I hope this bookish Q&A will help you to get to know my reading taste a bit better. If there are any other questions you would like me to answer, feel free to write them in the comments.

1. What is your favourite book series? Why do you love it so much?

The Hunger Games! I can’t pinpoint exactly what sets this series apart from all the other books I have read so far (and of those there are many) but I fell in love with the characters immediately and was emotionally invested in the story from page one. This is what makes the difference to me between a book I love and one I merely like. Furthermore, I loved the social commentary in the book because it gave the story so much more depth and gave me plenty to think about. Generally, to me this series was the perfect combination of an interesting plot and story, intriguing and unique characters, strong emotions and a lot to think about and take from it. If anyone out there hasn’t read the books yet I definitely recommend doing so! 😊

2. What is your favourite standalone and why do you love it?

Deciding on a favourite standalone is a little more difficult since there were many standalones I loved but not one that stands out in comparison to the others. One standalone I really liked was I Am Change by Suzy Zail. It tells the story of an African girl growing up in a rural village in Uganda and the struggles she faces because of the role women are given in society. She is very passionate about learning and takes her education very seriously but there are constantly put new obstacles in her way because most people around her don’t value girls getting a good education, or any education at all. I found this story, which was loosely based on accounts of actual girls that grew up in those circumstances, very heart-breaking but inspiring at the same time. ❤️

3. Which genres do you love to read the most?

My favourite genres are fantasy, dystopia, historical fiction and contemporary fiction. I also like reading biographies that are narrated like a story. Generally, I read mostly YA fiction with some adult literature every now and then.

4. Are there any genres you don’t really like or read that often?

I never read horror books and I rarely ever pick up thrillers. Furthermore, unpopular opinion ahead!, I don’t enjoy reading romance books at all (with a few exceptions). Don’t get me wrong, I am totally fine with there being romance in a book, as long as it is not the only/main plot of a book. But I do think I will enjoy It Ends with Us 😍

5. What are you looking for in a book that makes you like it?

Characters I can fall in love with (or love to hate), emotional investment and ideally some sort of social commentary or issues that are explored. When a book manages to make me cry that is always a good sign! 😅

6. Are there any books you can recommend that aren’t as popular?

Quite a few actually. I am totally lagging behind when it comes to reading popular books (as you will see in the next question) because I am focusing more on less popular books at the moment. Some of my recent favourites:

The Last Paper Crane by Kerry Drewery (historical fiction) – It tells the story of a boy and his friend who try to survive in the dangers that ensue the dropping of the nuclear bomb on Hiroshima. It is a really heartfelt story about the suffering of individuals in times of war and how you should never lose your hope, no matter how hopeless it seems.

Hope in a Ballet Shoe by Michaela and Elaine DePrince (narrated biography) – I haven’t finished reading it yet but I already know this book is beautiful! It tells the story of Michaela DePrince from being a war orphan in Sierra Leone to becoming a famous ballerina. The story is at the same time a very hopeful one and filled with a lot of tragedy. It also explores several issues, such as racism in the ballet world. All in all, I can definitely recommend the book based on what I have read so far.

Bearmouth by Liz Hyder (historically inspired fiction?) – I didn’t really have any expectations going into this book and was positively surprised. The book follows the story of a young boy working in a mine under terrible conditions to earn enough money for himself and his poor family to survive. His one passion is learning to read and write, a skill not many of the boys down there have. What I particularly liked about the book is that we really got to see the events from his perspective and even the words are written the way he would write them (which means a lot of misspellings) and as he learns how to spell correctly, the words he learned are written correctly from then one. This made the book feel more real and made it unique.

7. Which popular books haven’t you read and do you plan on reading them in the future?

I feel like I haven’t read any of the books that are currently popular. 😇 ACOTAR, Throne of Glass, We Were Liars, It Ends with Us, Midnight Library, The Love Hypothesis, just to name a few. It Ends with Us is next on my reading list, so I do plan on reading that. I am not quite sure about the others, to be honest I don’t really know what they are about so I can’t tell whether or not I would be interested in them but for most of the currently popular romance novels I can say that I won’t read them in the near future, since this isn’t a genre I like. Apart from It Ends with Us none of them are on my TBR currently because there are too many other books I am interested in now, so it isn’t a priority for me at the moment. Feel free to convince me to read some of them though! 🙃

8. Is there a book that many people seem to dislike/has mixed reviews that you absolutely loved?

I don’t really have an overview over the general opinion on this book but I feel as though many people disliked The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes which I personally loved. While I totally understand why it may not be as popular as the original trilogy, I love having this prequel and I am glad it is the way it is. I already mentioned that I liked the original trilogy, amongst other aspects, for the social commentary which was further explored in this novel. If you loved these aspects in the original trilogy, I would definitely recommend you to give it a go! If you only loved the trilogy for the characters or the romance though I am not sure this one is right for you since through Snow’s perspective it is difficult to become attached to any of the other characters, even the ones who are not evil, and the romance to me didn’t really read like a romance but more like a further way to illustrate the way Snow works that played a part in shaping the Snow we know and hate in the original trilogy.

9. Have you ever reread a book? Which books would you like to reread?

I have reread the first three Harry Potter books several years ago before buying the fourth one. Other than that, I have only read each book once but there are definitely some I would like to revisit. One of them is The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, since it is such a relevant book and when I last read it I didn’t really understand all the nuances. I also plan on rereading the entire Hunger Games series before the new movie gets released in fall next year. Apart from those, I currently don’t have any specific books in mind that I want to reread because, I would rather discover new books to love. 🥰