Apparently originally posted by Bookloving Writer, though the first post I saw was by Olga.

1. What book is on your nightstand now?

Depends which nightstand you're talking about, for arguments sake let's say the one closet to my bed, in which case it would be Sacrificial Magic & Chasing Magic by Stacia Kane

2. What was the last truly great book that you read?

I've been reading quite a few good books of late, some of which were re-reads (Mistborn) But I think my favorite would have to be The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater, and part of the magic I think was because I haven't read it before. Plus it was about flesh-eating-horses!!

3. If you could meet any writer – dead or alive – who would it be? And what would you want to know?

I really haven't thought of this before, and to be honest couldn't be bothered putting in too much time contemplating it, so therefore I'll just go with the easy answer and say my favorite author, Ilona Andrews.
What would I want to know..... nothing and everything. Maybe get her to tell me a story in person, learn more about her Russian culture and history - probably not where she got the idea's for her characters, as i wouldn't want it to take away from the magic of her stories. Just whatever comes to mind I suppose.

Also Jackie French, I think would be a good person to chat with.

4. What books might we be surprised to find on your shelves? 

I don't think many would be a surprise to anyone who knew me, except for maybe these few:

Tortured by Amanda McIntyre - because it's mainly historical romance, and not like me at all.
The Across The Nightingale Floor series by Lian Hearn - I'm not sure why, but people tend to be surprised when seeing this series on my shelf.
The Elephant Whisperer - Lawerence Anthony - Just something I wouldn't usually pick up, though i do love animals. (Haven't read yet)
Beyond Ugly by Constance Briscoe - Just because I tend to avoid Biographies. This one sounded fascinating, though in truth wasn't great.

The Empress of India by Michael Kurland - Doesnt sound like my type of book, but vaguely mentions Sherlock Holmes, and anything related to him I'm all over. (Haven't read yet)
The Exploits and Adventures of Miss Alethea Darcy by Elizabeth Aston - Also because it's Historical Romance. (haven't read yet).

5. How do you organize your personal library?

Hahaha I have a rather strange way or organising everything, First off I Currently have 3 main shelves: read, un-read & favorites.
My Read shelf tends to be bunched into series, and random books. With favorite's up the top, and least favorites either down the bottom or behind the others.
My Un-read shelf tends to be random, with a few up the top I really want to read soon (usually has a few recommends in there, as well as borrowed books from friends) and they tend to bunch into the groups I bought them in. 
My Favorite shelf, is whatever, everything I really enjoyed that excludes the whole series (I have them on the read shelf, why? no idea)

Then I have another pile between book holders which are my Library borrows.

Yea I'm not really sure how my system came about, but it works for me.

6. What book have you always meant to read and haven’t gotten around to yet? Anything you feel embarrassed never to have read?

I use to feel embarrassed about having not read a lot of classic's, but after trying to read a bunch & hating everything except Sherlock Holmes, I just really don't care anymore. I find them lacking compared to today's standards.

There's a few I've been meaning to read and haven't quite managed to get around to yet, such as Eat Pray Love, Harry Potter, Wheel of Time, etc.

7. Disappointing, overrated, just not good: what book did you feel you were supposed to like but didn’t? Do you remember the last book you put down without finishing?

Hahaha I've had so many of these. So many popular book/series I just really did not like, such as Fever, Green & Shadow and Bone.
Recently I've put down quite a few as well, to name a few: Tomb Raider: The Ten Thousand Immortals, The Diviners, Lair of Dreams, The Tiger and The Wolf, Fields of Glory...... really I could go on..... lol.

8. What kinds of stories are you drawn to? Any you stay clear of?

I'm drawn to action & fantasy. I like to read about make believe. I'm not really interested in stories where I could in theory go out and do what I'm reading about (which tends to cross off both Romance & Erotica - plus they don't really float my boat) I enjoy books with character development, but who also don't start off insanely annoying. My most read and go to genre would probably be a sub-genre of fantasy, maybe Dark or Urban?
Oh and I tend to avoid mind-fuck books, I don't really enjoy my brain being screwed with. Or something that keeps me up most of the night, shuddering with disgusts. No thanks.

