The Sunshine Blogger Tag: Tagged by The Sponge

The inimitable Story Sponge 

tagged me for the glorious Sunshine Blogger award, which was very considerate. Basically, the rules are: thank the person who tagged you, answer their questions, tag some more and ask some more questions, so let’s get into it!

What is one phenomenal book that you think more people should know about?

If there’s one thing the Story Sponge knows how to do, its torture those she tags. How am I supposed to choose just one book out of all the books there are in the world? There are so many good books.

Okay, here’s a compromise. I’ll give you one non-fiction (fun fact: I actually love non-fiction, but never talk about it?) and one fiction.

Fiction: The Silver Branch by Rosemary Sutcliff. I feel like a lot of people have read, or at least heard of, The Eagle of the Ninth, but The Silver Branch is criminally underated. I love the characters in this book, particularly Justin, who has a stammer and is the sweetest Roman surgeon ever seen. Also, the plot is full of espionage and spying and invasions. It’s good.

Non-Fiction: Passion and Purity by Elisabeth Elliot. I am not a fan of evangelical “Purity culture” and have denounced pretty much all the “purity” books. But Passion and Purity is so, so good. I read it years ago and was incredibly impressed with Elisabeth’s straight to the point and honest attitude about love, sex, marriage, singleness, creativity and the plans that God has for each of us as individuals. Such a good book.

Who is one of your favourite fictional characters and why?

Another agonisingly tough question…

Maybe I should say Frodo, because I hardly ever mention the dear hobbit here. I know that Frodo can be a bit of a controversial topic in the LOTR fandom, and I know I may be in the minority, but I really, really love Frodo. Out of all the hobbits, he’s probably the one I relate to most. He’s quiet, and shy, yet he can be bold, outspoken and even occasionally hilarious. He quietly carried the burden of the ring to the point that it almost killed him–mind, body and soul. Much as I love Sam, I don’t think he was the “hero” of the story. For sure, Frodo wouldn’t have made it very far without Sam, but Frodo is the hero.

Come at me in the comments if you dare.

What is a song that you really love at this moment?

“I See Fire”, specifically Celtic Women’s cover of it. I’m obsessed with it and think its one of the most beautiful songs ever, not necessarily in lyrics (though I love the spirit of camaraderie in the lyrics) but just in the music and in the Celtic Women’s vocals.

If you could acquire one real-life skill overnight, what would it be? (like the ability to perform neurosurgery or play the accordion or balance a grape on your nose for extended periods of time)

It would be the ability to speak Hawaiian fluently. I’ve been learning Hawaiian for a while now and I love it. I would love to be able to speak it fluently and like a native speaker.

If you could acquire one non-real-life skill overnight, what would it be? (like the ability to breathe underwater or control objects with your mind or balance a grape on your nose for extended periods of time)

To speak all  languages fluently.

What book surprised you the most this year, and in what way? (It doesn’t have to be one that came out this year)

I already mentioned the answer to this in a previous post   and the answer is the Hunger Games!

This book blew me away with the depth of the themes hidden behind the fairly average YA plot. I also really, really enjoyed Katniss’ character and could relate a lot to her.

Then there was also A Monster Calls, which left me a trainwreck of Feelings.

Would you rather be a superhero or his butler?

His butler, and I would be blastedly good at it too. I could just snarkily fold shirts and raise one eyebrow and say everything in a dry tone of voice (which I do anyway). Trust me, being a superhero has nothing on being Alfred Pennyworth, The Female Version.

What makes you laugh? (Besides reading this blog, because I already know I’m hilarious)

Yes, reading the Story Sponge never fails to make me laugh out loud, literally. Other than that, well-done memes tend to make me laugh, as well as one of my brother’s antics. And sometimes my brother’s reaction to a meme I’ve showed him makes me laugh more than the meme itself. My dog makes me laugh. Today I was sad and he stuck his head under my favourite blanket and wriggled around with his head covered in the blanket until I laughed at him. He’s very cute.

What is something that you know is silly but you love it anyway?

Pretty notebooks. It seems really cliché and kind of shallow to like pretty notebooks, but I do.

Which fictional character would you adopt in a heartbeat?

Katniss Everdeen. The poor girl suffers so much. Her dad’s dead, her mum is next to useless and everyone like Peeta better than her. I would adopt her and love her.

If money was no object, which book would you adapt either into a movie or into a Broadway musical?

The Eagle of the Ninth needs to be a Broadway musical. They did make a movie of it a few years ago, but it was honestly the worst. The story was boiled down to the violent bits, added a few more violent (and gruesomely stomarch-churning) bits, just for good measure and some subpar acting. I was not impressed. One of my absolute favourite books deserves a lot more than that.

But yes, I can just see it as an absolutely beautiful Broadway musical. Maybe with Corey Cott playing Marcus and Jonathan Groff or someone like that playing Esca?

I have a lot of unattainable  dreams, if we’re being honest.

 

I tag…

Um…anyone who hasn’t done this? I don’t really know who has and who hasn’t. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen a Sunshine Blogger post from most of you guys.

Okay, I tag Quinn O’Fallon, Megan Chappie and Lady S! If you’ve already done it, that’s fine 😀 And if anyone else wants to snatch the questions, feel free!

And here’s my questions.

1. If you could learn any language in the world, which would you choose?
2. Do you have any pets? If so, share a pic!
3. Do you prefer using black pen, blue pen, or a weirdly coloured pen?
4. Do you have an app on your phone that you feel you couldn’t live without?
5. What’s your current favourite song?
6. What was the last movie you watched?
7. What did you think of it?
8. Are you a collector (stamps, coins, china figurines, etc)?
9. What’s your favourite non-fiction read?
10. If you had to move to another country and live there for the rest of your life, where would you go?
11. If you suddenly became leaders of a typical fantasy land, what immediate social/political/enviromental reforms would you make?

How about you guys? What’s a phenomenal book more people need to know about? What book would you make into a Broadway musical? What’s something little that you love?