Daily Shenanigans, 02/06/2014: Reading on the train again!

I'll make this post fairly short, my day hasn't been overly interesting. I had a bit of a lay-in this morning, but couldn't sleep for too long because I had work at 11. As I was without the car today (Mat needed it), I had to catch the train! I was actually quite happy about this though, because obviously reading on the train is a lot safer than reading while driving! Work went pretty quickly, I was mostly left to my own devices which was nice. When my shift finished, I journeyed home and then spent the rest of the evening posting my 'Liebster Blog Award' post. The questions were a lot of fun to answer, thanks again to both blogs that nominated me! I did also see Mat tonight, so that he could drop the car back to me. We were both pretty exhausted though so just relaxed for a few hours.

Tomorrow is another day off for me, though I need to be home because I have to drop my Mum off at some point during the day but we aren't sure when. I'll spend most of it doing some serious reading of 'The Luminaries' and aim to get pretty far into the book tomorrow. Tomorrow is also 'Top Ten Tuesday' day, hooray!

My third and fourth Liebster Blog Awards!

It's happened again guys! I've been nominated for the Liebster Blog Award! And not just once, but twice. My third nomination actually happened a very long time ago, about mid-April. I confess: I completely forgot about it! It wasn't until in the last few days when I was nominated a fourth time that I remembered I still hadn't answered the third's set of questions. So that is all I will be doing in this post, answering both sets of questions.

My third nomination came from Aimee at Beloved Jaine. I really did like her questions, they were different from the kind that I've answered before:

1) Have you ever faked being ill? Why?
Yes I have. When I was younger I was actually ill quite a lot. In fact I still am, my immune system just doesn't exist. But once or twice I would exaggerate a very minute problem in order to get a day of school. It was normally to avoid P.E or Games as it used to be called in Primary School. I hated that lesson with a passion.

2) Have you ever been in a car accident?
Not a serious one know, but a car did go into the back of us while I was in the car with my Mum once. No one was hurt and it wasn't a terribly dire situation, but I guess it counts all the same!

3) How would you describe yourself?
What a good question! I would say that I'm very chatty, though definitely not one of the 'cool kids'. I tried far too hard, studied too much and generally was a bit too pale and scrawny. I'm also very sensitive and can get offended pretty easily. I try to be kind and cheerful though!

4) If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
I actually quite like my name, it's a little different. But I really like Katherine or Imogen as second choices. I was actually almost called Katherine rather than Katrina, it was decided on a flip of a coin!

5) If you could change anything about yourself, what would it be?
I would install an 'off' switch. Sometimes I think things and blurt them out without deciding whether it is a good idea to actually voice that thought. It can lead to some embarrassing situations to say the least. Also, I worry. a lot. I wish I could be a bit calmer. As well as that, I have a tendency to procrastinate. I really wish I could change that.

6) What was the last film you watched?
'Maleficent', last night! Needless to say, it was amazing!

7) Are you a morning or a night person?
I'm not really much of a morning person, I much prefer night time. That being said, I can get up pretty early without much fuss so I guess you could say I'm a morning person of sorts.

8) Do you have any phobias?
Plenty! I despise spiders and wasps but I'm really not good with bugs/insects at all. I'm scared of making phone calls and answering the phone. Also, my biggest fear is probably running out of oxygen. Be it drowning or being trapped in an airtight room, the thought terrifies me and I can't face scenes like that in films. I also can't swim because being in the water frightens me a lot.

9) What makes you happy?
First and foremost my wonderful boyfriend Mat. He always knows how to make me happy (soppy I know). I love spending time with my sister too, we're always making each other laugh! Other than that, I would say reading makes me happiest of all my hobbies. I love singing, writing, acting, playing video games and watching films too!

10) What makes you sad?
I get very upset if I think people are getting annoyed or frustrated with me, or if they're talking about me behind my back. I do care a lot about what other people think of me. If I think I've said something insensitive or upset someone else without meaning to then it really makes me sad, even if they assure me that I haven't done anything of the sort.

11) Where do you want to be in ten years time?
Another good question! I really want to be a writer, so somewhere in that field. Still writing this blog and reading plenty, but having written and released my own book or having written scripts for performances. Something along those lines anyway!

My fourth nomination came from Heather at Random Redheaded Ramblings. Thank you so much for the nomination and the awesome questions!

