We Talk About Bookshops, Authors and Our Goals in The Bookish Bucket List Tag

Hello friends! I was tagged by the wonderful Marie and Nyx @ Drizzle & Hurricane Books in The Bookish Bucket List tag; thank you so much! I properly struggled with the questions related to writing, so Sabrina was kind enough to jump in and save me from the embarrassment of having to publish this tag with multiple answers missing.

The tag was created by Maddison’s Inkwell, and even though we’re not tagging anyone in particular, everyone interested should consider themselves tagged!

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1. What books or series that intimidate you (because of length, density, subject) would feel like an accomplishment to finish?

VERA: I’ve heard incredible things about The Count of Monte Christo, but my god, its length is constantly making me reconsider my choice to add it to my wishlist. It’s nearly 1500 pages long in some editions. 😱 On top of this, there are some people who’ve been less than impressed, so if I’m being honest, I might never get around to this.

SABRINA: The first book that comes to mind is The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. It’s page count is around a thousand and there are two more books in the series, so I am very hesitant to pick it up. It’s also historical fiction, and I have a love-hate relationship with that genre.

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2. What author would you like to coauthor a book with?

VERA: Ah, this is a hard one! Perhaps Gillian Flynn, because she has written some truly twisted novels, and even though I’m not a writer, if I were a writer, that would 1000% be my brand.

SABRINA: I agree with Vera – this is a really difficult question! Although, it’s possible it’s just because I’m taking it too seriously. It’s no secret that I admire Laini Taylor‘s books, especially her writing. One of my goals in life is to get on her skill level, so I guess that is my answer!

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3. If you could interview any author for your blog, who would it be? What’s one question you would ask?

VERA: Call me predictable, but I cannot choose anyone but Nalini Singh for this question. I love Psy-Changeling, and I’m so curious to know the answer to the following question: does she have a favorite character, or couple?

SABRINA: I would really like to interview Suzanne Collins at the moment because I have so many questions about the prequel to The Hunger Games that’s being released soon. It would be awesome to ask her what the new book adds to the story of the THG trilogy.

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4. As a writer, what genre is out of your comfort zone that you’d like to conquer someday and write within?

SABRINA: Honestly, I am still in a place where all genres are out of my comfort zone when it comes to writing 😅 However, the genre that is most outside of it that I still would love to write is a spooky mystery thriller.

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5. What specific edition of a book would you like to own someday? It could be rare, a first edition, an anniversary edition, signed, or one with a cover special to you, etc.

VERA: I’m pretty sure all, or most of Dickens’ iconic novels have a Penguin Classics edition, and oh my, these editions are so damn gorgeous! I’d love to collect them all, but they’re out of my price range, sadly.

SABRINA: I found out about this book too late to buy it, but it is much more than I could afford anyway so I don’t think it would have mattered. I’m talking about Faeries of the Faultlines by Iris Compiet – an art book that features the fae and stories about them. The cover doesn’t do what I have seen of the book justice, because the artwork is fantastically beautiful. If you are interested in seeing some of it, you should check out the author’s website!

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6. Are there any books or bookish items that you’d like to collect?

VERA: Not really? With the exception of bookmarks, I don’t collect any bookish items, mostly because they tend to serve decorative purposes, and I like my bookshelf decoration to be pig-themed, not book themed. 🐷

SABRINA: I sort of already collect bookmarks – but that is more incidental than intentional! With my limited budget, I am happy at the moment to spend my money on the books themselves rather than anything else. However, if money wasn’t an issue, I could definitely see myself purchasing all the book related candles I could get my hands on.

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7. Name one bookish place you’d like to visit. (Not somewhere you’d like to visit because of a book and not a fictional place within a book. A library, bookstore, etc.)

source: independent.co.uk

source: wikipedia

VERA: At this point, I’d kill to visit any bookish (or other) place, because quarantine has been kicking my butt. 😅 But jokes aside, I think Persephone Books is one of the most aesthetically pleasing shops, and I love their goal of publishing novels by little known classical female authors. If you want to learn more about the shop, I suggest reading this article.

SABRINA: So, whilst I have technically visited the State Library of Victoria before, I didn’t truly explore it. That’s something I would love to do sometime in the near future. Also, something I actually learnt from a post the previous incarnation of this blog – The Regal Critiques – is that the library is believed to be haunted! I would love to see those glowing lights on the stairs 🤗

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8. Name one bookish event you’d like to attend. (A festival, a signing, a book fair, etc.)

VERA: For the longest time, I was dying to go to BEA and/or BookCon, but I’ve lost interest in both. 😅 I’d much rather spend my money on going to a county I’m truly interested in, and perhaps hitting up some bookshops there.

SABRINA: I hate crowds, and I hate rushing around trying to get too many things done in a short amount of time. The mere thought of trying to beat a crowd of people to a queue in order to get an ARC or a signature, for example, makes me feel so stressed. I’ve even gone to a couple of events/signings in the past, and I don’t think I would do it again at this point – it’s all just too much 😂

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9. Your WIP is getting published and designing the cover is solely up to you. What does it look like?

SABRINA: Fun fact, I used to publish short stories on a website called Polyvore, and I actually put a few on Wattpad too. 🤫 So, I have made my own covers before, but they definitely look like digital covers + they are probably made up of copyrighted images, so I’m not going to include them here. What I will include (thank you to Vera for the suggestion) are existing covers that I would like something similar to for my WIP! I would love something with a pretty pattern and shiny gold accents, or even just an image of a forest landscape. Here’s some examples to give you an idea.

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10. What’s one thing you’d like to accomplish within the bookish world? As a writer, reader, blogger, whatever you want.

VERA: As a blogger, I would like to (1) keep making content I’m proud of, and (2) keep growing our blog. As a reader, it would be pretty neat if my tbr, particularly my physical tbr, would be smaller. Currently, I own more than 100 unread book, not counting my digital library. 🙈

SABRINA: I think the biggest thing that I want to accomplish is actually finishing a writing project – even if it’s just a draft. I’ve never stuck with any of my would-be novels long enough to get them completed and I really, really want to do that.

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Let’s chat!

What would your answers be to these questions? We’re especially curious about #10 – as a blogger, reader, writer, what are your goals? Also, what bookish place would you love to visit?