The Liebster Award

I am late, oh so late!

 

Several people have nominated me to this award already and I have been postponing it because quite frankly I did not know how to answer their questions. I hope they will forgive me!
So today I woke up and figured… What better way to start the month? :)

On to…

 

The Rules

1. Post the award on your blog.

2. Thank the blogger who presented this award and link back to their blog.

3. Write 11 random facts about yourself.

4. Nominate 11 bloggers who you feel deserve this award and who have less than 200 followers; notify them in their own blogs.

5. Answer 11 questions posted by the presenter and ask your nominees 11 questions.

 

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First and foremost, the folks who nominated me (please let me know if I missed anyone!):

• Mimi @ From Cover 2 Cover
• SumeetK @ Musings of a Reading Mind
• Kimberly @ Come Hither Books

Thank you so much for your nominations!
I love all three blogs and recommend that you take some time to browse them.

 

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11 Random Facts:

1. I sometimes (who am I kidding, most of the times!) freak out when taken out of my comfort zone.

2. I really love going to bed early. Like 9pm early. Snuggle with my book and slowly drift off to sleep.

3. Before I had my Kindle Paperwhite I could not understand why people loved e-readers and was utterly convinced I would never get one.

4. I had actually not read for a while before I found GoodReads in August 2014. The fact that the site encouraged people to write reviews on the books they read was a motivation to pick it up again and it was only a matter of time until I created my group there Book Lair and then my blog, Ana’s Lair.

5. I am your typical introvert. I do not mix well with people. Most interactions are pretty awkward. I have slowly been adapting, especially in a professional environment, but I am definitely not a people person.

6. I have been drinking coffee (espresso) without sugar for probably 2 years now because it’s healthier and I still have not gotten used to it. Blergh!

7. My favourite tv show is Criminal Minds.

8. I am a perfectionist in pretty much everything I do. If I don’t think I will do it well, I would rather not do it.

9. I am not a competitive person in the usual sense of the word; that is, I do not compete with others. Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses. I only compete with myself and try to be the best I can.

10. I absolutely love nature. I prefer the beach and there are few things I enjoy more than lying down, feeling warm and drifting off to the sound of waves crashing, but I also love to lie down on the grass in the shade of a tree, perhaps near a lake or river. Reading, of course!

11. The last random fact about me is that I am a dog person (sorry, cat lovers!) and would really love to have one, but I live in an apartment and cannot bear the thought of the poor thing being closed up, all alone for so many hours. Hopefully one day I will move to a house which at least has a big veranda where she (yes, it will be a she!!) can be at least a bit entertained.

 

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My Nominees:

1. Kimberly, at Come Hither Books. Yes, I know, she is one of my nominators but I really, really like her blog. She has all sorts of different posts, not just reviews, but those are the ones I really enjoy. I love how she always takes 3 characteristics of each book and uses those as recommendations for folks who might like it. I also fancy the blog style very much.

2. Don’t know her name?? The blog is In a Good Bookroom and it is definitely one of my favourites, I honestly cannot tell why it does not have more followers. I like the blog style and that the review posts have links to GR. Her writing style is very clear and I always enjoy reading those posts.

3. Rita, at books & stuff. Another of my favourite looking blogs. The style is pretty, the book information she writes in each post is just enough and the reviews themselves are lovely. She brings up interesting points, very often stuff I notice myself, so I really enjoy reading them.

4. Elle, at ELLECTRIC BOOK REVIEWS. I like her review writing style and grade system!

5. A. P. Bullard, at Triskele Reviews. I discovered this one fairly recently but am already enjoying visiting it quite a lot! I appreciate the blogger’s writing style and the points she addresses in each review.

6. Ivy Natalie, at The Underground Books. Another great clean-looking blog, which displays in each review post the information I want to see in a clear way, honest writing and funny animated pictures!

7. Jade, at Bookmuffin. I like her blog style and find her pretty unique, given the way she subdivides each section of her review. That way if you are wondering about her opinion on whether the book was a page turner or if the characters feel real, you can clearly identify that portion in the text.

8. Geoffrey, at High Tea Dreams. Great reviews, terrific musings, not much more to say, go visit it!

9. Sierra, at SDAVREADS. Boy, that girl can always make me smile when I read her reviews. Witty posts with plenty of info. I love her little intro below each cover.

10. Katie, at sherlockianbooklover. Very pretty, classical looking blog and lovely book related posts.

11. Koeur, at KOEUR’S BOOK REVIEWS. I started following his reviews on GR and then on his blog. He writes reviews solely of books which have not yet been available to the public, as far as I can tell. I admire him for his ability to be concise but to the point.

I am sure there are plenty more great blogs who have less than 200 followers that I have missed, so please feel free to nominate yourself!