1) Who is your book boyfriend?
You're going to make me choose haha?! Okay I'm going to go with the one that I remember from a while back, because it is the one I always remember. From Trudi Canavan's 'The Black Magician' series I had a bit of a fixation for Akkarin. I could not read enough of him and I have to say that I was left a wreck at the end of the third book (I won't reveal what happens). I cried so much. I did also have a great love for Numair from Tamora Pierce's 'The Immortals' series.

2) You are on a desert island, you can only take two books. What would they be?
You're only going to let me choose two? What kind of monster are you?! Okay, one would definitely have to be 'The Book Thief' by Markus Zusak because I love that book. My second would be 'The Works Of William Shakespeare'. There's plenty of being stranded in foreign places and I might pick up some tips! If not, I'll have plenty to read!

3) What five authors would you invite to dinner (dead or alive)?
Okay William Shakespeare would definitely be in there, though technically a playwright rather than an author. I'd also love to invite Jane Austen, 'Pride & Prejudice' is such a great book. Then it would have to be Tamora Pierce because her books have always been favourites of mine that I would happily read over and over for the rest of my life. J.K.Rowling is my fourth choice for obvious reasons, she wrote Harry Potter for goodness sake! My fifth choice is tougher, but I have always wanted to meet Patrick Rothfuss. I think he would be such fun company!

4) Kindle or Book?
I love physical books. I love holding them, the weight of them, the smell of them and the feeling that I'm getting somewhere. However, Kindles are still great! A little library that I can carry around with me? Perfect!

5) What is  your favourite book series?
This is tough too! It would have to be a Tamora Pierce series, probably 'The Immortals'. I did really enjoy the 'Daughter Of The Lioness' series too though! I just really love all of the books set in Tortall, but those two sets really stuck out for me.

6) What is your favourite book to film/TV adaption?
I love the film adaption of 'The Perks Of Being A Wallflower', I thought the acting was fantastic! It really made me cry and it made me laugh too. It's one of the only film adaptions that I actually preferred over the book (please don't shoot me).

7) Angels, Hot Aliens, Vampires or Werewolves?
I'm not really interested in any of those to be perfectly honest! But I'll go along the lines of which I prefer in terms of books to read. I've never read a book with aliens in it, vampires and werewolves just induce terrible memories of Twilight so I would have to say Angels at the moment. 'Daughter Of Smoke & Bone' is one of my favourite series right now!

8) When did you start blogging?
Technically a couple of years ago, but seriously? At the end of January 2014.

9) Have you met any authors?
Not really. I met a couple when I was younger, and I did meet one at the Expo I went to last weekend!

10) Favourite place to read?
Sorry to be boring but I would have to say my favourite reading spot is my room, in bed. Snuggled up with my duvet and pillows, with tea and biscuits is the ideal way to read in my opinion.

11) What books would you love to live in?
Hands down, the 'Harry Potter' series wins this one. I am still waiting for my Hogwarts acceptance letter...please?

Thank you so much to both bloggers for the nominations and the fantastic questions! They were so fun to answer!

My second Liebster Blog Award!

Well readers, here we are again! This marks the second time I've been nominated for this award, this time by the lovely Lois at You, Me And A Cup Of Tea. Rather than nominating (as I have already done it before) I'll just be writing 11 facts about myself and answering the 11 questions that Lois has written!

11 Facts About Me:

1) I work at Clarks (the shoe shop) in Canterbury, and I just got home from a shift there!

2) My favourite animal is a fox, though generally I'm a huge animal fan.

3) I have a Fiat Punto which I share with Mat (my boyfriend). We have affectionately nicknamed it Phoebe.

4) I walk round with a constant internal soundtrack in my head. It keeps me sane.

5) My phone is a Samsung S3 Mini. Not sure why I included that one actually, maybe because it's right here next to me?

6) I've never read a single comic, but I'm obsessed with superheroes, particularly the Marvel Universe (I have a bit of a soft spot for DC's Batman too).

7) I have never been to Disneyland. This upsets me greatly.

8) Right now, I'm really craving Galaxy Cookie Crumble. I don't have any, it's most upsetting!

9) I love to sing, and really wanted to star in a West End Musical for quite a portion of my life.

10) I'm going to see McBusted (McFly & Busted) at the end of the month! I'm so excited because they were two of my favourite bands as child/teenager!

