For today article, I decided to reach out to my favourite bookish friends and ask them five book related questions. I am very happy they agreed to do this and joined my little project. I hope you enjoy this article and if you like their answers check these beautiful people on Instagram.
1.) What is your favourite book genre and why?
My favourite genre is Young Adult and fantasy. It is because I can relate to the character but still have my escape to an amazing new world.
2.) What is the book that everyone should read and why?
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas because it relates to current problems in the world. This book offers a different perspective on police shootings and helps you to understand what the problem is and why it is so important that we do something about it.
3.) What are your reading habits or what kind of reader are you?
I can read in most places but my favourite place to read is on the couch or in bed with (biiig) cup of tea. That's my ultimate way of relaxing. Sometimes I light some candles during reading. I also try to match my bookmark with my book. So satisfying.
4.) If you were granted one bookish wish that will come true, what would it be?
Ah! This is a hard one! The best thing would be to have a magical key with which I can travel to bookish worlds and meet the characters within them. But maybe with a safety function in it that I just return to this world again when I die. Characters can be so reckless...
5.) Why do you think reading is important?
Reading can be important for so many reasons. in general it makes you richer. Books can help you understand important matters in life better or can make you feel understood. Or it can help you forget this world for a while (in a healthy way). I also love that there aren't any limits in the books, let your imagination go loose and you can do anything you want! Books also help me to be less stressed in my daily life.
1.) What is your favourite book genre and why?
My favourite genre is Mystery/Thrillers! I like to try and solve the mystery alongside the characters and I love being surprised by a plot twist.
2.) What is the book that everyone should read and why?
I think everybody should read the Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater! I kind of cheated because it is a series but it's honestly so good. The writing is phenomenal and the plot is well thought out. Most importantly the characters are lovable and amazingly written.
3.) What are your reading habits or what kind of reader are you?
I read whenever I can! I'm a university student so I don't have as much time as I used to have but now I read in the train on my way to Uni or whenever I have some time off.
4.) If you were granted one bookish wish that will come true, what would it be?
My reader's dream has always been attending Hogwarts. It's a very common dream but I mean who wouldn't want to attend classes and be sorted and have magic in general?
5.) Why do you think reading is important?
Reading is important for the mind. I've learned so much by just reading and it really trains the mind to become more active. Besides that, I think readers have a better feel for other's emotions because, well we read about them so we learn to recognise it in real life as well. I also think while books can give me stress sometimes, it is a good activity to get your mind off of other stuff that is happening in your real life.
1.) What is your favourite book genre and why?
Currently, it's definitely Young Adult and Fantasy. There are so many different amazing authors out there that created incredible worlds to indulge in.
Currently, it's definitely Young Adult and Fantasy. There are so many different amazing authors out there that created incredible worlds to indulge in.
2.) What is the book that everyone should read and why?
Children of Blood and Bone, as it is such a beautiful world Tomi Adeyemi created. It is based on imagination, but it also carries such an important message about our world and it really made me think about the inequality out there and how important it is for us to open our eyes to it.
Children of Blood and Bone, as it is such a beautiful world Tomi Adeyemi created. It is based on imagination, but it also carries such an important message about our world and it really made me think about the inequality out there and how important it is for us to open our eyes to it.
3.) What are your reading habits or what kind of reader are you?
I love reading before bed, which is why I generally don't tend to read scary books. I will curl up in bed, with a cup of tea or hot chocolate, a hot water bottle at my feet and read for ages (which is usually why I end up being really tired the next day).
I love reading before bed, which is why I generally don't tend to read scary books. I will curl up in bed, with a cup of tea or hot chocolate, a hot water bottle at my feet and read for ages (which is usually why I end up being really tired the next day).
4.) If you were granted one bookish wish that will come true, what would it be?
I would love to be able to meet George Orwell, I feel like he had such a great understanding of the world and the way our society would develop over the years. So I would love to discuss his book 1984 over a cup of tea with him.
I would love to be able to meet George Orwell, I feel like he had such a great understanding of the world and the way our society would develop over the years. So I would love to discuss his book 1984 over a cup of tea with him.
5.) Why do you think reading is important?
When you read a book you live someone else's life, it's like experiencing what they experience without being there, my dad always called it 'a cinema in your head', but it's so much more than that, you don't just see what the characters see, it's like you are there with them. Books were always a big part of my life and definitely helped me in my own development and gave me the strength to be who I wanted to be.
A lot of writers out there create worlds so that they can take people away from this world and give them the feeling that no matter what difficulties you face, there is always a way and I think that's something we all have to keep in mind.
