Liebster Award

I always initially read this as 'Lobster Award' and have a good ol' chuckle to myself. I generally ignore the nominations, because when it first came my way I had several people nominate me in the space of a few weeks and I got over it pretty quickly, but it hasn't come my way in a while. So shout-out to Nhi Le over at The Literary Bystander, for the nomination.

RULES

1. List 11 facts about yourself.

2. Answer the 11 questions asked by whoever nominated you.

3. Nominate 9 bloggers with less than 300 followers and leave them a comment saying they've been nominated. 

4. Ask 11 new questions for your chosen nominees.

5. You cannot re-nominate the blog that nominated you.

11 Facts about myself: 
1. I got a haircut. My hair is really short now. I love it.
2. I watch the Twilight movies to laugh at the bad acting... especially in Breaking Dawn pt 1 and 2 with the CGI baby.
3. My smartphone crashes if I go on Facebook, because it isn't very smart.
4. I am currently reading Storm of Swords pt.1 and am really mad about a part that the TV show left out between Daenerys and Jorah Mormont.
5. If season 2 of Attack on Titan is as good as the first season, it will overtake DeathNote as my favourite anime.
6. I did not cry when I read The Fault in Our Stars.
7. I drive a manual (though I'm still on my learners permit).
8. I do not like children. At all. I have absolutely no patience for them.
9. I used to do Tae Kwon-Do. Made it to blue-belt.
10. I did not like the piece I had published in the newest edition of the student magazine.
11. I had braces when I was 11.


Questions for me to answer: 

1.  Who is an author you love so much, that you will buy any and every one of their books, regardless if you have any interest in the plot or not?

I don't think I really have an author I'm that obsessed with, but if I had to pick one, probably Haruki Murakami. I fell in love with his work after I studied him in highschool. 

2. Do you think that printed books will ever become obsolete and we will live in an e-book only society one day?

I don't think they will. There's still a pretty high demand for them. Personally, I dislike e-readers of all forms. I much prefer being able to see the book sitting on a shelf in my room, where everyone else can see it too and everyone else can see how love or unloved it is by how tattered the pages are and how bent the spine is. Also, an author can't sign your Kindle screen and that would take a lot of fun out of book launches and cancel out cool events like signings. 

3. Are there books that you think are overrated or you just avoid just to it being over-hyped?

I wish I'd done this for the Twilight Saga. I've done it thus far for 50 Shades of Grey. 

4. Does your opinion of an author affect whether or nor you will read and like their book (e.g. you hear an author is attacking people who leave negative reviews on their books)?

I haven't really been put in a situation where this has happened, but I would probably hold such people and their work in low opinion. 

5. Name 5 books you will pay with your soul to see adapted either as a movie or television series.

I'd be too afraid that they'd do a serious botch-job and ruin everything and over-hype it all. But assuming I didn't have to worry about that stuff, The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, after the quake by Haruki Murakami, Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke, and Thursday's Child by Sonya Hartnett. 

6. Do you prefer standalone or books in a series?

I don't think I have a preference, though there are certain series I think would have worked better if they'd stopped at the first book (e.g. Hunger Games).  

7. Have you ever read the reviews for a book before you've read it, spoilers and all?

Nope, I try to avoid spoilers (though some friends make that impossible with George Martin's books... Holmes, I'm looking at you). 

8. Name a character you hate that everyone else seems to love?

Oh gosh I don't know... Peeta from the Hunger Games? Do people tend to like him? I mean, I'm still undecided, but I'm leaning towards Team Gale. 

9. Name a character you love that everyone else seems to hate? (Aren't I so original with my questions?)
Up until this season of Game of Thrones, I really loved Shae. I forgot to take into consideration that everyone I was talking to had read the books and already knew what she was going to do this season. 

10. What compels you more into a story - the plot or the characters?
I think the characters have to interest me more than the plot does, though I prefer a nice balance of good plot and good characters. 

11. Do you prefer happy or tragic endings? Or even cliffhangers?
I like realistic endings. None of that 'and they all live happily ever after' bullcrap. But that doesn't mean it has to end in tragedy either. Cliffhangers are only okay if it's a part of a series (and not the last book). 