9. If you could require the president to read one book, what would it be?

I've never really read anything that I think a president should read (says something about me huh?)... expect maybe something from 'a little person', not the big picture, but pain from a personal perspective. Like..... Reason to Breathe (A good perspective about the problem with Domestic & Family Violence - how children need to be educated to see harm like this differently) Little Wing (Mental Illness & how it makes you view the world & yourself) Over a Thousand Hills I Walk with You (The horrors war refugees have to go through to get to where they are today) Sold & No Laughter Here (Both of these are terrible tragedies that happen in not just 'other countries' but here as well) And lastly The Good Women of China: Hidden Voices (which was incredibly difficult to read, and utterly painful, but something I think everyone -who can- should try. It's something that will stay with me forever).

10. What do you plan to read next?

Chasing Magic by Stacia Kane. In fact I'm just about to start!!

I don't usually review quiz books because do you actually read them? Not from A-Z or in one sitting at least. However, when I was browsing Netgalley I was intrigued by this particular one and secretly I also wanted to know where I stood on my science fiction and fantasy trivia.

The questions are divided into three categories, ranging from easy to hard. And although the questions in general indeed seemed harder in the more difficult categories, I think it really depends on whether or not you're familiar with a certain book/series/world.

The questions were a great mix between old and new, books, movies/tv and games. There were different sort of quizzes like multiple choice, false/true and open questions. Every so often there was a themed match something to something else quiz.

Recommended.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley and Osprey publishing in exchange for an honest review.

The book comes out Sept 22.

                Okay, I don’t usually review quiz books because, well, you don’t usually read them straight though do you?  But, hey this one looked interesting and I was auto-approved on Netgalley.

                Let me just say, straight off the bat, that any book that has Red Dwarf questions in it is an automatic winner.

                So really, what more do you need to know?

                The book is divided, as many such books are, into Easy, Medium, and Hard difficulty levels, though the quizzes in each section get progressively harder.  There are also four different types of quizzes.  The first is Multiple Choice, and it seems that McCullough knows about the middle and longest answer rule for those types of test because he does try to change it up a bit.  There are True and False quizzes.  There are short answers quizzes.  Finally, there are matching quizzes.  The majority of the quizzes are general knowledge, so while there are several questions about, say, Game of Thrones, you can quite easily pass several tests without knowing a thing about that literary series or television series.

                The only exceptions to this are the matching quizzes which are themed in a variety of different ways.  Sometimes you need to match an actor to a part, a captain to a spaceship, a character to an author, and a variety of other ways.

                The easy questions range from wanting to know what type of animal Reepicheep is to Jon Snow’s age.  The different ones include being able to finish theme songs.

                Of particular importance to readers is the fact that McCullough draws on both film and book versions of various series (Hunger Games, LOTR, GOT) and clearly states in each question whether said question is  about the film(or television series) or the book(s).  Both formats are covered equally.  The same is also true for comic books and the movies based on them.

                McCullough also ranges widely. There are questions about current blockbusters (from within the last year) to old time favorites to even little watched movies and films.  It is nicely varied.

                The illustrations by Miguel Colmbra are funny without being overly cute and reference various titles and genres used in the questions.

                Highly recommend for sci-fi and fantasy fans.

Reblogged from Midu who reblogged it from Themis-Athena 

1: Currently Reading

2: Describe the last scene you read in as few words as possible. No character names or title.

Someone was getting his head chopped off via an axe, he could smell urine.

3: First book that had a major influence on you

4: Quick, you're in desperate need of a fake name. What character name do you think of first?

Skyla Dawn Cameron, from Bloodlines (its the author's name) I'll admit it took me a bit to think of it. This isnt something I have thought of before - you want something not too unique but something that you can enjoy the sound of.

5: Favorite series and why

I feel like its pretty obvious as to why, have you read the married duo? there bloody brilliant!!

6: Public library or personal library?

If I had to choose...... Public Library, ours are all connected to each other so i have like 6 libraries worth of books at my finger tips!

7: What is the most important part of a book, in your opinion?

whether its interesting or not.

8: Why are you reading the book you're currently reading?

I read a sample and it sounded fantastic, plus have you seen that cover? so i went out and bought it for myself as a b'day gift. Only now just getting the chance to read it.

