One reason last Friday the 13th was a great day for me:
I was nominated for the Liebster Award by two fellow bloggers, Miranda and Tiffanie (M&T Bookish), who have kindly taken the time read my writing and not turned away in scorn. A warm and grateful shout out to you both!
I wasn’t sure what a Liebster Award was, exactly, despite my high school German expertise that led me to envision a cross between “love” and “lobster*” (It actually means “Dearest,” which my German teacher would probably shake her fist at me for forgetting because we did write letters as a class assignment.)
*a term of endearment as in Friends, “He’s her lobster.”
The Liebster Award, from what I can deduce, is more like a blogging chain letter than an award, BUT it’s objective is to recognize and promote up-and-coming bloggers who don’t have a large following yet (less than 200). So, I’m all for it.
Here are the rules:
1.You must link back to the person who nominated you. (Holla, Miranda and Tiff!)
2.You must answer the 10 Liebster questions given to you by the nominee before you.
3.You must pick 8-10 bloggers to be nominated for the award with fewer than 200 followers.
4.You must come up with 10 questions for your nominees to answer.
5.You must go to their blogs and notify your nominees.
Here are the questions Miranda and Tiffanie asked me to answer:
1. Who is your favorite author. Or who you most enjoy reading?
Any question that prompts me to answer with just one of something is an automatic fail. My friend Lauren (whose blog is linked below!) once said—and maybe she was quoting someone else—that’s she’s the kind of person who has 100 favorite movies in her top ten.
It’s possible I butchered that quote, but you get the idea. I can’t pick just one favorite author. Who I like to read often depends on what mood I’m in. I love Animal Husbandry by Laura Zigman, and I’ve read it at least four times (it’s a good one to read after a break-up), but that’s a special occasion book. The first author whose books I devoured (six in one summer, at which point I had to wait for the new one to come out) was Janet Evanovich, and I also read Karen Kingsbury with the dedication and fervor of a meth addict.
In terms of fun, quick, engaging reads, I’m all for Suzanne Collins and J.K. Rowling, and even (don’t judge me) Stephanie Meyer. Without the latter, I might never have gone to Dartmouth, which is an anecdote I neglect to tell my fellow Dartmouth colleagues. Edward might have been a pre-teen sensation, but I loved him first, dammit.
Then there are the books of “literary merit,” where I read them and think, Wow. These people can write, authors like Tobias Wolff and Mary Karr and Carson McCullers, and the authors of the classics.
I could sincerely write another ten paragraphs on books and authors, but seeing as your eyes probably glazed over fourteen sentences ago, I’ll just go with my most recent re-discovered favorite author, that would be David Sedaris, because he’s SO FUNNY. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim is my all-time fave, but his most recent book—Let’s Explore Diabetes With Owls—is also amazing. No one else can write about a colonoscopy and make you want to read it more than once.
2. What book do you think everyone must read in high school?
Hmm. Probably The Great Gatsby, but also—because it’s fun and funny—The Princess Bride.
3. Favorite musical artists. (Or top 3 if you must)
I’ll just say NeedtoBreathe and be done with it. I’ve seen them in concert three times, met them twice, had a “Marry me, Bear” phase*.
*I’ve since moved on to Chris August.
4. Favorite sweet/candy. WHY?
I’m impressed that there needs to be an all-caps WHY.
Surprisingly, I’m not really a candy person. Back in middle school I ate skittles and shock-tarts every day, so I’m good for the rest of my life on those.
I also went through a Mike and Ikes phase (road trip food), and a British lolli phase (thanks to a British boyfriend), but if I have to eat any sort of candy, I’m a chocolate girl all the way. Snickers, Milky Way, M&Ms, milk duds, Milka bars, boxes of chocolate, Reces Peanut Butter Cups, etc. Lindor Lindt chocolate bars and truffles are the best if you want to spoil yourself.
5. Favorite meme/ gif. Be sure to include the image.
I’ve put this up on my blog before. It’s just so me.
6. Would you rather be 18 years old for the rest of your life, or 30 years old?
I’m not sure if the question is asking if I want to be 18 OR 30 years old for the rest of my life, or just a one-time shot at being 30 years old. As in, “Right now, you could be 18 again, but you’ll have to stay that way forever, or you could be 30 and age like a normal human being.” If I could be 30 forever, I’d choose that.
7. Place you most want to travel to.
I’d have to say Italy because of my life’s goal to create an eat-my-way-through-Italy tour. Of course I’m interested in the country because of its language and history and art, and I’m sure it’s beautiful, especially on the coast, but I cannot die before I’ve experienced true Italian pizza, brochette, pasta, and gelato (!!!!!).
8. What is the most dangerous situation you’ve been in?
My standards of danger and the world’s standards of danger are probably very different. I’ve jumped out of planes and off of bridges and hitchhiked with strangers. I’ve been in an enclosure with a killer whale, scuba-dived with eels, and skied off mountains, and all of that seemed fine with me. I’m a total wuss, though, when I feel unprepared for something.
One of the scariest moments I’ve experienced was on my first solo trip abroad to Scotland. My friend was supposed to meet me at the bus stop in Edinburgh, but we’d only exchanged facebook messages days before my flight. I didn’t have an address or her phone number, and when my flight was delayed, I had no way to tell her I wouldn’t be there when I said I would. Most people would think: “Oh, I’ll just find a hostel or place to stay until we can connect, no big deal,” but I was actually panicking. Like: “This is the end; I will sit at this bus stop all night and freeze to death hoping she shows up.” Thankfully she had the patience of a saint and was still there when the bus dropped me off.
9. Favorite website?
I start with Facebook and click on everyone’s links from there. I read blogs, check out videos, read those Upworthy clips, see Instagram photos, etc. from the portal of my newsfeed. (Totally lame, sorry.)
10. What’s on the top of your to-do list?
Publish a blog!
So, here are the blogs I’d like to nominate:
Here are your questions, dear blogger nominees (and if anyone else wants to answer them in a comment or personal message, feel free).
- Who is the funniest author you’ve read*? (Gauged by number of “laugh out louds”)
- Do you have a favorite poem? What is it? (If you want to link the poem or write a favorite line or copy the whole thing, I won’t object.)
- Describe one of your favorite moments with an animal, your own or otherwise.
- What is the WORST book you’ve ever read and what made it so bad?
- Write a haiku.
- If a movie were to be based on your life, whom would you cast to play you?
- Would you rather be on a plane sitting next to a constant flatulator, or BE the constant flatulator? (This is a pressing issue since I’m currently in the situation of the former.)
- What inspired you to start blogging?
- If you could give yourself an Indian name—sorry, Native American name—what would it be? Feel free to explain. (For example, mine would be “Rolling Ball.”)
- What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
That’s all folks. Have an enjoyable hump day! (I won’t insert the camel commercial again, I promise.)
_____
*because I’d like to read them
They Call Me Fushilou 