The Liebster Award!!

I got the Liebster Award from Booktifulife! And I’m honored! I love her blog and she writes such helpful reviews.

Thank you so much for nominating me. 😘

Ten Random Facts About Me:

1. I am an avid reader. Yes, I devour books. I have a lot of free time lately and have been filling it with all the books I can get my hands on. I recently just got auto-approved by another publisher on NetGalley, so that makes two so far! I am trying to get into the blogging side so that I can share my reviews outside of simply the Goodreads community. It’s been awesome so far, and I am so psyched to follow and be followed by so many amazing bloggers.
2. I am older than most new bloggers. I am 33, but I feel 17. Most people I meet are surprised at my age. I am, too. My birthday is 3/8/83. Same backwards as forwards. I tend to be a little young at heart. I have celebrated my 29th birthday 4 times. Jk. I had a huge gap where I didn’t read: I was partying and doing bad things. I am good now, and have been making up for lost time. (I hope me being an older YA fan doesn’t make me weird.)
3. I am almost done with school and I will be a high school English teacher. That’s right: if you live in Western Michigan and are still in or are going into high school, I might be your teacher! I love getting students to read, and that’s why I chose the name “Teacher of YA” for my blog.
4. I focus my blog on material that my students will read. I already love YA. So why not rate it for other teachers in hopes that they try to use more contemporary literature in the classroom? Aren’t you bored reading all the stuffy classics? Wouldn’t you rather have your teacher assign you Throne of Glass or Red Queen? I would if I was being taught. I want to get students reading for fun again, and reading has dropped significantly. I want to bring more fun to English!
5. I love to write. One of the other reasons I decided to become a teacher is that I noticed a lot of writers teach, too. Suzanne Young, author of The Program, is an English teacher. Most either teach or have a BA in English, which is what I am getting. I want to write my own YA book, and I already wrote it as a short story for class. I hope to make it into a novel.
6. I am working with another blogger to hopefully start a publishing company. E.C. and I want to start publishing, and then publish our own books, too. She’s got it all figured out. I am saving for the investment (as well as for tuition), so I’m saving money and using the library to read. I have to be super cheap!
7. I’ve tried Pokémon Go. I still don’t do it as much as I would like it because of the data. I only get 2 gigs a month. So I go to the library and find a lot there because it is a Pokéstop. I am also guilty of driving while playing, but I stopped because it was too dangerous. I am a level 4. 
8. I am obsessed with Hello Kitty. I don’t have my room decked out, but I have several cool Kitty pieces. A gumball machine. A clock that has musical spinning Kitties. A nice watch. Maybe one day, a small tattoo. But I don’t own everything with her face on it. Sometimes you just don’t need Hello Kitty toilet paper.
9. I love cartoons. I like American Dad, The Cleveland Show (cancelled), Futurama (cancelled), and The Simpsons.
10. I am best friends with my mom, and surprisingly, we have a lot of fun! When I moved to Michigan, I didn’t have any friends. I still haven’t been able to have too many because I am a homebody. I’d rather be curled up with a book than go out. I need to be more social, but it’s hard for me. That’s why books are so great, and blogging is so great!

I Nominate These Bloggers:

• Jasmine @ How Useful It Is
  
• Beth @ Reading Every Night
• Aimal @ Bookshelves & Paperbacks

I still don’t know many bloggers, but these bloggers deserve an award!!

Liebster Award Questions:

1. What made you like books?
I used to read Archie comics as a kid. Those were my favorite little books when I was young. I was the middle child: not quite young enough to be spoiled, not quite old enough to be given freedom, so I just loved homework and reading was an escape. While people were reading RL Stine’s Goosebumps, I was reading his YA Fear Street series. I did my third grade book report on King’s Pet Sematary. I just loved books and I loved to write!  

