I know I’ve been tag-heavy lately, but I’ve been scrounging a bit when it comes to discussion ideas, and reading Tolkien books is hard with being in the office all day (as opposed to just lounging at home for the past year), so my Wednesdays have been hard to fill lately, which just means you get more of me rambling about–well, me! I saw this over at Lisa @ Way Too Fantasy, and it looks like it was created by Books and Chocaholic on Youtube.

How many books on average do you read per month?

I’d say somewhere between 8-10? It used to be way more, but being back in the office means I have a lot less time. Even before the pandemic started, my job was very lowkey, and I didn’t have a lot to do, so I’ve spent the last five or so years just reading and writing whenever the heck I wanted. I’m slowly figuring out the space for both now, and though that means literally stealing time for writing and reading at night, it’s coming together!

How many books are on your TBR?

On my physical TBR, I have 129 books. This is way more than I’d like it to be, so I’m definitely on a book buying ban right now. I want to note that this does exclude the books I’ll be purchasing for Pride since that’s a given no matter what’s going on in my TBR, and I’m likely to read everything I’ll buy for Pride right away. And I know that people count their Want to Read on Goodreads as a TBR, but honestly? There are 687 books on that list, as of drafting this post, so it’s more of just a place I shove every single book that I’ve ever had the slightest interest in.

How are your books organised on your shelves?

By genre & author! I did a very lengthy book tour last year, which meandered through every single shelf, and which ended here. I’m linking the last one because it has the links for all the previous ones. Basically, the tl;dr version is–first case: TBR, nonfiction, yoga, Buddhism, poetry, adult fiction; second case: horror, classics, Tolkien, YA contemporary, magic & research, middle grade; third case: more middle grade, YA urban fantasy, the rest of the YA contemporary, and space; fourth case: adult & YA high fantasy. Inside of each genre/subgenre, they’re organized alphabetically by author’s last name.

Which genres do you read most from?

Oh, fantasy, for sure. My bookshelves are the Ikea Billy bookcases, so they’re eight feet tall and hold six shelves, and five are filled just with high fantasy. There’s a whole additional three shelves dedicated to urban fantasy, plus Tolkien’s got his own shelf.

Which genres do you own most of?

Also fantasy because see above. I try to purge as often as possible since I really don’t have a lot of room, so anything that’s three stars or below generally tends to hit the donation pile, but I’ve gotten really good at knowing what I like in fantasy based on nothing more than the cover/title/first few sentences of summary, so I don’t usually get to purge from those shelves.

Which is your preferred form of reading (physical, audio, ebook..)?

Physical, always. I’m not being snobby or anything, I just can’t do audio or digital. I have a very difficult time being read to, even when it’s something as simple as an Instagram caption or, heck, a tweet. I can’t focus well, and Lisa @ Way Too Fantasy made an excellent point a while back that most of us have to retrain ourselves to listen to audiobooks because we’ve gotten so accustomed to reading books amid myriad distractions. And while that does make sense, I just don’t enjoy being read to, so I’m going to carry on with my physical books. And I don’t read digitally because I spend literally all day on a computer, and I think my eyes would fry right out of my head if I read digitally, as well.

Who is your most owned author?

This is a tough one, but I think it’s probably Cassandra Clare. For a lonnnnnng time, it was Maggie Stiefvater, and I can’t believe she’s being dethroned, but there are 19 currently published Shadowhunters books, and that’s a lot. Oh, but I’m forgetting Tolkien! Okay, I’ve got over 20 Tolkien books, and Stiefvater comes in at 16 books. Many of my Tolkien’s are multiple editions (I have three copies of the trilogy & The Silmarillion), so you could argue Clare has more, but I’m just going to say that Tolkien, Clare, and Stiefvater are my top three most owned.

Describe your favourite writing style?

Oh, it depends. Honestly, Tolkien is the only one I’ll read that writes like he does, and that’s because I was raised on it. I don’t actually like his high style of literary writing, and I’m all for YA books. I love big, sprawling fantasies that have a healthy dose of angst and romance, so give me things like Laini Taylor and Margaret Rogerson every day.

Which literary devices do you like/dislike?

Chelsea is going to roll their eyes at me, but I like not knowing everything. This is how I write, too, and though I don’t always do it intentionally, and I definitely need to do it less, I like feeling a little on the outside sometimes. It’s almost like approaching a new group of friends. They’re not going to include you all the way at first, so you’ve got to get to know everyone and their ticks before you have all the information and can really settle into their friend group.

Is first person a literary device? I hate it, make it stop in fantasy.

Which character archetypes do you enjoy?

Sad boys! Cooler than you girls! Angst and bad decisions! Moral ambiguity! If it’s a trope in YA, I probably adore it.

Which are your favourite book settings?

I am a big fan of settings. I recently talked all about my favorite ones, but something that always stands out to me, but that isn’t used all that often, are places of worship. I really, really go in hard for faith in fantasy, and if you’ve got a pantheon and a cathedral-type building, oh heck yeah, I’m here for it.

Which are your favourite romantic and plot tropes?

I mean, here you go? I’ve already talked about my favorite romance tropes, and they coincide quite neatly with my favorite plot tropes, so just gonna link that and say have fun!