If you've been following the Bloggers Favourite Book series then you'll know that over the past few weeks we've heard from Becky and Somdyuti, two lovely ladies that have a wonderful taste in literature!
This week we have the incredible Leah, whose answers have given me some great new additions to my 'want to read' list. She is also the second person to mention, Anna and the French Kiss, so I think that it may worth googling and reading up about!
Who are you/what is your URL?
Hi! I’m Leah Grover. I write a lifestyle/book blog at www.twirlywrites.com. I love Red Rose tea and all things rose gold. If I were a very rich lady, I would buy myself lots and lots of books, followed closely by a whole bunch of things by Kate Spade. I won’t bore you with more; my website has an About page for that (Note to self: You’ve needed to revamp that page for, like, ever…).
Do you have any weird/strange reading habits?
I buy books before reading them, and don’t make nearly enough use of my library. There’s just something about owning the story the first time you experience it; it’s difficult to explain. Plus, if we’re being pragmatic here, I mark up my books when I plan on reviewing them, and libraries don’t look fondly on that.
Favourite genres?
YOUNG ADULT, YOUNG ADULT, YOUNG ADULT. Oh, and middle grade and classic literature and fantasy and maybe a biography thrown in there, if it’s a good one… Really, I just love to read!
I fell in love with YA in high school when I came across Elizabeth Scott’s Unwritten Rule in WalMart. I resonated so much with the main character; she even sounded like me! I took a bit of a hiatus in college (because college), but now I’m back in full force and loving my life!
What was the last book you read, and would you recommend it?
The last book I completed was Danielle Ellison’s Salt. I would absolutely recommend it! If you like Supernatural, there’s a good chance you’ll like Salt. (Be advised that it has a sequel as well!)
The book I’m reading now is Alex Lidell’s Cadet of Tildor. It’s a medieval-type story about a girl who’s training to be a soldier. And there’s magic! So that’s cool too.
List your three favourite books, of ALL time:
Ah, the impossible question. I read roughly two books a week, so the answer to this question is a moving target. I’ll give it my best shot. Right now, the top contenders are:
1. Fairest, Gail Carson Levine
2. The Unwritten Rule, Elizabeth Scott
3. Anna and the French Kiss, Stephanie Perkins
Ssshhhh! Don’t tell my other books! They’ll think I’ve betrayed them! I’ve limited my answers to standalone novels, because if we started including series, I would never have been able to answer the question!
Thinking of the first book you mentioned, why is it your favourite?
Because Gail Carson Levine.
No, but really. Levine is a fabulous writer, and her adaptations of classic fairytales are to die for. Fairest is her take on Sleeping Beauty, and it’s a wonder. It had me thinking about what my own standards for beauty were—and the love story is subtle, and a real treat.
Honorable Mention goes to Ever, also by Gail Carson Levine.
What would you say to anyone that was thinking of reading it?
Drop everything you are doing and read it now. That’s an order. And then go read everything else that Gail Carson Levine has ever written.
If you could be any character, from any novel, who would it be, and why?
Hmm. Hermione Granger. Yup. The book version, not the movie version. I mean, not that Emma Watson isn’t incredible—she is. But Hermione takes a stand more times in the book than she does in the movie (S.P.E.W. anyone?). She’s brilliant, dedicated, loyal, brave, an incredibly talented witch, and, while she feels deeply, she doesn’t allow her feelings to dictate her actions. She’s brilliant and clever, and she knows how to use it to kick butt. And she gets to have Mrs. Weasley for a mother-in-law, and what more could anyone ask for?
Who is your least favourite character from any novel, and why?
This is the part where I should pick a villain, someone who’s really evil and just made me hate them. But so many of the villains I’ve read have just been beautifully written. I think I’m going to have to settle on Jane Austen’s Emma. Austen characterized her as “a heroine that nobody will much like but me.” She was right. While I like the story in Emma (and the BBC miniseries adaptation—and Mr. Knightley, but that’s a different question entirely), Emma herself irks me. She’s too… nosy? Meddlesome? Annoying? Rude? Flawed? I’m not sure which. In short, she is too human, and—while we can all agree that Austen wrote her well—she grates on me.
What is your least favourite novel, and why?
Jane Eyre. Oh my gosh. If I get thirty chapters into a book and hate it so much that I can’t finish, there’s a problem. I don’t know, there’s just something about the Bronte sisters that makes me crazy. They write so beautifully, but their stories make me want to scream and fall asleep at the same time. I know, I know: Bad English graduate!
If you could change the ending of any novel, what would it be? And what would you have happen instead?
In my college fiction course, we had to change the ending of Of Mice and Men, just before George shoots Lennie. My ending was pretty lame—I just had them run away—but I liked it better than Steinbeck’s original, if only because Lennie didn’t die. Steinbeck was the original “kill your darlings” for me. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to forgive him for that.
And finally, the real juicy gossip that everyone wants to know:
Snog!
Edgar Allen Poe
Doctor Frankenstein
Douglas Adams
Marry!
JK Rowling
Gandalf
Stephen King
Avoid!
Sylvia Plath
Cthulhu
Ali Smith
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