2. Who is your top fictional boyfriend?
Probably Perry from Under the Never Sky. I loved that he bonded to people, and once he did, they were inseparable and he could feel their emotions. I was super jealous of Aria in that book. And, this is going to sound lame, but Edward Cullen from Twilight. You have to admit, it’s pretty sexy when a vampire wants you so bad but doesn’t want to hurt you. Totally sexy. Ok, mock me. Mock away!
3. Favorite thing to do except reading?
Ummm….reading? Jk. I watch The Simpsons and play an app called Simpsons: Tapped Out. You get to build Springfield! It’s so fun that I got my mom AND my aunt to play. And they don’t even watch the show! I also like blogging…it’s my new favorite hobby (besides actually reading!)
4. Would you rather be a popular kid but doesn’t read books or have no friends but loves books?
Have no friends but love books. I could probably be more social, but I choose not to be. Family is the most important, and it took me a long time to realize that. I had lots of friends (after high school…I wasn’t popular AT ALL in high school), but they used me and lied to me and stole from me! Now I have one friend really, from school, and we talk as much as we can. My mom is my best friend. ::blushes::

5. What’s the worst thing you’ve done to your book?

Gotten it wet by accident. I dropped it in a puddle. I tried to get it dry without ruining it, but it was too late. Now the pages are all hard to turn. Sad face.
6. Do you believe in unicorns?
Yes. With all my heart. I believe in Pegasus. I used to draw unicorns with wings, and I was told that the horses with wings were called Pegasus, so I want a Pegacorn.

7. What’s the most annoying thing you heard as a bookworm?“All you do is sit around and read all day! You’re so lazy!!” Umm, just because I don’t want to sit around and watch TV with you, doesn’t mean I’m lazy because I’m reading. Seriously. This happens to me all the time. My mom watches TV and if I watch with her, then I don’t have to do chores or anything. But if I’m reading, I’m lazy. 
“Uh, actually, it’s lazier to watch TV than read, mom!” <– That’s me, like in my head.

8. Where is your favorite bookstore/online bookstore?

Amazon! They have free books, books on sale, books for $.99! They have deals that are where I get most of my ebooks. I still have a $50 Amazon card that I haven’t even used because it’s like, oh, I’ll save it for when I really need it, but all those $.99 books add up! 

I also like my local Goodwill because people donate books there that are really popular still. And of course, my library’s used bookstore, Cheapstacks! Their books are $.25-$.50/apiece! I have found several gems there.

9. Best book you’ve read in 2016
Let me think…I’ve read 111 books so it’ll take me a minute…

(My Goodreads goal for the year was 100, but I’ve passed it…yay! I wish I could figure out how to display that on my blog…)

Ok, The Glass Arrow, Girl of Myth and Legend, Hotel Ruby, Winter, Wicked Lovely…those are the top contenders. But I’ll have to say, out of those…

Wicked Lovely!! That series by Melissa Marr was amazing. Made me cry. Kept me guessing. I wish she would write a sequel to Carnival of Souls, but I guess it wasn’t popular enough. If you haven’t read Wicked Lovely, you HAVE to read it. I didn’t like books about “fae” until I read hers. 

10. If u could travel through time, when will you go back to and why?

Probably the Victorian era, and that’s because I love the designs and the beauty. I collect postcards from 1905/1920, and that time period was rich and decadent. I would love to see it firsthand. And meet Edith Wharton, if I could.

My 10 Questions For The Nominees:

1. What started you blogging?
2. What is your favorite series of all time?
3. Which books, if stuck in a desert island, could you read over and over again?
4. What’s your favorite cover of all time?
5. (Borrowing this one) Who’s your book boyfriend?
6. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
7. What would you do first with a million dollars?
8. Which book disappointed you the most?
9. What would you do if you couldn’t read for a month?
10. What do you want to do when you “grow up?” (If you ever do….)

And that’s it! Thanks for nominating me! (Now I have to watch TV with my mom…so I’ll be jazzing this post up later with pics. I ran out of time for now…)

P.S. I love Rainbow Brite!!