Which do you prefer - reading realistic books that you can easily identify with, reading realistic books from times past or strange environments to dream yourself away to or finally, to read fantasy and similar books about other worlds, magic and supernatural phenomena?

Most of the time I prefer to read either about the past - realistic is fine there - or fantasy and science fiction, occasionally ghost stories. That is, I like to dream myself away, to escape my own reality. Occasionally, I also like to read realistic books too, if the reality they depict is very different from my own. A few things have improved considerably in my life in the past year, but some other things have deteriorated so much that I really need to dream myself away.

I found this Book Blog Question on a Swedish book blog and I thought I'd do it here too.

The question is Do you still get comments on your book blog? Do you still comment on other people's book blogs? Where do you keep in touch with your readers and discuss what you and other book bloggers have posted on your blog?

My reply is Yes, I do still get comments on my blogs, book blogs and others. I comment on other people's blogs as well. It's definitely on my blogs that I keep in touch with my friends and where any discussions about my blog posts take place. Of course I'm 25 +. I know what Snapchat and Instagram is, but I'm not interested. I use my computer more than my phone and when I chat/send instant messages I use iMessages.

I found this meme on a Swedish book blog and I thought I'd do it here, in English.

What time period do you prefer when you're reading? Do you like historic books or books set in the present? Do you have a favorite time period?

This was actually a pretty difficult question to answer. I had to think for a while before coming up with my reply. Actually, I like both. The historic ones are usually set rather late, preferably not earlier than the late 18th century. I also like books set in the 20th century, occasionally as late as the 1980's, if you can call that 'historic'. (And I do. Even books set in the early 90's are history now, don't you think?). Also, I've decided to consider classics not historic but simply classics, because they were written in the time period in which the story is set. Of course it doesn't have to be that way. Other people may have a different view of this.

Some of my favorite historic books:

Jean-François Parot's historic mysteries about Nicolas LeFloch, set in pre-revolutionary France. Cuckoo Song by Frances Hardinge. It's fantasy and aimed at older children (I'd say about 9-12 and for anyone young at heart). Gullstruck Island by the same author (and intended for the same age group) is a bit of a special case, because it's what I'd call 'alternate history'. To begin with it's fantasy and it's set in a sort of vague colonial time, maybe the 19th century. When it comes to books set in the present, I have far too many favorites to just mention a few.

I found this on a Swedish book blog and I thought I'd do it here too.

This was a fun question, but also difficult. In fact, I usually prefer characters that I don't identify with. Mostly guys, actually. Still, if I make an effort I'm sure I'll think of someone. The first one that springs to mind is Millie in the Chrestomanci series by Diana Wynne Jones. Millie is a 'living goddess' who has lived all her life isolated in a temple. I feel rather lonely and isolated, so that's fitting. Maybe also Nan Pilgrim in Witch Week by the same author. She's overweight and not very popular in her class. That's something I can relate to from my school days. Besides, she's also a future writer. This turns out to be a DWJ related post. But then she is one of my favorite authors. Oh, I just remembered Piper in Eccentric Circles. She's a writer too, or working on it. At the beginning of the book, she inherits a house from her grandmother (though I have a vague memory it might be her great grandmother) that turns out to include a magic fairy tale land. Fancy finding something like that. She also meets a handsome elf and some other magical creatures. To my surprise, I found that most readers didn't like that book nearly as much as I did, but I have always been different, even when it comes to books...

I decided to do a Swedish book blog question and I thought I'd also do it in English. (Just for those who are curious, the word means something that bounces back and forth, in this case from blog to blog).

The question is: what do you think about arcs in the e-book formats e-pub and pdf? First I have to say that I don't request arcs, because if I did, I'd feel obliged to review them (naturally). Unlike many other people, I prefer not to review books I don't like. It just feels a little mean to completely tear someone's book apart. If I like the book, I'm perfectly comfortable with mentioning any weaknesses. I suppose some might say it's no use answering the question at all under those circumstances, but I thought I'd focus on the e-book formats instead.

My reply: I don't exactly love pdf, but if I'm borrowing e-books from the library, I won't complain. After all, it's free. In general, I much prefer e-pub, that I will read on my Bookeen Cybook Odyssey (Frontlight), or if it's a library book on my iPad Mini, that I was lucky enough to get for free, when my sister got one at work. but since I also own a Kindle (Touch) I read .mobi/.azw too. Oh, and just for the record, even though like e-books too, I do prefer printed books, but I will buy those myself.