Falling Through Pages: The Liebster Award

I am taking a brief detour from my reviews with this post. I have been nominated for the Liebster Award by two lovely bloggers (A Barmy Bookworm and Robyn).

The Liebster Award is for blogs that have less than 200 followers. Both bloggers who nominated me have given me 11 questions to answer about myself, which I have answered below; I also have to list 11 additional facts about myself. In return I have nominated 11 bloggers and posed 11 questions for them to answer!

Robyn's Questions

What is your favorite fictional place? Could be a funky bedroom, another planet, another time, gets tricky. As you'll quickly discover with my answers to some of these questions, I am a bit of a Tolkien fan, so I would definitely say Middle-earth.
What inspires you most? This is a pretty tough one. I would say that I'm most inspired by genuinely good people, the people who are just overall willing to help other people and don't expect things in return.
Who is your favorite female character on TV or in movies? My favorite female character is probably Aria Stark from Game of Thrones. She is one of the few characters that I cheer for on that show.
What is your favorite movie-based-on-a-book? My favorite movies overall are The Lord of the Rings movies, which are based on a book!
If you had a chance to chat up an author, who would be your pick? I would definitely talk to Tolkien. I just want to know more about Middle-earth and his life. I basically want to see inside his mind.
How much time do you spend blogging...thinking about it, clicking away, world building on your site? I honestly have no idea. I spend a lot of time picking books, requesting books through NetGalley, finding books on Goodreads, reading the books, writing the reviews, networking on Book Blogs, pasting my reviews to Goodreads, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble, that I basically spend a majority of my free time on the various sites.
What is your favorite book series beginning to end? My favorite book series is also The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, but for variety I will also say that I'm a big fan of Ilona Andrews' Kate Daniels series.
What book series ended too soon for you? I'll confess that most of the series that I read are still going. But two series that I hope get some continuation are Nicole Luiken's Violet Eyes series and Dena Landon's Shapeshifter's Quest (I want it to have a sequel).
What book would you more love to see on the big or little screen? Hmmm...I would really like to see Jennifer Estep's Mythos Academy series, simply because I feel like a lot of cool things could be done with it, and I love the characters.
What's the right order, books, blogs, girls/boys (romantically), family, pets, kids? Exclude what doesn't pertain to your life. Well, from most important to least important: family (I count pets as family), friends, boys (if I am currently in a relationship), books, blogs, boys (if I'm not in a relationship).
What character would you like to kick into a-whole-nother stratosphere? And my obvious answer is Bella Swan. As far as female characters go, she is pretty ridiculous. There are plenty of bad characters out there, but most of them have a motivation. The fact that Bella only cares about Edward....no thanks.

A Barmy Bookworm's Questions

What do you get from your blogging? Well, the main reason I started blogging was actually to force myself to review books. I got into the habit of reading books, having a vague inclination about whether or not I liked a book, and then moving on to the next one. I decided to start reviewing books because it makes me really look at a book and grapple with my opinion of it. Not only does blogging hold me accountable for my reviews, but since I like seeing what other people think of the books they've read, it seemed appropriate that I put my opinion out their for others.
What makes good reading for you? For me, a book is interesting if I get sucked into the world. The level of realness it forms in my mind mostly influences how I react to a book. If I become involved in that world on an emotional level, I'm hooked. If I also connect with and love the characters, the book is perfect, despite any flaws it may have.
What makes you want to share good reading with others? I love reading, and I love finding new books and authors to fall in love with. Since I often rely on seeing what other people have read, I believe other people do the same thing, and I wouldn't want them to miss the chance to discover a new author or book.
Which books do you think everyone should read, at least once in their lives? As cheesy as this is, I believe everyone should read Tolkien's work. However, I think this is best done in a classroom setting, especially for people who don't necessarily like fantasy. I think that it is a great series that shows how heavily influential mythology is in the construction of modern stories, but it also is really influential to other fantasy writers.
Which author would you like to/would you have liked to have met, and why? Tolkien, for the reasons to the question above and my answer to Robyn's similar question.
What's the most challenging book you've ever read, and why? The most challenging book I ever read was The Silmarillion. I tried to read it back in 7th grade, right after I finished reading the trilogy, and I actually had to put it down and return to it a few years later. The content is very dense and not written the same way the other books are written.
What's the funniest book you've ever read, and why? I honestly don't remember. I know I have read a few books that have had me laughing to the point of tears, but I don't remember which ones they are.
What's the best book-to-film adaptation you've ever seen? The best adaptation I've seen is A Game of Thrones into the first season of Game of Thrones. I didn't read the book until after I watched the first season, and it was so hard forcing myself through the book because the two were SO similar.
Has any book ever inspired you, and why? I think all books inspire me. Every time I read a great book, I always want to write my own book, which I have tried and failed to do multiple times. I also always want to go out and have epic adventures.
Do you stop reading books you don't like? Or keep going regardless to the end? I typically try to make it through the entire book. It might take me a few months to make it through the book, since I can only handle small doses, but I feel like giving the book a chance to tell its story and (rarely) redeem itself. There is only one book that I never finished reading, and I can't even remember the name of it.
Do you get rid of books you've read? Pass them on to others? Or fill up your home with them till there's no more room for you? If I like/love a book, I keep it; I almost always re-read books, so I don't like getting rid of them unless it is a book I know I won't read again. I let other people borrow books on occasion, but I'm super picky about creases in the spines of books and damage to pages, so there are few people I trust with my books.

My Eleven Facts

I saw The Fellowship of the Ring a total of 12 times in theaters...I don't know how many times I've seen it since then.
I almost always have multiple creative "projects" going on at once.
I have a dog that is bigger than me.
I love being outside.
I once lent a friend a book and it was damaged when they returned it, so I bought a new copy.
I don't like 3D movies.
I read Tolkien criticism for fun.
I have a ridiculous amount of tea in my cabinet...you never know when you'll want tea.
I love going on adventures.
I am hyper organized.
I'm one of those people that goes to a bookstore and takes about an hour deciding which book to buy with my extra money. (It's a tough choice!)

My Nominees

The Questions for My Nominees

What made you decide to start blogging/why do you continue to blog?
What is the first book you remember reading?
If you could only read ten books for the rest of your life, what would they be?
What is your worst reading experience?
What is your favorite book-to-film (can be movie or TV) adaptation, and why?
What are your feelings about used books? Do you love them or do you only buy new books?
Are you an e-book reader, or do you need the feel of the book in your hand?
If you could redo the books shelving system at bookstores (i.e. romance, teen, fantasy/sci-fi, etc.) how would you organize the books?
If you could spend a day with any author, who would it be and what would you want to do?
What is your favorite fictional land from a book? Where would you most like to live?
What fictional character would you most like to be like, and why?

Instructions for My Nominees

Copy and paste the award onto your blog
Answer my 11 questions
Come up with 11 questions, 11 nominees with less than 200 followers, and 11 facts about yourself
Leave a comment on your nominee's blog telling them about the award
Thank your nominator