AWAKE & UNAFRAID

1. book you've reread the most times?

answered here!

14. do you ever mark/dog ear books you own?

DO I EVER! well, dog earing not so much, but i'll crack the spines and i often read with a pen or pencil nearby to underline or make notes (#me, an english major)

15. recommend and review a book. you're getting one of my most recommended books, monstrous regiment (2003) by terry pratchett (am i trying to mention him in basically every single answer to these asks? maybe)

the book follows polly, whose brother's been conscripted and is currently missing in action, so she dresses up as a boy to enlist in the army of their very small warmongering country (even though it's against the country's very niche religion) under the name of oliver (a reference to "sweet polly oliver"). she joins a regiment of new recruits and off they go.

the book is pratchett in his prime, a standalone discworld novel, funny and poignant, dealing with gender, the patriarchy, war, religion and nationalism. there's also a vampire addicted to coffee, a man named blouse and, at one point, polly has to double crossdress. i want everyone to read this book, please and thank you.

19. most disliked popular books? okay, having had some time to think, i'm gonna say carry on (2015) by rainbow rowell and red, white & royal blue (2019) by casey mcquinston. it's been about a decade since i read it, but i remember thinking the end of carry on was particularly awful, and i just did not understand the hype about red, white & royal blue. my main takeaway from having read both is that i generally don't care for m/m romances and that a YA novel have to be particularly good for me to spend time on it.

4. what sections of a bookstore do you browse? poetry and Books In English™. not that i don't like reading danish books, i just usually get the ones i want to read from the library. many books written in english get translated into danish, but i prefer reading the original if it's a language i know (have a hateful shout out to the danish translations of terry pratchett's discworld novels and the hilariously awful translation of george r.r. martin's asoiaf series)

9. when do you tend to read the most? i've never really thought about this, but maybe mainly afternoon/evening? i think i prefer to read during the day, because i know that if i really like a book i'll try to finish it in one sitting and that often ruins my sleep if i start it too late haha.

i would probably read during my commute to/from work if i had to take public transport, but my work place is a 20 min bike ride from where i live, so my commute is my podcast time. but i also bring a book every time i'm on the train to/from my home town.

20. what are things you look for in a book? answered here!

15. recommend and review a book. can't believe you'd ask me this when you've already read several books on my recommendation, so i'll have to think about one we haven't spoken about >:O

anyway, i'm going to recommend last night at the telegraph club (2021) by malinda lo (of ash (2009), lesbian retelling of cinderella, fame).

it's about a teenage girl who realises she's a lesbian, and seeks out the lesbian bars of san francisco in the 1950's (hey, here's a historical novel, you can read). it also deals with her home life, as a daughter of chinese immigrants, the education opportunities for girls in the us post-wwii, the main character's first time falling in love and the male impersonators she sees at shows at the bars.

i read it for a discord book club during covid, and i really, really liked it. that's it, that's my review.

19. most disliked popular books? while i try to remember a /popular/ book i've both read and disliked, i'll tell you about the first book i remember disliking:

in 7th or 8th grade i had to read shamran – den som kommer (1985) by bjarne reuter and i fucking hated that book. it read like fantasy by someone who didn't care for the genre AT ALL, and it was so, so stupid. at this point i was 13-14 and read novels in english in my spare time, so maybe i also found it juvenile. have never forgiven my danish teacher for having us read it.

20. what are things you look for in a book? first of all: A SENSE OF HUMOUR. it doesn't have to be a "laugh out loud funny" book but i find that most of my favourite books are witty and play around with language, tropes and expectations, e.g. feature sentences that catch you off guard. terry pratchett and tamsyn muir are good examples of authors who write like this (have a classic quote from guards! guards! (1989): "thunder rolled . . it rolled a six.").

i also look for characters who take active part of the plot, consistent punctuation and romantic subplots that aren't rushed but that get to simmer for a good long while (#slowburn). nothing turns me off a book more than insta-love. OH, and books that make me think! both about concepts/morality/hard decisions, but i also just love a good puzzle that i can try to solve alongside the characters.