versatile Blogger Award

I’m honoured to say that I’ve been nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award by the lovely ladies from Book Gossips! Thank you so much! : )

The rules for accepting this award are simple:

1. Display the Award Certificate on your blog
2. Announce your win with a post and thank the blogger who nominated you.
3. Present 15 deserving bloggers with the award.
4.  Link your nominees in the post and let them know of their nomination with a comment.
5. Post 7 interesting things about yourself.

I’m not going to nominate anyone for this award, since I know that some blogs don’t like getting nominations, and I can’t remember which ones that applies to. I promise that it’s not because I’m a horrible/lazy person that doesn’t want to participate; I just don’t to bother anyone that doesn’t like nominations and I don’t want to offend anyone that I don’t nominate, since I think you’re all pretty fantastic. ❤

I will, however, share seven (hopefully) interesting things about myself.

1. I would marry Marcus Mumford in a heartbeat. That man is just so adorable and talented, and the fact that he has a lovely voice (and British accent!) makes him practically perfect. My mom even agrees that she’d love to have him as a son-in-law, and she doesn’t approve of just anyone. Of course, he’s already married to Carey Mulligan, but that can always change… right?

2. It doesn’t take much to make me cry. I cry when I’m really happy, I cry when I’m sad, I cry when I’m really stressed out, I sometimes cry when I’m angry, and I cry when something happens to my favourite fictional characters. I wouldn’t mind so much if I was one of those graceful criers who manage to look flawless even though they’re incredibly upset… but when I cry, my makeup smudges and my face goes all blotchy. It’s not the prettiest sight.

3. I’m incredibly oblivious when it comes to dating or boys in general. I seriously need someone to follow me around and interpret texts or conversations for me because I’m always so shocked whenever someone is interested in me – even if everyone else says that they’ve been super obvious about it. I just assume that any flirting is harmless and doesn’t mean anything, and then when it does I have no idea how to respond to it. So, guys, never come to me for dating advice — you can certainly tell me stories (I love stories!) but don’t expect any quality, helpful advice.

4. I’ve been told that I’m a “hipster” but I don’t really conform to any specific “style.” I think it’s because of the short hair, large plastic-framed glasses, and love for indie/folk music, though I still don’t really know what a hipster is. I’m just at home in dresses and heels as I am in jeans and Converse/combat boots. I even wore Converse with my prom dress! My closet is kind of a scary sight: it holds jeans, skirts, dresses, high-waisted shorts, sweatpants, cardigans, hoodies, blouses, nerdy t-shirts (which range from Pikachu to the TARDIS), Detroit Red Wings jerseys, a cupcake beanie… basically anything you can think of is in there.

5. I would love to have a library like the one in Beauty and the Beast. There are so many books that I’d love to read and just as many that I’d love to own, but my bookshelves just don’t have enough room for all of them. I’d love to have an entire room filled with books – from the floor to the ceiling – complete with lovely spiral staircases and rolling ladders. Of course, there would also be a secret room that you could enter by pressing down a specific book (likely The Secret Garden or something else with the word “secret” in the title) because that would just be so neat.

6. Determining which books to bring to university is too much like the dreaded “desert island” question — impossible to choose. I’m definitely going to bring Crown of Midnight and Ruby Red, since I haven’t gotten around to reading them yet, but I’m not sure which other books to bring. If you have any suggestions, please let me know! : )

7. I’m incredibly excited for Christmas, which is less than four months away! It’s easily my favourite time of year: everything is covered in snow, our tree is nicely lit and decorated, there are a ton of presents to wrap, it’s socially acceptable to listen to Christmas music 24/7, and I can spend the weeks leading up to Christmas watching Rudolph, Elf, and all of the other fun Christmas movies. And, you know, the fact that I get to spend a few weeks relaxing with my family instead of studying at school is nice too.