Questions for whoever cares to answer them:
1. What is your least favourite book genre?
2. What is your least favourite colour?
3. Pick one character (from anywhere, book, tv, movie, etc.) for each of these: snog, marry, avoid.
4. Your favourite television programme from your childhood?
5. Was there a character from a kids show you were legitimately afraid of?
6. What fruit do you consume most frequently?
7. Would you rather be able to do a backflip or stand on your head?
8. Can you do a backflip or stand on your head?
9. What style(s) of dance have you had lessons for? (They don't have to have been serious lessons.)
10. Which of your own characters are you most proud of having created?
11. Would you rather live in Westeros and the Free Cities, Middle Earth, or Narnia?

I nominate:
1. JeffO
2. G.M
3. Watson
4. Holmes
5. Shari (I have no idea how many followers you have, but you're being nominated anyway!)
6. Patrick

And I can only be bothered doing six, so yeah, the last three places are open to whoever.

- Bonnee.

Liebster Award (again)

First of all, congratulations to JeffO and cestlavie22, who correctly answered the question I posed last post. Which British author invented the paperback novel, the serial and coined the term 'cliff-hanger'?  It was Charles Dickens. JeffO and cestlavie22, if either of you would like to do a guest post on my blog, or an interview, etc, let me know and it can be arranged. 

Next up, EJ has given me the Liebster Award. I've already received this once so I'm not going to pass it on again, because it will just be the same people, but I will do the questions thing...

Rules (not all of which will be followed): 

1. Bloggers nominate other up-and-coming bloggers (with less than 200 followers) for the award.
2. If you receive the Liebster, you must:
- Tell 11 random things about yourself.
- Answer the 11 questions the nominator has asked you.
- Nominate 11 other bloggers and make sure you notify them.

11 Random Facts: 
1. I'm a little obsessed with anime. 
2. I know how to party both with and without alcohol. (I prefer with.) 
3. I write a lot. Duh. 
4. I am currently watching some talk-show where the guest on stage and a lot of members in the audience are signing instead of talking... in different accents.
5. I spent yesterday reading the names off the map that shows different Aboriginal groups/languages that's on a wall at the school my mum works at while I was waiting for her to stop talking to her teacher-friends in there.
6. Controversial humour is my favourite.
7. iPhones make me feel dizzy, but other smartphones don't.
8. If I could have a superpower, I'd be able to set things on fire.
9. I'm a bit of a pyromaniac. At least... I like fire.
10. I prefer real books to Kindles and e-readers.
11. I'M PUMPED TO HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED INTO MY UNIVERSITY OF PREFERENCE! WOOO!!!!!! (I had to save the best one for last :D )

Questions from the nominator:

Who is your favorite blogger?

I don't like picking favourites, but JeffO never fails to make his blogposts entertaining and interesting :)  

Where are you from?

Australia. Or as we tend to pronounce it, 'Straya'. 

What social media sites do you have?

Facebook and Blogger. 

What do your think about yourself?

"I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best." Marilyn Munroe quotes for the win. 

Who inspires you the most?

How do I answer this question? Tim Burton? William Shakespeare? Patrick Rothfuss? P!nk? 

What is your life motto?

Live as if you'll die tomorrow. Dream as if you'll live forever. 

Favorite city?

Melbourne! 

Describe your style?

Style? What's that? I have style? I'm probably the most miss-matched, dorkiest... you get it. 

What is the first thing that you put in your bag?

Phone.

What are you reading at the moment?

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. 

Well like I said, I'm not going to pass the award on because that takes too much effort... But if you have less than 200 followers and want to be given the Liebster Award, then I CHOOSE YOU! 

- Bonnee. 

Writer's Update and the Liebster Blog Award

I found a bit of time today and yesterday to just WRITE! At long last... the downsides of being a writer in your final year of high-school. 

Yesterday, I wrote a short story in practice for my literature assessment task next week. This had to be done in the style of Haruki Murakami's stories as seen in his collection after the quake, and revolve around similar themes so that it could become part of the collection. In writing this, I also conceived the idea of a new, bigger writing project which I'm actually really excited about. Moments later, the lovely Mrs Goulding came up to me with entry forms and information about a novella competition for Australian high-school aged kids. Hello opportunity! 

But then I thought about it... the deadline is December 5th and this new idea is nowhere near ready to start baking. Oh wait, I'm already working on something! KATHERINE! So guess who wrote another chapter for Katherine? I did :) And if I can finish it by the deadline and keep it between 10,000 and 20,000 words, it can go into the competition. Wew!