Love-a-Thon: an Introduction

12:26 Cilla 22 Comments



Hello! This is my first time participating in Love-A-Thon, and I'm excited to get on board. I won't be here for every event, as it's going to be my birthday tomorrow and then the start of a new course, but I look forward to the parts that I will be around for. :D 

If you haven't heard of the Love-A-Thon, it is an event dedicated to spreading positivity and love. It’s time dedicated to visiting other bloggers/Instagrammers/BookTubers, leaving a comment or two, making new friends and fostering positivity among the members of our amazing community. 

Let's start off with an introduction!

1. What’s your name?
You can call me Cilla. :D

2. Where in the world are you blogging from?
Up until two weeks ago, I was blogging from Indonesia. Now, I'm blogging from Australia. 

3. How did you get into blogging in the first place?
A friend on Goodreads started posting her reviews, and I loved reading them. That was the first lure. By following her link, I started reading her blog, and the term 'ARC' popped up somewhere there. I asked her about it, and she told me about NetGalley. The idea that you could get books in exchange for giving it your honest opinion was the second lure. I couldn't shake the idea after that, but it took me about six months before I actually took the leap. 

Funnily enough, although it was the concept of ARC that brought me in, I rarely seek them out once I actually have a blog. My towering pile of TBRs is intimidating enough. xD

4. How did you come up with your blog name?
The funny thing about coming home after having been away for a while is that everything stays the same, but you haven't. I felt there was a growing gap between me and my family, but we still share a love for books. The hypothetical road we can walk together is paved with books. ;)

5. What genre do you read and review the most on your blog?
Looking through my review archive, it seems to be a split between Fantasy and Science Fiction.  

6. What other types of posts do you do on your blog, apart from reviews?
I write discussion posts and participate in Top Ten Tuesdays. :D

7. Best blogging experience so far?
Ooh this is a difficult one. My first Twitter chat was so overwhelming, but I loved it so much; it helped me strike up conversations with so many new bloggers. Participating in Jillian's Blogger Positivity Campaign was also a real joy. 

8. Favorite thing about the blogging community?
There are still times that I feel like I'm standing on the outside looking in when it comes to the blogging community. However, I have found that when I reach out, most bloggers are very kind and happy to chat!

9. Name the 5 books you’re most excited for this 2016!
Here are my top five: A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro, The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury, Mirror in the Sky by Aditi Khorana, Heartless by Marissa Meyer, and Special by Georgia Blain.

10. Name the 5 books you want to read this 2016 that you didn’t get to in previous years!
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab, Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith, The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan, aaand The Diviners by Libba Bray

11. What’s an underrated book or series that you think everyone should read?
I'm not sure if it's underrated, but everyone should definitely read The Song of Achilles.

12. Which book boy or girl would be your book BFF?
I think I would get along splendidly with Ginny Weasley, actually. The book version, that is, not the movie version. She's bold and feisty, which will complement my shy personality and tendency to hesitate.

13. Which book boy or girl would be your book boyfriend/girlfriend?
My book boyfriend would either be Peeta Mellark, or Remus Lupin, or James Carstairs. It's impossible to choose between them! 

14. Who would you recruit for your apocalypse squad (5 characters max)?

This is something I haven't thought about before. Hmm, I'd recruit Gale Hawthorne for his strategic skills, Hermione Granger for obvious reasons, and Simon Lewis because I could use his sense of humour.

15. Apart from reading, what are your other hobbies or interests?
I love watching television shows. At the moment, my favourites are Arrow, Nashville, Elementary, Castle, and Bones.

16. Apart from book shopping, what else do you like shopping for?

Oh man, I actually dislike shopping. I have to be in the right mood to enjoy the outing. That said, when I am in the mood for shopping, I like shopping for jewelleries. Not the gold and silver kind - I love handmade, quirky bracelets and necklaces.  

17. At a party, the DJ suddenly changes the song – and it’s your song. What song would be playing?

I've never picked any song to be my song to be honest, and the ones I do aren't really the kind to be played at parties! However, the one song that would always get me in the mood to dance is Kill Me in a Record Shop by Boys Like Girls. 

18. Pick out either a book you want turned into a film/TV show, or a film/TV show you want turned into a book.
I really, really want Animorphs to be turned into a TV show again. Now that we have the technology to make the morphing process look realistic, and an audience that's hungry for such dystopian sci-fi stories. Up the characters' ages a little bit, and it'll be perfect for the YA crowd.

19. What would your dream library look like?
It would look like this: 


source
20. Author you want to meet and sit down to tea with?
No doubt about it - I would love to sit down for tea with J.K. Rowling. I'd love to talk about her books and writing process. Moreover, she seems like such an intelligent woman that I think a general chat about the affairs of the world would be so much fun.  

22 comments:

  1. I can't believe I didn't think to put JKR on my sit-down question! She is an absolute must.

    Also, that library is AMAZING. ♥

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    1. I think she would be so amazing to have a conversation with! :D And isn't it?? <3

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  2. I still have those awkward feels trying to interact during Twitter chats -- something I don't think I'll ever get over since my on-the-blog satirical writing doesn't exactly translate well for me when it comes to 140-characters LOL. I also need to catch up on like 3-4 episodes of Arrow but at least the Winter return was a relieving episode...