The Liebster Award (x2)

I’m excited to say that I’ve been nominated for The Liebster Award by two very lovely bloggers: Stephanie from Stephanie’s Book Reviews and Lizzie from Bookmark Your Dreams! The word “liebster” means “dearest” in German, which is pretty adorable, so danke schön! 😀

The Liebster Award is an award for up and coming blogs, and the rules are as follows:

• Link back the blogger that tagged you
• Nominate ten others and answer the questions of the one who tagged you
• Ask ten questions for the bloggers you nominate
• Let your nominees know of their award

Stephanie asked…

1. I have a compulsive need to finish a series once I start it. What are your book compulsions?

I used to have that same compulsion! When I buy new books, I check the pages, the dust cover and the spine to make sure that there are no creases/bends/marks on it, since I like my books to be kept in perfect condition. My bookshelves are alphabetized by author’s last name, then chronologically by series within that. I hate when I own books within a series that aren’t the same height, the same type (paperback, hardcover, mass market paperback, etc.) or that don’t have the same cover; I like my books to match. I rearrange my books so much, it’s actually kind of ridiculous.

2. Does a lot of hype surrounding a book make you more or less likely to read it?

Generally, hype makes me more likely to read a book. If it’s a book that is well-loved by friends or fellow bloggers with similar reading tastes, I make sure to add it to my to-read list. If it’s a book that everyone seems to love, though, it scares me a bit – I’m always afraid that I’ll be that one person who doesn’t like it and everyone else will sit there, shaking their heads and wondering what’s wrong with me.

3. What book do you love that you’re embarrassed to admit?

I don’t actually have any books that I’m embarrassed to admit my love for. If I love a book, I tell everyone about it until they eventually get sick of hearing me mention its name or I read another book, love it, and start talking about it instead.

4. What book would you love to see as a movie – a movie that faithfully follows the book to a T?

The Night Circus. I would love to see what that world looks like, since the tents are so incredibly creative. I have this image in my head of what the ice garden and the cloud maze and the wishing tree look like, so it would be so neat to see how another person visualizes them all. And I’d be playing Celia, of course.

5. How many books have you read this year?

According to Goodreads, I’ve read 183 books this year. That’s a lot more than I had expected to read, and I probably won’t ever reach that amount again. I’m hoping to reach 200 by the end of the year, just because it’s a nice even number to remember.

6. Why did you start your blog? What do you to “promote” it?

A lot of my friends don’t read because they either don’t have the time or just don’t enjoy reading. I love to read so I wanted to find a community where my bookish rants and literary references would be wholeheartedly embraced and understood. And thus, The In-Between Place was born!

I don’t really do too much to promote my blog and, honestly, I’m still kind of surprised that people actually read my posts. I have tumblr and twitter accounts which I really need to use more frequently, and I participate in weekly book memes, but that’s about it.

7. If you could have any super power what would it be?

I’m always the worst at answering this question. Flying would be neat… but what if there’s a storm? That’d be kind of terrifying and really dangerous. Invisibility would be a cool party trick, but I don’t ever intend to become a criminal mastermind, so I doubt that I’d use it too much… X-ray vision is just… weird.

I’ll have to go with teleportation: it’s like flying, but a lot safer, a lot faster, and doesn’t require any real effort on my part. It would be so nice to be able to click my heels or touch a mark on my skin and suddenly be sitting in my bedroom, especially on those cold winter days when I don’t want to wait for the bus. And I’d be able to take vacations whenever I want to wherever I want, which would be so neat!

8. Who would play your favorite author in a movie?

I have so many favourite authors, but the answer for all of them is Benedict Cumberbatch. Actually, come to think of it, he’d make a pretty great Neil Gaiman… he kind of has the hair and already has the lovely voice, so it’d work perfectly.

9. If you read a book with terrific writing, but were unsatisfied with the story, do you still recommend it to others?

Storyline and characters are just as important as the writing, so even if the writing is fantastic, I likely wouldn’t enjoy the book. I’d feel bad recommending a book that I didn’t enjoy, but I’d note that it had excellent writing and list a few (or a lot) of the quotes that I liked so that others could judge for themselves and see if they wanted to give it a try.

