The Sunshine Blogger Award

I have done this award a few times in the past but I never get tired of answering a few questions when I'm tagged again so let me say a great big thank you to the lovely Stephanie Jane over at https://stephjb.blogspot.com/ for tagging me this time!

RULES:
-Thank the blogger who nominated you in a post and link back to their blog
-Answer the 11 questions they have provided for you
-Nominate 11 blogs and provide 11 questions for them to answer
-List the rules, display the Sunshine Blogger logo in your post and/or blog

Here are the questions I was asked:

1. If you read about characters eating a tempting new food do you then buy/cook it for yourself?
I don't read the kind of genres that talk a lot about food. I mainly read horror, apocalypse type of things so the plot is focused on things other than food! I'm not really much of a cook and I don't bake so I never pay much attention to what characters in the books are eating. It's not really an interest of mine.

2. Have you ever visited somewhere purely because it sounded great in a book?
Sadly no! Most of what I read is set in the US or in London, or deep rainforests and South American jungles so there is never going to be the chance to visit most of the places I read about. Not many decent books in my favourite genres are set in Scotland and I don't have the money to travel around the UK when I do read of interesting places. 

3. Or chosen a book because it was set somewhere you love? I did go looking for horror and apocalypse books set in Cape Town as I know that city well from several holidays there. It was great to find a few zombie books set there! I read a book recently about vampires purely because it was set in my regular holiday spot of Blackpool so it was great to recognise all the streets and attractions! It is rare for me to finds books I actually want to read that are set somewhere I know well.

4. Have you ever felt obliged to read something because 'everyone else' had? If so, what? And was it worth it?
Never. I read the books that interest me and no amount of hype will make me pick up a book that doesn't interest me just to be a sheep in the crowd! The whole point of the blog I set up was to share different books from Indie authors, less well known small press horror, self published apocalypse and less popular genres. I've never been interested in fitting in with the crowd, I'm not bothered if I don't get tons of blog visits, I've never cared much for needing to promote the 'in books' in the blogging world!

5. Which author(s) inspire(s) you?
I wouldn't say I'm inspired by any author really. I just reads books and enjoy them for entertainment. I do have favourite authors and series in several genres like Darrell Maloney, Hunter Shea, Rick Chesler, Patricia Briggs, GRRM's ASOI&F, JKR's Harry Potter books, Philippa Gregory, Emily Purdy, Alison Weir, Matthew Reilly, Robert Boren, Jaye Wells, RL Naquin, Richard Laymon, and a ton more!

6. How does the size of your TBR affect your reading choices?
I wouldn't say it affects my reading choices. My TBR is above 900 books and these are all books I own a copy of and haven't read. I read based on mood for the most part so I pick up what I feel like reading and go from there. I have cut down on my book purchases these last two years and I'm trying hard to reduce the book pile I have, including culling ebooks I no longer want to read. I'm also trying to target books that have mixed reviews to deal with them quicker.

7. How do you keep track of other bloggers' recommendations? And do you ever get round to reading those books?
If I see a book on a friend's blog that deserves further research I add it to my Goodreads wishlist so I remember to check out reviews of it when time allows. If I decide it isn't for me, I delete it, if it sounds like my thing I'll leave it on wishlist then look for a cheap ebook copy. I will get to most buys I purchase but it will take time with such a big TBR!

8. Do you like using libraries, Little Libraries, or book exchanges?
None of the above. The books I read are mostly Indie or less popular genres so they never appear in our libraries and I can only get them from Amazon. To order a book in our local libraries, we have to pay to get it, pay every year for a new book ticket, another fee for the cd and dvd ticket and so on. It became cheaper to just buy the book instead! 

9. What strategies do you have to drag yourself out of a reading slump?
I take a total break from books and watch TV for a few days or a week and enjoy chilling out. The desire to read something will then creep back in. I used to switch to rereads or the audio books of Harry Potter to get out of the slump and that usually works too.

10. Are your nearest and dearest as bookish as you are?
My dad was always a huge fan of horror books and films and I wanted to read his books even when I was young! He inspired me to try Stephen King and I grew to love the genre. Now I'm the book buyer and I pass on a lot of my books for him to try, especially horror and anything with monsters. He's going on to George RR Martin's books next as he is as big a Game of Thrones fan as I am!

11. If we were all Icelandic, what book(s) would you be hoping to get for Jolabokaflod?
I never get books gifted to me as my family don't celebrate any recognised holidays. I buy all my own books then let my dad read them. I never buy books during December to avoid books going missing in the post and I avoid all shops during the month to hibernate in front of the tv!

I don't ever tag people for things like this. If you like the look of the questions and want to answer them, consider yourself tagged!

1) If you had your own band, what would you call it and what is your stage name?
2) What 3-5 TV shows do you love to relax and watch?
3) Which films have you re-watched the most?
4) What are your favourite music albums?
5) Which animal would you like to be and why?
6) If you had a talking animal, what animal would it be and why?
7) Which superpower would you most want and why?
8) Which three foods could you not live without?
9) What are you currently reading?
10) What are your favourite book genres?
11) Which books would you take to a desert island for the summer?