    Cheers,
    Joey via. thoughts and afterthoughts.

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    1. Haha I still feel weird just tweeting at people I've never spoken to before, even if those chats are the perfect excuse for it. I'm so disoriented about shows atm, I'm not even sure how behind I am with Arrow, but I have seen the Winter return! I was so happy, though also heart-broken about what happened haha.

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  3. Hello Cilla! (Also wishing you a big happy birthday! You treat yo self with awesomeness!)

    I am totally with you on A Study in Charlotte. I've never read a Sherlock adaptation with a female Sherlock. I'm just so excited for it!

    Hermione Granger is always a wonderful character to be part of your apocalypse crew. She knows how to get yourself out of dangerous events. ;D

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    1. Hi Cee! Thank you so much for the birthday wish - I had the best time! I've never read one either, so I'm really hoping it'll be awesome. :D I agree - she's had so much practice ;D

      Thanks for stopping byyy <3

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  4. Nice to meet you, Cilla! I also have yet to read A Darker Shade of Magic. I honestly thought that I was the only one who hadn't picked it up yet, so I'm glad to see that I was wrong!
    Krystianna @ Downright Dystopian

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    1. Nice to meet you too, Krystianna! :D You're definitely not the only one, I think I've seen a couple of other bloggers still have it on their TBR. I really want to read it, but I'm on a book ban so I'm keeping an eye on the library catalogue haha.

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  5. OH. MY. GOODNESS. I LOVE (love, love, love) that you said Animorphs, because now that you mention it, I think they could do a great updated show! It would such a fun story to follow in the medium of television too! Also, I'm looking forward to Heartless (love Marissa Meyer!) and A Study in Charlotte (heard good things!) too :D

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    1. Right??! It could be so fantastic! Think if I talk about it enough, someone out in Hollywood would stumble upon it? :'DD But yess I'm really excited for both of those books! Thanks for stopping by, Alexa! <3

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  6. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Oh, I LOVE birthdays, I love presents, and I hope you got a ton of amazing ones.

    ARROW! EEEEEK! It's my newly discovered IT TV show. I LOVE everything about it. I binged watch every released episode within a month, and now I'm still in withdrawal.

    New Follower. Have an awesome Love-A-Thon

    Aditi @ http://athousandwordsamillionbooks.blogspot.in/

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    1. Thank you, Aditi! :DD I had an amazing birthday with great friends and good food; I couldn't be happier. Eeee, yay for Arrow! The only good thing about being behind on it is that I have several episodes to catch up on, haha.

      Thank you again! I hope you had a brilliant Love-A-Thon!

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  7. I came by to wish you a happy birthday and I was happy to see this post where I could learn more about you!! I love how you came up with your blog name - that is the sweetest explanation of a blog name I've ever heard!

    Happy birthday!!!

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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    1. Thank you so much, Nicole! <3 That post ended up being rather perfectly timed then! Haha, thanks again!! :D

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  8. I hardly ever seek out ARCs, either. I have WAY too many books I've bought and I feel really guilty when I read anything else. (Although I keep buying more books, go figure.)

    I love your explanation of your blog name! So cool!

    And I can't believe I forgot about Heartless! Everyone is listing that one as one of their most anticipated books for this year, which, of course! And I totally forgot about it! :(

    And I love your ideal library! So pretty and comfy! Have fun with the rest of the LoveAThon!

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    1. Haha! *highfives* I'm the same - I keep buying books even though my unread pile is already towering over me. That's why I'm on kind of a book-buying ban this year. I still buy books but it's reigned in a little bit.

      Thank you! :D

      There are so many books to anticipate this year though, you're totally forgiven for forgetting one! And right?? It looks so great *_* I hope you had a great LoveAThon!

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  9. Hello! It's nice to meet you! I love what you said about your blog name. The books you are looking forward to reading this year are also books I am looking forward to reading this year as well. I also REALLY want to read A Darker Shade of Magic, I hear such good things about it! Happy Love-A-Thon!

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    1. Hello, it's nice to meet you too! ^__^ Thank you so much, and I hope you'll get to reading all of those books this year! I've been hearing great things about ADSOM too, and just Victoria Schwab in general. I hope you had a great LoveAThon!

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  10. Oh wow I see what you mean when you say that you've only been in Australia for a short period of time! :) Still, so cool to have you here! :)
    Oh yeah, I completely forgot about that - one of my favorite blogging experiences was participating in twirling pages's #TPchat, because it was just super organised, yet really fun with lots of genuine people! :)
    That library also looks so beautiful!! I'm definitely going to make sure my library ends up being a double story one too now! :P

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    1. Haha actually I've lived in Australia before, but I've been away for about a year. :) But thank you!

      I loved that chat too! I'm still awkward about actually replying to tweets, but I like to think I'm getting better at it haha.

      Right?? It looks so cozy. Haha, fingers crossed we both get our dream library! :D Thanks for stopping by, Geraldine!

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  11. Hi Cilla, happy belated birthday! I started watching Arrow, but I stopped after the first season because I was so heartbroken over the finale.

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    1. Hi Amaris, thank youuu! Arrow is quite dark and depressing, and there are more heartbreaks after season one, I'm afraid! But the most recent season kind of lightens up :D

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Thanks for reading! It makes my day to hear your thoughts and I will respond asap. :)