Meet the Book Blogger Tag

A huge thanks to Leslie@Books Are the New Black for tagging me! I’ve only recently started following her, but she’s so warm and friendly. I love her book reviews (she reads a wide range of genres, so there’s something for everyone to enjoy), and her other bookish posts are so much fun to read.

---

Rules

• Nominated bloggers can nominate ten other bloggers.
• Use the same questions from the tag.
• Tag the original creator (Bibliomavens) and the blogger who tagged you

---

Who is your all-time favourite book character?

Hands down, no question, Detective Mike Quinn from The Coffeehouse Mystery series. Not only is this my favorite cozy mystery series ever, but I also really love Quinn (oh, I like his fiancée Clare, too – she’s the amateur sleuth the books follow). He’s just such an all around really good guy with a heart of gold. He’s a hard to read guy, but truly one of the good ones in life. Whenever I need to believe in the goodness of people again, I turn to him.

If you were stranded on a desert island, which book would you take with you? (Survival books do not count)

The first one that springs to mind is The Count of Monte Cristo. Not only is it a hefty enough read to keep me occupied for a while, but maybe it’ll give me some ideas for how to get off the island. Hmm, maybe I’ll even find my own hidden cache of treasure on the desert island!

What’s your most unpopular book opinion?

I think my most unpopular book opinion would be that I really dislike YA of any genre. I’ve read a few, especially in fantasy, and just struggled with enjoying them, so I don’t think YA is my cup of tea at all despite how often they pop up everywhere. So many readers seem to love it and some of the books look interesting, but I’ve yet to find one that I actually love. I think I’m just in a place in my life where I’ve moved on from that stage. At least until my kids are in that age group and I’ll be interested in understanding them a little better.

What’s your weirdest bookish habit?

Well, when I was a kid, I used to keep hardback books under my pillow. Surprisingly, I actually slept.

As an adult, it would probably be that, when I turn the page, I have to read at least the first full paragraph before I can put it down otherwise I’ll completely forget what’s going on when I pick it up again. I’ve been doing this for about 20 years.

What character would you bring to a family event as your fake partner?

Mephi from The Bone Shard Daughter! Oh my goodness, he’s so adorable! The series is not yet clear on what kind of creature he is, but he’s just so cute. My family would love him. Animals have a special place in all of our homes and hearts, so I know he would be a huge hit with everyone. And who wouldn’t want to snuggle him?! Shh! Just don’t tell my cat…

Um…I can pick a creature as my fake partner, right??

What made you decide to start a book blog?

The Lily Cafe was never originally a book blog. I just kind of fell into it. This blog has always reflected me and my interests. Reading has always been one of my major interests, so it’s just naturally turned into more of a book blog than anything else.

What about reading and books do you love the most?

Funny you should ask! My son actually just asked this last week. I told him books let me explore real and fictional places without ever having to leave home. I love getting to experience new places and go on fun, scary, deadly, romantic, and everything in between adventures. I really do live a million lives through books alone. I also have a nagging suspicion I live more in fictional worlds than real life, so it’s a good thing I married a scientist who’s so grounded in reality that he’s been a really good anchor all these years.

What is your field of study/desired profession/current profession?

I am a reluctant stay at home mom, but I’m actually glad of that right now because I can safely be at home with my kids. Very little of my family’s daily life has actually been upended, so I can’t say this has been an agonizing time for me. I love my kids and love getting to watch them grow up, but my dream from high school was to start my own publishing company, and I’m actually hoping to get started on that dream late next year when both of my kids are in elementary school.

What are some book recommendations that became your favourites/obsessions?

I’ve never actually taken well to book recommendations. I think my tastes are a little too particular, and I tend to take exception to people telling me I’m going to love this or that. But I was really surprised when my mom got a surprise ARC of Garden Spells. She loved it and thought that, because of the sisters’ powers and the apple tree, it had enough magic to keep me interested. I ended up loving it, so it holds the distinction of being the only book ever recommended to me that I actually liked (bonus points for being the only book my mom has ever recommended to me that I actually enjoyed. Trust me, she tried a lot of books on me!). I still reread it from time to time.

What is the book you shove down everyone’s throat?

Actually, I don’t! I actually refuse to recommend books to people because I know that if my tastes can be a bit particular, so can someone else’s. If someone tells me a few things they enjoy, I can usually think of a book or two with the same or similar elements they might like, but there isn’t any one book I would want everyone to read.

But maybe a dictionary or thesaurus? I mean, my favorite book when I was a kid was my dad’s old, really thick dictionary. It taught me so much.

---

TAG! You’re it!

I hate picking out specific people to tag because, when it comes to the last spot, I just get so indecisive and then question my whole list. There are just too many I would want to tag! By that, I mean everyone. I want to tag everyone. I also don’t have time right now since my son’s school schedule flipped and now I only have 1.5 hours a day, 6 days a week, to do anything blog related.

Thank you so much for tagging me, Leslie! (seriously, check her out, she’s amazing!)