11) My birthday is just over a month away (May 13th) and I'm really excited!

11 Questions From Lois:

1) Who is your favourite author?

Wow now this is tough! Well let's see, I guess I simply need to say Tamora Pierce because I have read most of her books and haven't disliked a single one! I'm also a huge fan of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series (duh!), Patrick Rothfuss and Christopher Paolini among others. But Pierce is my favourite.

2) What is your favourite book?

Again, a lot could go here. But the one that immediately springs to mind is Markus Zusak's 'The Book Thief'. I just adore this book so much! Also, 'Pride And Prejudice' by Jane Austen is a wonderful book!

3) Why did you start blogging?

Because I love to write. And because I love books. I really want to write my own one day, to be an author is my career aspiration. But until that day comes, I would love to make blogging a full-time thing. I love it!

4) What is your favourite TV show?

Wow! Okay there used to be a really cool TV show on called 'Hustle' which I adored. Then my current favourites include 'The Big Bang Theory', 'Doctor Who' and 'Sherlock'! All very different, but all ones that I love.

5) What is your favourite movie?

Tricky! I've always loved 'Moulin Rouge', I have watched that movie an insane amount of times. I love superhero movies too, the Marvel ones being my absolute favourite! And I'm a bit of a Disney/Animated Movie obsessive: My Disney favourites are 'Mulan', 'Beauty And The Beast' and 'The Lion King'. I'm also a huge fan of 'Brave' and 'Anastasia' as animated films. Also I can't not mention Studio Ghibli. 'My Neighbour Totoro', 'Spirited Away', 'Howl's Moving Castle' and 'Princess Mononoke' are notable favourites of mine. To be honest, I'm a bit of a film freak and could go on all day, so I'll just stop here!

6) What is your current school status?

Well I am out of school know and in my final year at University before facing the big, wide world. I have enjoyed education, I love learning new things, but I don't think I could face anymore student stresses for a little while.

7) Peanut butter or nutella?

Nutella, every time. I'm a chocoholic. When I was younger, I used to live for having the two mixed together, it was my favourite sandwich filling. I used to have it so much though that the thought of it now makes me feel a bit queasy.  Peanut butter and strawberry jam is good though!

8) If you could go on your dream vacation and money was no object, where would you go?

What a good question! I would love to travel around America and see everything. And I mean everything. Money is no object, right? More than that though, I have always wanted to go to Japan. It has been a dream of mine since early teens, and has never left me. So I guess there!

9) If you could read a book for the first time again, what would it be and why?

What a good question! I guess it would have to be Zusak's 'The Book Thief'. I just love that novel and would never pass up the chance to start over and fall in love with it all over again.

10) What is your favourite book to movie adaption?

The 'Harry Potter' movies probably, I think they're fantastic! No wait, I've just thought of a better one. I thought that the book to movie adaption of 'The Perks Of Being A Wallflower' was mind-blowing. To be honest though, for someone that calls themselves a book lover, I'm a bit naughty. Because I'm a film lover. This means that films that I adore, such as 'The Hunger Games' movies, 'The Lovely Bones', 'A Long Way Down', (among many others), I haven't actually read the books for. Therefore, in my mind, they can't really count towards this category!

11) Do you like tea?

Do I like tea? Do I like tea?! I live for tea!!! It is literally my favourite thing to drink and I have been known to have over five cups in one day, just pretty much one after the other before. It stops me stressing out and relaxes me so much that I don't think I'll ever stop drinking it. In fact, I'm drinking a cup of tea now! I love having it with biscuits too, delicious! 

Thank you so much Lois for the fun questions to answer, and the nomination. I really appreciate it and am glad you thought of my humble little blog! It made me beam when you said you enjoyed reading!

The Liebster Blog Award!

As I mentioned yesterday, my sister Bev at Tutus and Ballet Shoes nominated me for a Liebster Blog Award. It is designed to be a bit of fun so that smaller blogs get a bit of recognition and an opportunity to talk about themselves a little more. So without further ado, here are the rules:

• List 11 Facts about yourself.
• Answer the 11 questions put forward by whoever nominated you.
• Ask 11 new questions to 9 bloggers. They must have less than 200 followers on Bloglovin' (or there preferred method). You cannot re-nominate the blog that nominated you.
• Go to their blog and inform them that they have been nominated!

Here we go!