When you read a book you live someone else's life, it's like experiencing what they experience without being there, my dad always called it 'a cinema in your head', but it's so much more than that, you don't just see what the characters see, it's like you are there with them. Books were always a big part of my life and definitely helped me in my own development and gave me the strength to be who I wanted to be.
A lot of writers out there create worlds so that they can take people away from this world and give them the feeling that no matter what difficulties you face, there is always a way and I think that's something we all have to keep in mind.
Laurajfairburn - Laura, 28, UK, employeed in HR
1.) What is your favourite book genre and why?
Fantasy/Magical
2.) What is the book that everyone should read and why?
Memoirs of a geisha - beautifully written book, and shows a different (and normally very hidden) culture in great detail.
3.) What are your reading habits or what kind of reader are you?
Casual reader, I listen to audiobooks when walking and read physical books when I can.
Casual reader, I listen to audiobooks when walking and read physical books when I can.
4.) If you were granted one bookish wish that will come true, what would it be?
I would love for Hogwarts to be real, and to receive the letter!
5.) Why do you think reading is important?
Reading allows you to take your mind to another place and to experience the world through different eyes. In the words of George RR Martin, “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, The man who never reads lives only one.”
Reading allows you to take your mind to another place and to experience the world through different eyes. In the words of George RR Martin, “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, The man who never reads lives only one.”
Tomdruil - Tom-Erik, 34, a freelancer in the book industry
1.) What is your favourite book genre and why?
This one would have been easy to answer five years ago: Fantasy. However, these last five years I've come to love Contemporary novels as well. That being said, I mostly read Young Adult novels, and I suppose those books share enough in common to maybe be labelled a genre in and of itself? I usually read Young Adult and the Fantasy (Mostly Urban Fantasy) and contemporary genre. I also love a good horror story. Stephanie Perkins' There's Someone inside Your House comes to mind.
2.) What is the book that everyone should read and why?
Can we turn a book into books plural? Yeah? Okay. I am currently reading Jessica Townsend's Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow and the hype is real! Loving this Middle-Grade Fantasy so much, and I think everyone should read it. I will of course also campaign "Simon VS the Homo Sapiens Agenda" by Becky Albertalli til the day I die. That book kinda changed my life and was my ticket to contemporary novels. Now I can't get enough. I should also mention "This Book is Gay" by Juno Dawson. This is a non-fiction with life-saving information about being LGBTQ+ and should be in every school library. Please also check out "The Dangerous Art of Blending In" by debut author (are you sensing a theme here?) that I loved this year was "The Wicked Deep" by Shea Ernshaw. My gothic heart fell hard for that one! And of course, everyone should read "The Lord of the Rings" and all the "Harry Potter" books. Duh!
3.) What are your reading habits or what kind of reader are you?
I'm the worst kind of reader. I wish I could say that I had this neat TBR pile sectioned into months and what I would read that month based on, I dunno, whether or book content but no. I have the unfortunate luck of being one of those readers that read based on my current mood. Which is why there are eleven books on my bookshelf right now that I haven't finished yet this year. I'm waiting for the right mood to strike. haha! Reading also makes me super tired, for some reason. even if the book is great! So usually I can't read for too long before I get tired.
4.) If you were granted one bookish wish that will come true, what would it be?
You said this could be anything so I would transform this planet into the Middle-Earth with all the elves and hobbits and wizards and orcs, and places that exist in Tolkien's Legendarium. I would just wipe everything off the face of the Earth to be able to live in the Middle-Earth. And then I'd do get myself a really sharp sword. And some Lembas.
You said this could be anything so I would transform this planet into the Middle-Earth with all the elves and hobbits and wizards and orcs, and places that exist in Tolkien's Legendarium. I would just wipe everything off the face of the Earth to be able to live in the Middle-Earth. And then I'd do get myself a really sharp sword. And some Lembas.
5.) Why do you think reading is important?
To quote the great RuPaul "Reading is fundamental". In reading and especially in reading stories, we find out who we are (or who we wish to be) and discover truths about ourselves, our friends and family and society at large. This is why diversity in novels is so important. Everybody deserved to see themselves reflected in the pages of a story (as well as on the screen) and I'm so happy we're making great strides toward that happening for many people. Still, we have a long way to go and there are still marginalized groups of people that still need books about them. I think diverse books are especially important in those formative years where you're a curious kid, teenager or young adult, which is why I'm doing my best to spread the word about those kinds of books in the Bookstagram community and elsewhere. As a gay man, I never saw myself in the books growing up but now that I have and finally know what it feels like to be seen and heard and respected for who I am, I want that same feeling for everyone else as well.