10. What’s the last book that really surprised you – good or bad?

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell. I expected to like it, since I had heard nothing but good things about her writing, but I didn’t expect to love it as much as I did. I still really want Rainbow to be my best friend (especially after reading Eleanor & Park), so if anyone knows of a way to make this happen, please let me know. : )

Lizzie asked…

1. What is your favourite food?

I love fish. When I’m home for the summer, my dad and I go fishing almost every morning, and we have a fish fry for dinner every Sunday. It’s definitely one of my favourite parts of being home.

2. Why did you start blogging and when?

I started blogging in May of this year, so I’m still fairly new to this whole thing. I started blogging because I love to read, and wanted to share my opinions with people who have similar interests. A lot of my friends either don’t read the same types of books as me or don’t read at all, so they don’t enjoy my bookish rants very much.

3. What is your favourite season?

Ooh, this is a tough one. I love the summer, since it’s nice and warm. I have no school during the summer, so I get to relax and read for fun which is always nice! I also really like the winter. I complain about how cold it is for almost the entire season, but I love having a white Christmas, being able to go tobogganing, building a snowman, and drinking a lot of hot chocolate. And my birthday’s in the winter, so that’s always a plus.

4. If you could travel anywhere (truth or fictional) for a week where would it be?

I’d really love to go to England at some point in life. I’m slightly obsessed with British television, so I’d love to have the opportunity to stalk see the cast of Sherlock while they’re filming. And I’d love to go to the castle where Merlin was filmed, see the London Eye, visit Buckingham Palace and Big Ben, and soak in all the lovely British accents.

I’d love to visit The Night Circus, but it usually isn’t open for weeks at a time. One week wouldn’t be nearly enough time to see all of Hogwarts or Narnia, and I have a feeling that I’d want to stay there forever. Visiting Ravka would be really neat, and wearing a kefta would almost make the potential danger that I’d be in due to the Darkling being all crazy and evil completely worth it. I’d love to have a tea party with the Mad Hatter in Wonderland, but I’d also love to visit the Shire. Can this be a year long fictional road trip instead?

5. What are your book buying methods? Online or in store and do you research a book before buying?

I don’t really research a book before buying it. I generally buy books that are on my to-read list and have received good reviews from my friends, but I’ll occasionally purchase a book on a whim just because the cover looked nice or the synopsis was intriguing. Or because it was on sale. I don’t do a lot of online book shopping, since I prefer to support my local bookstores, but I find myself on The Book Depository or the Chapters/Indigo website from time to time when there are sales. I also buy a lot of used books from library book sales or used book stores.

6. eBook or real book? Why?

I prefer real books, since I love being able to place sticky notes on all of my favourite quotes and I love the new book smell. I read a lot of eBooks from my library via the Overdrive app, and occasionally I’ll receive eBooks books for review. When I go away, I bring my iPad with me and just read eBooks since then I can bring as many books as I want.

7. Which book or series do you have a love-hate relationship with?

The Mortal Instruments series. I enjoyed the first three books, and I absolutely loved The Infernal Devices. I didn’t really like City of Fallen Angels or City of Lost Souls though, so it will be interesting to see how much I enjoy City of Heavenly Fire.

8. Chocolate or Vanilla?

Chocolate, for sure! I’m a bit of a chocoholic.

9. If you found a genie, what would be one of your wishes?

I really want to say something like “world peace” but, knowing me, I’d see the genie and wish for something much more selfish instead. I’d probably wish that I always had the right amount of money to buy whatever I wanted, since that way I’d have enough money to build a huge library in my house, fill all of the bookshelves, and add in secret doors, revolving ladders, and huge spiral staircases.

10. What was the last movie you saw?

The last movies I saw were Monsters University and Despicable Me 2, since there was a double feature. I went to see them with my mom opening night, and I was the oldest kid there! They were super adorable, though, so I was more than okay with that.

I’m not going to nominate anyone for this award, since I know that some blogs don’t like getting nominations, and I can’t remember which ones that applies to. I promise that it’s not because I’m a horrible/lazy person that doesn’t want to participate; I just don’t to bother the ones that don’t like nominations and I don’t want to offend anyone that I don’t nominate, since I think you’re all pretty fantastic.