Janna Kaixer from Writing Visually had tagged me for the Liebster Award Blog Hop, asking to answer her 11 questions and carry the fun to more people.

The rules are simple – thank the person who tagged you (Thank you, Janna!), answer the questions, list your own 11 questions and invite more people to the fun.

Janna asked the following questions:

1. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?

This question is just plain cruel and I refuse to answer it! The very thought makes me shiver. I could limit the list to a 100, maybe – just maybe! – 50, but one? Impossible.

2. If your life was a book what would it be called?

Is it supposed to be an imaginary book? Then I want “The Tale of Melfka” (pretty self-explanatory) or “In Purple Ink” (because when I hand write, I use purple ink). If I’m supposed to match my life with an existing title, I’d go with “Primeval and Other Times” by Olga Tokarczuk – just because this book encompasses all the different things that can happen to people.

3. Who was your first fictional crush?

Oooops… Can I, maybe, skip that question? I don’t think the “I was young back then” will be enough of excuse for what I’m about to write. My first fictional crush was Thoth-Amon from Conan the Barbarian series. I guess I have a soft spot for interesting villains (and for dark mages too).

4. Traditional publishing vs self publishing – which would you choose if you had the choice? And why?

I’ve actually been pondering that myself. But in the end, if I had a choice, I’d pick the traditional publishing, since picking self publishing is always available, and traditional publishing might be a one chance in a million.

5. Ebooks vs real books? Which wins?

Neither. I love my little Nook and all the treasures it keeps for me, but I also love my shelves, bending from the burden of all the books I’m trying to squeeze on them. I don’t mind what format the words come in, as long as I can read them, but I’m also concerned about the limited space I have. I tend to buy nice hardcover editions of books I really want to have in my collection, and ebooks for everything else.

6. Do you read picture books or graphic novels? Why/why not?

Every once a while, yes, I read graphic novels. I like the ones with unusual, eye-catching graphics and a good story. I follow a bunch of web-comics for that reason (especially they’re not time consuming to read once you’ve caught up with the posting schedule).

7. What are your thoughts on NA (new adult) fiction?

I find the category rather fuzzy and have yet to see it form into a more defined genre.

8. What is a book you’ve read purely because of the cover?

I don’t think there is such a book. I might pick up a book I don’t know if the cover is intruiging. But I’ll read the blurb, remember the title and the author, and do my research before I decide to purchase it, let alone to read it. Though I admit I do like beautiful covers and my favourite series, both because of the covers and the content is Polish series “Uczta Wyobraźni” (“Feast For Imagination”, click to view covers).

9. What must a book have in it for you to fall in love with it?

I think the usual things: interestig story, interesting and reasonable characters (I don’t like reading about stupid people doing stupid things and suffering the consequences) and beautiful or engaging writing.

10. Are there any movies/TV series out there that you think are better than the books from which they originated?

Good question. I’m pretty sure there are some, but at the moment they are lost in the depths of my memory. I’m not a person who expects the movie adaptation to be a tribute to the book, following it scene-by-scene or word-for-word. I usually treat the books and its movie adaptations as completely separate beings, which just happen to tell similar story.

11. Where is your favourite place to read/write?

In the flat I’m renting at the moment, there is an armchair and a coffee table, and they became my favourite spot. Just by the door to the patio, in front of my bookshelves – it’s a perfect place to read or write. But since it wasn’t always the case, and I lived in quite a few places without such a luxury… my favourite place to both read and write is my bed. I even draw in bed sometimes. I can sit late in the night, reading by the light of the lamp, on pull my laptop to bed upon waking up.

So there they are, no more secrets to reveal, and it’s my turn to list the questions and choose the people to answer them – if they will be willing to do so.

The list is as follows:

1. If you could pick one fiction book that everybody in the world has to read, which one would you choose?
2. Do you prefer series or stand-alone book?
3. If you could be an author of one already published book, which one would it be?
4. Which genre you’ll never write/read and why?
5. Do you use bookmarks and which one is your favourite?
6. If you could become a character of a book, which book would you pick?
7. If your favorite book/a book you wrote was to become a movie, which actors would you like to see in it?
8. Which book you’d never admit in public to have read?
9. Which book character would you marry and why?
10. What is the most books/ebooks you’ve ever bought at once?
11. Write one quote from any book that stayed with you “forever”.

And now, the nominees. I hope you all will take part and have fun answering these questions. I therefore summon

Rachel Stirling from Striling Writer

Myk Pilgrim from Little Plastic Castle (you should have seen that coming!)

Lauren Greene from Adventures in LuLuland

Portia Bridget from Portable Pieces of Thoughts

and Polish writers:

Agnieszka Hałas from Między kotem a komputerem

Aleksandra Janusz from Notkostrony

There’s no deadline on this blog hop, so take your time! And feel free to post link to your replies in the comments when it’s ready.