9: If you were to publish a book what (besides your real name) would you use for your author name?

Not sure - would have to ask for suggestion and see what happened.

10: Do you listen to music when you read? Make a mini playlist for one of your favorite books.

Why would i listen to music when i read? that would take away from the reading experience cause half my concentration would be paying attention to the music - or i just wouldnt notice it at all.
One book that could improve with music would be 'If I Stay' and i would suggest classical violin.

11: What book fandom do you affiliate yourself with the most?

Definitely Fantasy - but can a choose a sub-genre? like UF? cause UF is quite different from other Fantasy books out there....

as Midu put it 'We sit at the other end, at some distance from the PNR fans.'

12: Tell one book story or memory (what you were wearing when you were reading something, someone saw you cry in public, you threw a book across the room and broke a window, etc.)

I was telling my mother about the Cassie Palmer series - my mother loves ghost and people who can communicate with them - so i borrowed the first book from the library for her to read (i have my own copy but my mother is a slob) I forgot about the 'glistening penis' scene where it spends like a good page describing Mircea's apparently amazing appendage. Anyways my mother is still under the impression in very young, well at least prude enough not to think about peni (I'm 24) and was beyond shocked when she came across this page. She was like OMG did you know there was a sex scene in this book?! you read books with sex in them!? ASHLEIGH!? I in turn claimed good luck coming across an adult book without a sex scene in it!! still it was a cringe-worthy moment for me.

13: What character would be your best friend in real life?

Rose from Vampire Academy.

14: Favorite item of book merch

Hmm tough decision, probs Bookmarks, i like to collect them, but I'm also a big fan of bookends (i have 2 pairs so far) the bunny slippers from morganville vampires, t-shirts, bags and fridge magnets (which i have 3? of somewhere - well i think one is from firefly and one is from bones, cant recall what the other one is).

15: Post a shelfie.

give me two seconds.....

Bookshelf 1 - whole view

Bookshelf 1 - bottom shelves view

Bookshelf 2 - whole view

Books on top - including one of my bookends

There semi organised - my first bookshelf is my read books, you can see I've clumped to series together. My second bookshelf for the main part it my TBR books, though the bottom shelf is full with books I have read which I plan on putting upstairs in my room once my bookshelf is cleared of random things (moving process) and my books in the bookends are the TBR's i plan on reading asap.

16: Rant about anything book related

I have a massive hate for badly written characters, who's personalities aren't consistent, for authors who think its okay to fix a victim of rape with more sex. For TSTL character's, especially ones who play at being detectives or get everyone killed cause they just had to be involved. Butchering of animals is never an okay thing for me..... and shitty love interest, even worse when the main character was awesome than turned TSTL because of the shitty love interest. That about it from the top of my head. want to rant together at some point? I'm sure i can get on your band-wagon of hate too!!

17: What do you think about movie/tv adaptations?

Has the potential to be good, as long as evil producers don't screw it up. I enjoyed Tomorrow, When the war began. Divergent was pretty good too. The first Hunger Games was crap - they missed to much important information, the second one was good. 

18: Favorite booktuber(s)

??? Google will inform me!

.......

Ohhh yea I'm following some of these guys. Though i havent looked at any for ages. I'll look at some of the names I'm following.

PeruseProject, Little Book Owl, readbyzoe,  jessethereader, polandbananasBOOKs.

and thats all  could find for the time being - that im subscribed too.

19: Book that you call your child.

??? maybe if i wrote a book than went slightly insane from spending to much time with myself.....

20: A character you like but you really, really shouldn't.

I'm guessing this has to be a book character? cause otherwise i would totally choose Julian Sark from Alias for sure.
hmmm dont know.... i know i like some 'bad guys' from different books but i cant think of any one character off the top of my head right now....

21: Do you loan your books?

only if I don't like that book all that much or if i only got it for a few $$ otherwise hell-mother-fucking-no. hands off. People have been threatened going to close to my books with dirty digits - and not always by me, lol. 

22: A movie or TV show you wish would have been a book

ohhh i know!! more sherlock holmes!!!!

23: Did your family or friends influence you to read when you were younger?