 

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My Questions:

1. What do you look for in a book?

2. Which is the first book you remember reading and thoroughly enjoying?

3. What is your favourite book format?

4. How many books are currently in your shelf (virtual or rl) waiting to be read?

5. What do you do to get over reading slumps?

6. Do you pre-order books? Why?

7. Do you buy second-hand books? Why?

8. What are your reading related pet peeves?

9. What motivated you to start your blog?

10. Has it developed the way you first envisioned?

11. Dream project that you would love to fulfill?

 

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My Answers:

Since this is the main reason why I postponed this so long, I hope my nominators don’t mind that I answer my own questions. I think it would be rather pointless that I kept answering I don’t know’ to most of yours since I don’t really notice that kind of stuff, sorry!!

1. What do you look for in a book?
I love a good story that makes me wonder What if… Clean, clear writing with plenty of depth regarding characters and world development. So fantasy, horror and sci-fi are the genres I tend to gravitate towards.

2. Which is the first book you remember reading and thoroughly enjoying?
The first book I remember feeling utterly enthralled about is As Aventuras de João Sem Medo. As far as I know, there is no english translated version. Shame, really. It is children fantasy but can be read at any age and I guarantee it will take you away and you will feel so much better after that journey.

3. What is your favourite book format?
I never thought I would say it but, most of the times, my favourite book format is the e-reader. Ever since I got my Kindle Paperwhite, I think I have only picked up one single paperback, and it was a light one. The portability of it cannot compare to anything. Such a small, light device containing hundreds of books!!
I do notice that I find it harder to focus and remember the story than while reading a physical copy, though.

4. How many books are currently in your shelf (virtual or rl) waiting to be read?
Oh my… An estimate, of course (and this is where GR shelves come in handy!!) of 700 books.
I am trying really hard not to buy any more! And in my defence, a large part of that if not more was actually free on Amazon.com.

5. What do you do to get over reading slumps?
Well, I actually wrote a post about this: Reading Slumps.
I basically try three things: try and remember it’s supposed to be fun, take a break from reading if need be, and go for palate cleansers – different genres from my usuals.

6. Do you pre-order books? Why?
Sometimes I do. I also wrote a post about this, eheh. I suppose not being able to view the cover can be a tricky matter, it can go really well or really nasty, but most of all I see advantages to doing it.

7. Do you buy second-hand books? Why?
Who doesn’t love a good book sale? It’s a great way to find older books which you cannot get elsewhere, so I do buy them when I go to those places. Or when I cannot find a new version of the book. I recently ordered a second-hand copy of Insomnia, by Stephen King, since it is always my choice of recommendation for people who want to start reading SK (About time!!) and I realized I only had the portuguese version. There is a new one out there but I did not like the cover so figured I would order this one. I should get it in the beginning of the week, looking forward to it!

8. What are your reading related pet peeves?
Oh wow, I have quite a few.
I am very tentative of reading book reviews because I really hate reading spoilers. So quite often I hesitate on reading ones on books I plan on reading, especially if in the near future.
Regarding books themselves… I hate seeing damaged books. Whether it’s notes or bent pages or whatever.
The notes thing is one of the main reasons why I love e-readers. If I am reading a physical copy I will do anything to scrawl the thoughts elsewhere, never on the book. And bent pages… Gah! Bookmarks!! At all times! I can understand why people would do it regarding quotes and stuff, but again, I try to write them elsewhere, even if on my phone Notes app. As far as I am concerned, books should be preserved as close to new state as possible.
The final pet peeve I can remember right now is when you are trying to read a book and people chat with you like you are doing nothing or make unnecessary noise in general. How obnoxious is that?

9. What motivated you to start your blog?
Well, it was a pretty lame reason. When I started my blog I was not sure I would be keeping it going. I noticed that some requests I got from Netgalley got denied and not having a blog was one of the possible reasons so I figured… Why not? Then I started wondering if there was anything else I could write about, other interests. I wondered about posting pictures and movie reviews and just kept going.

10. Has it developed the way you first envisioned?
For the most part, I suppose it has. I did not know – or at least had hoped it would not require much html knowledge, so I kind of wish some of the sections would look different. I sort of gave up on the photographs one because I don’t really take that many interesting pictures and my phone camera quality is not that good. On the other hand, I did start posting movie reviews and also music videos related to the genres I enjoy the most. I don’t really stray much from those themes. My main passion is books so most of what you will find in Ana’s Lair revolves around them, particularly reviews.

11. Dream project that you would love to fulfill?

Oh boy, tough one. Who came up with such a question??
Well, I suppose it would be related to my dream job.
I have been searching for a job for a while now and would love one which allowed me to practice my english and maybe do book related stuff? Or at least one which would allow me plenty of reading time!

 

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That’s all, folks!
As always, feel free to post below.
What did you think of this post? And of the questions I chose?
Looking forward to reading your comments!