The Liebster Award

The Liebster Award

Hey Everyone!

I have been nominated for a Liebster Award! If you've been roaming around the blogosphere for a while, you would have seen the Liebster Award mentioned. The Liebster Award started circulating back in 2011. It's a way to acknowledge and support up and coming blogs. It works a bit like a chain letter, with bloggers nominating other bloggers who then answer a series of questions on their blog and pass the torch on to more bloggers. 

I was nominated by Cai from The Bookfeed Blog, who also happens to be the only blogger friend that I actually know offline. Cai shares great posts about life as a new mum and bookish topics. We first met at a bookclub and have stayed in contact via social media. I was so excited when Cai started her blog, now I have someone who understands when I get excited about pageviews.

RULES:

  • Acknowledge the blog that nominated you and display the award.
  • Answer 11 questions that the blog gives you.
  • Give 11 random facts about yourself.
  • Nominate 5-11 blogs you think are deserving of the award that have less than 200 followers.
  • Let the blogs know you have nominated them.
  • Give them 11 questions to answer.

QUESTIONS:

Is there a book that you seriously dislike or hate?

There are a few books that I gave up on and didn't finish because they were too slow to keep me engaged, or just not for me. Nothing that I feel passionately opposed to enough to use the word hate. 

Do you choose books by blurb, cover or title?

The cover is always the first thing to catch my eye. If the cover is boring, poorly designed, or representing a genre I'm not in the mood for at that moment, then I won't pick the book up to look at the blurb. I always read the blurb before buying a book, it's the final hurdle.


What makes a read 5/5 for you?

A book needs to keep me engaged the whole way through. If a book can get me emotionally engaged enough to cry, it will usually get five stars. 


What is your favourite beverage while reading?

Usually a Jarrah flavoured instant coffee or a glass of white wine, depending on the time of day.

What is your dream library?

One with a built in, free, child minding centre, so I can drop the kids off then snuggle up in a big comfy chair and read to my hearts content. 


If you could visit any bookstore in the world, where would it be?

I would love to go to The Bookworm Box in Sulphur Springs, Texas. It's a bookstore opened by author Colleen Hoover and all proceeds from the sale of books go to charity. I love that concept and I'd love the chance to meet Colleen, she's awesome!


Where do you get most of your books from?

I get most of my books from Netgalley or directly from authors requesting a review. I used to get most of my books from the library, but I have so many books to review that I don't have much time for them. I find books in lots of other places. I've actually got a tab here dedicated to Where I Find Books.


How many books are on your bookshelf?

I hate dusting, so my bookshelf had a major cull. I have one feature book case with all our "coffee table" style full colour books. The kids have a bookshelf chock a block with picture books and middle grade fiction - too many to count. My paperbacks that I couldn't part with are packed into a drawer to keep them clean. I have two or three supermarket bags full. As for my digital books..... I'm not brave enough to look.... 


Do you read one at a time, or many at once?

I usually have three book on the go at a time. A middle grade fiction book that I'm reading to the kids at bedtime. An audiobook to keep me entertained while I do housework. And a paperback or ebook to read when I find time to sit still. 


How often do you frequent your local library?

Last year I took the kids every Monday after school. I've been a bit slack so far this year and have missed a few weeks. Probably every two to three weeks this year. 


If you could have dinner with any character, who would it be and why?

I'd love to have dinner with Becky Jordan from A Heat of the Moment Thing by Maggie Le Page.  She was a character that I instantly clicked with. She felt like a friend, so dinner with her wouldn't be filled with awkward silences.

11 RANDOM FACTS:

  1. I didn't get my ears pierced until I was 23. I got them done at a body piercing/tattoo parlour because that was the only place I could find open when I decided I wanted to get them done (after I broke up with a boy - a variation on the drastic haircut response). When I was standing at the counter to pay, I passed out, then had to call in sick to work that afternoon. Copped lots of teasing about that at work the next day.
  2. I have six tattoos. An Iris flower, a sweet pea flower, a daisy, a goldfish/koi, "Forever and a day" in an infinity sign - lyrics from the song my husband and I danced to at our wedding, and a cartoon swing dancing couple.
  3. I love swing dancing! I first started in Melbourne in 2000. I can dance the lead as well as the follow role. My husband and I met at a swing dance class and we danced swing at our wedding.
  4. I didn't carry a bouquet or walk down the aisle when I got married. We had a traditional Thai Buddhist wedding in Chiang Mai, Thailand (neither of us are Thai or Buddhist - it was a fun destination theme wedding). My hubby is the one who had to walk to me and his brother carried the flowers.
  5. I was DUX at my highschool, then dropped out of University. 
  6. I have two children, a 5 year old girl and a 7 year old boy.
  7. My maiden name is Ryan. When I was in year 11, our school amalgamated with two others and I sat next to a girl I didn't know on the first day of class. Her name was Renee Ryan too!
  8. I'm currently writing a novel about a girl who moves to Darwin for her new military career and takes up swing dancing to make friends (and I really need to work on an elevator pitch).
  9. I moved to Darwin for my husband's military career and joined the local swing dancing group to make friends..... (write what you know - sounded like good advice to me).
  10. I was an extra in a Disney movie. I was dancing in the background during the school formal scene in Child Star: The Shirley temple Story. If you watch closely, you can see my left ear and my leg a few times. 
  11. I also passed out the first time I had acupuncture. But I'm not scared of needles. I can watch when they take blood and I even volunteered at the Blood Bank when I was younger and took the needles out of other people. 

NOMINATIONS:

I'd like to nominate


QUESTIONS:

  1. How long have you been blogging?
  2. Why did you start your blog?
  3. What is your favourite thing about blogging?
  4. Where is your favourite place to read?
  5. What is your favourite mode of transport?
  6. If you could have a super power, what would it be?
  7. How long have you lived in your current house?
  8. If you could live anywhere, where would you live?
  9. If you could only eat one type of food for the next month, what would you choose?
  10. If you could go back in time, what advice would you give your 16 year old self?
  11. What is the last book you read?