Yes and No - I read A book when i was young (about a vampire that lived in a shoe box, who enjoyed eating soap. pretty sure he was green) Otherwise not until I was much older - I knew my mother read as i saw her books occasionally, but that was it - she read crime and it wasnt something i could part take in. As i got older (17) my friend jess use to read quite a few books and it always looked like she was enjoying herself. Then i moved in with Ben, he was reading Robin Hobb i believe, and looked so immersed into the thing i wanted to give it another go. I asked him for a book, and he have the first 3 books from the Pendragon series (see Q3) and well it pretty much escalated from there.

24: First book(s) you remember being obsessed with

oh look i found an image of my childhood book! dont judge me, i was an interesting child. lol.

25: A book that you think about and you cringe because of how terrible it was

just one!!! Anita Blake, Fever Series, Green.... i could go on... I've read a few shockers.

26: Do you read from recommendations or whatever book catches your eye?

Both. I have quite a few recommendations i need to get through , so i'll binge on them for a while if i can get my hands on them - lucky me my friends seem to buy them or supply them for me!!! some of my favorite books have been rec's.

27: How/where do you purchase your books?

anywhere and everywhere!! go to bookstore though is Dymocks, cause its just down the road, otherwise Book Depository for internet buying, cause they give me free bookmarks!!! and this second hand store - which i unfortunately live forever away from now (good for my bank though, cause i never left without spending quite a bit $$$).

28: An ending you wish you could change

the ending to Strange Angel series. wtf lili? vague much!!! i want to know the actual ending!! 

29: Favorite female protagonist

well fr the most part i base my fave books/series of the main character. but lets say...  Sirantha Jax. just because she's so different to every other character i have ever read.

30: One book everyone should read

There's no such thing as one book.

31: Do you day dream about your favorite books? If so, share one fantasy you have about them.

of course!! I tend to day dream what would i do in their shoes, or if its a survival book (e.g. dystopia, apocalypse, etc) i like to think of situations and wonder how they would get out of it alive, who they would sacrifice etc. and I love to theorise when I'm in the middle of a good book about whats going to happen next.

32: OTP

??? One True Pairing? seriously? I don't know..... Mercy and Adam? there always and they have a mate bond....?

ohh i know!! how about Robin and Scarlet!

33: Cute and fluffy or dramatic and deadly?

Dramatic and deadly for sure, less on the dramatic side though please.

34: Scariest book you ever read

I can't recall te name, but these two? girls went camping in a cabin? and a man who bad been abused all his like and left out in the woods for years and years (technically classified as the wild child syndrome - youtube, interesting stuff) started hunting people, including them. anyways i think one died, and the other (she was MC) was trying to run away/stay alive, and when he came for her she stabbed him in the eye!! was intense, then he caught her, and kept her safe, which was weird, then i think the police found them both in some seller dug in the dirt in the woods. anyways it was pretty good in the end, and by far the scariest shit i have ever read.

35: What do you think of Ebooks

convenient, especially if i have to travel somewhere and dont want to cart around a bulk amount of books - or im reading something with an embarrassing cover and dont want anyone seeing it!! lol.

36: Unpopular opinions

when you hate a book everyone loves - fever series, and the cinder series.

37: A book you are scared is not going to be all you hoped it would be

The Mercy Thompson book i havent read yet, 7? or 8? not sure. anyways heard some bad stuff about it. I love that series i dont want it to be ruined like Chicago Vampires was!! I've also avoided the last Sirantha Jax book cause its the last and i dont want it to end! plus she went missing for like 5 years in the latest book and no everything has changed and the only person who she still connects with is the bug guy who i always picture as that giant cockroach from Men in Black.

38:What qualities do you find annoying in a character?

Mary Sue-ness. Unbelievable. Fake-ness. Shallowness. TSTL. slut-ness but pretending there not, if you like the D or V just go with it, there's nothing wrong with being more modern sexually, we dont live in the 18hundreds, but dont pretend your a virgin with no desires, thats just annoying, and you look like an idiot cause i can see in your brain and tell otherwise. also really naive characters can get on my nerves (like the 17 years old who act 12? ugh)

39:Favorite villain

I will have to think on this and get back to you....

40:Has there ever been a book you wish you could un-read?

My fav's so i can turn around and read them all again for the first time!!