11 Facts About Me:

1) I am a student, currently studying Performing Arts at University, though I have come to realise that I want to be a writer.

2) I am a self-confessed chocoholic. Honestly it's an addiction.

3) I am a massive fan of reading books. Fantasy is my favourite, but I read and enjoy a lot of genres.

4) My favourite colour is green. I don't know why, I just love it.

5) As well as books, I love films and the theatre.

6) My favourite band is Florence & The Machine but I have a varied and ever-changing taste in music.My favourite thing to listen to are film scores and soundtracks. Whenever I watch a film, I always find myself checking out the background score too!

7) I am a Disney freak! Old or new, I think the films are great and I am constantly singing all the songs!

8) I am also an avid gamer. I have always wanted to set up my own Youtube gaming channel but I simply don't have the time or money to do it!

9) I have a lovely boyfriend, Mat, who means the world to me and I've been with him for over four years now.

10) I currently live with my Mum, Dad and sister, but it's looking more and more like I'll be moving out this Summer to London! Exciting stuff!
11) This last fact was added in way after I wrote the post because it seems I can't count. Whoops!

11 Questions From Bev

1) Where Were You Born? 

I was born in Ashford, Kent (UK) at the William Harvey Hospital. Ashford is where I live now!

2) What song do you listen to to cheer yourself up? 

Oh now that's difficult. 'Rusted Root - Send Me On My Way' always makes me smile because it reminds me of the film 'Matilda', which is very close to my heart.

3) Where do you see yourself in five years time?

Still blogging hopefully! But more importantly, I see myself living elsewhere (with Mat) and writing (hopefully successful) plays and books.

4) Why did you start blogging?

I started blogging as an attempt to give myself a good kick up the arse. To practice writing, the thing I love doing most of all! I haven't looked back since, keeping it up is my proudest achievement.

5) If you were a biscuit, what biscuit would you be?

My instant thought was a bourbon but that's probably because it's my favourite. But thinking on it, I'll go for a Rich Tea. British, a bit plain looking, and loves a good cup of tea!

6) Name one thing that puts a smile on your face.

So many things do! Book shopping is the one I'll say here, but honestly I'm a pretty smiley person most of the time!

7) Name the worst book you've ever read.

Oh goodness I know exactly what I'm going to put here. This might cause controversy, but I cannot stand the 'Twilight Series'. Specifically? The final book. It was the most ridiculous, terribly planned, time wasting series conclusion I've ever read. I felt like Meyer rushed it.

8) What's your favourite flavour ice cream?

Oh now I would have to say Chocolate Fudge Brownie! Particularly Ben and Jerry's. I could literally live on the stuff.

9) If you had enough money, what would you buy right now?

So many options! Either a library because I desperately need shelf space, a super computer that I could play some good games on and actually start up the previously mentioned Youtube channel or a house. A big one. If only!

10) Do you have any role models? If so, who?

My celebrity idols are mainly actors. Tom Hiddleston, Ewan McGregor, Maggie Smith, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart to name but a few. I'm a big fan of actors that have theatre roots. I also love Jennifer Lawrence and Emma Watson, I just think they're great!

11) When was the last time you cried?

Oh goodness, it doesn't take much to make me cry I'm afraid! Probably a few days ago but I can't remember why! Something silly I'm sure!

11 Proposed Questions:

1) If you could be a book character, who would you be?

2) Which country would you most like to visit?

3) What is your favourite food to eat?

4) What about blogging do you find the most challenging?

5) Who is your favourite author?

6) What is your proudest achievement?

7) Do you have any pets? If not, would you ever want one?

8) What do you do in your spare time other than blogging?

9) What sort of films, if any, do you enjoy?

10) When was the last time you stepped out of your comfort zone?

11) What is your current occupation?

9 Nominated Blogs

Missie: http://aflurryofponderings.blogspot.co.uk/

LuAnn: http://backporchervations.blogspot.co.uk/

Monique: http://moniquesmobooks.blogspot.co.uk/

Karolina: http://karolinasbookshelf.blogspot.co.uk/
Michelle: http://bookhangoversbb.blogspot.co.uk/
Vicki: http://lilmissvixreads.blogspot.co.uk/
April: http://www.thesteadfastreader.com/
Rosie: http://papertown.typepad.com/
Magen: http://www.corriethebookcrazedgirl.com/