Sunshine Blogger Award (I and II)

So, I got another bunch of blogging award nominations. This time, I got nominated for the Sunshine Blogger Award. I feel blessed because I got not just one but two nominations. The first nomination was from Julie @ One Book More and my second nomination was from Piyush @ The Thinking Pen. They both have amazing blogs so do check out their blogs. I am grateful to the both of you for this nomination and recognition. I really appreciate it. Happy blogging!

What is the Sunshine Blogger Award?

The Sunshine Blogger Award is a blogging community-driven award wherein bloggers nominate their fellow bloggers. Its primordial intent is to bring recognition to bloggers, especially those who fly under the radar, for their inspiring, creative, and motivational blogs.

What are the Rules?

• Thank the blogger(s) who nominated you and link back to their blog.
• Answer the 11 questions sent by the person(s) who nominated you.
• Nominate 11 new blogs and write them 11 new questions.
• List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo in your post and/or on your blog.

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Questions from Julie

1. What is the longest amount of time you have gone without reading?

~ I really cannot recall my longest reading break. I am guessing around one to two months and this was when I was still studying in college and unemployed. I didn’t have money to buy books to read. I also had to focus on my studies. LOL.

2. If you could only read one genre for the rest of your life, which genre would you choose?

~ Although I love magical realism, it can come off too strong, thus, overwhelming. I am settling with historical fiction with this then.

3. What is your favorite underrated book?

~ Trieste by Croatian writer Daša Drndić. It may seem just another World War II book but it is more than that. You can check my review of the book here: Book Review # 132: Trieste.

4. How do you keep your books organized?

~ When I had lesser books, I would organize them from read to unread, then per author. With nearly 500 books, I simply stack them, simply separating the unread ones from the read ones. I don’t even use bookshelves anymore!

5. Is there a movie/tv adaptation that you like better than the book?

~ I am not really a movie person; I prefer reading books obviously. However, if I were to choose an adaptation that is better than the book, then I’d go for The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I don’t know. The writing structure dampened the experience. Or maybe watching the movie first before reading the book influenced my view of the book (I do love Emma Watson, haha).

You can check my review of the book here: Book Review # 147: The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

6. What is the best book you’ve read this month?

~ I’m torn between Kate Elizabeth Russell’s My Dark Vanessa and Abi Dare’s The Girl With the Louding Voice. Heck, I’ll just go with the two of them. 🙂

7. Share one of your favorite book quotes.

~ I’ll go with a longer and a more substantial one but I live by this quote from The Little Prince:

“And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”

8. Which book are you most looking forward to reading?

~ Are you really sure you want me to answer this question? Haha. I do have a very long list of books I am raring to read. I’ll be naming 10 from this list. Here goes:

1. Perfume, The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind
2. Parallel Stories by Peter Nadas
3. Ulysses by James Joyce
4. The Sea of Fertility Tetralogy by Yukio Mishima
5. Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo
6. The Makioka Sisters by Junichiro Tanizaki
7. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie
8. A House for Mr. Biswas by V.S. Naipaul
9. Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong
10. In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust

9. Do you prefer a series, trilogy, duology, or standalone?

~ Standalone off course. Too impatient for book series.

10. What do you like to do besides reading and blogging?

~ I am a sportsman so I enjoy playing sports – volleyball, badminton, and lawn tennis. I also love travelling (which unfortunately I cannot do right now) and climbing mountains (which I also cannot do right now).

11. If your life were made into a movie, which famous actor would play you?

~ For the quirk, I’ll go with Johnny Depp!

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Questions from Piyush

1. Current book that you are reading?

~ The Dutch House by Ann Patchett. This is my second Patchett, after Bel Canto. Although I wasn’t a fan of Bel Canto, many positive reviews have persuaded me to give this one a chance.

2. What is your favorite song?

~ Well, this one is a tough choice, especially for someone who loves a broad type of music. Currently, I am into Korean Pop music (more popularly known as KPop). For the uninitiated, the POP in KPop is a misnomer for the genre covers a whole lot of genres. My musical flavor right now is IU’s You and I. I prefer the duet version in Fantastic Duo over the original.

3. Tell me your favorite poem and quote the lines you found beautiful.

~ I am not really into poetry so this one is kind of difficult to answer. But I’ll pick Max Ehrmann’s Desiderata. My favorite quote is the closing line:

“And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.”

4. What inspires you to keep blogging?

~ When I started my blog, I didn’t have much of a vision for it. As I got more attached to my blog, I started seeing the real purpose why I do this – to inspire others, to be a source of inspiration for others. I am still far from achieving this goal but I’ll keep pouring every ounce of my energy to do so.

5. If you were given a chance to transport 50 years back, what would you do?

~ 50 years ago. That would be 1970. I’ll just probably go and get to know my great grand parents. Else, I’d be travelling to famous tourist spots before the advent of commercialization turned them into tourist traps.

6. Tell me a happy memory of yours associated with blogging.

~ The best memory I have of blogging is that it allowed me to communicate with other bloggers. Blogging allowed me to connect with different individuals from different parts of the world.

7. What is your favorite book genre?

~ Right now, I am into Historical Fiction. It can change though. Mystery, romance, and magical realism, in succession, were once my favorite literary genres.  

8. List three authors that you simply love.

~ Sidney Sheldon for his works made me want to read more. Agatha Christie for she revived my interest in mystery and suspense. My current favorite authors are Haruki Murakami and Salman Rushdie. Oops, that’s four. 🙂

9. What do you prefer more: A series of books or an independent novel?

~ I didn’t realize that Piyush and Julie have similar questions. To reiterate, I like independent novels more than I do series.

10. One book which you read and thought “I wish I would’ve written this”.

~ Ocean Vuong’s On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous because its voice was honest, the text was lyrical, and the narrative flowed with emotions. I wish I can write a book like Han Kang’s Human Acts as well for it captured the other side of humanity vividly. 

11. Coffee in a cafe in the evening or snacks at a bar at night?

~ The younger me would have said beer at a bar at night (haha) but I got tired of the night scene so I’ll pick coffee in a cafe in the evening, with some friends, talking intimately about life.

I hope you enjoyed answers! I had a fun time answering the questions.

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My Questions

1. Would you rather be a great orator but not a good writer or a great writer but not a good orator and why?
2. Name a mantra you live your life by.
3. What are your top three most inspiring movies? Alternatively, you can name your top three most inspiring books. 
4. What are your favorite quarantine activities?
5. If you were given the chance to alter history, would you take the chance? If yes, what would you change? It can be personal or it can also be general.
6. We are living in the most uncertain of times. How do you keep motivating yourself to push through every day?
7. Travelling solo or travelling with friends?
8. What are your top three vacation picks?
9. You’re on a long haul plane trip. What book will you bring with you to read?
10. What are the things you love to do while travelling?
11. Any inspiring words? You can write your own or quote a book or movie line. 

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My Nominees

1. MrsWayfarer @ Living Free and Making a Difference
2. Violet @ Wool & Words
3. Emer @ A Little Book Haze
4. Just_Me @ Happymess Happiness
5. Hannah Celeste @ Books and Bakes
6. Anjana @ Superfluous Reading
7. Alisbooks @ Our Book Boyfriends
8. Madame Writer @ Madame Writer Blog
9. FictionFan @ FictionFan Book Review
10. Pink Roses @ EM Book Stuff
11. Kriti @ Not So Random Ramblings

Again, I want to reiterate that none of you is under any obligation to do this tag unless you truly want to. I totally understand if this is not your cup of tea. Happy blogging!

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