Guten tag, friends!
*exhales* I am exhausted.
I have taken on more hours at work, decided to transfer to the online division of my university due to my lovely friend COVID, and have scarce had the chance to write, read, or study my beloved German. My brain has found itself addled beyond belief, and now, on this calm, quiet weeknight, I have found the time to blog!
I was “awarded” or “tagged” for the Mystery Blogger Award by Miss Maya Joelle over at The Wayfaring Wordsmith and by Miss Amelie over at Swordmaiden of the King *nods and smiles.* Thank you, Miss Maya and Miss Amelie!!
Here are the rulsies:
The rules
- Put the award logo/image on your blog.
- Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link to their blog (thanks, girlies!).
- Mention the creator of the award and provide a link as well. (This award was created by Okoto Enigma.)
- Answer the 5 questions you were asked.
- Tell your readers 3 things about yourself.
- Nominate 10-20 people.
- Notify your nominees by commenting on their blogs.
- Ask your nominees any 5 questions of your choice; with one weird or funny question.
- Share a link to your best post(s).
So, let’s get on to the questions! 😉
First: Five Questions from Maya!
Question 1: Have you ever watched a movie adaptation that was better than its book counterpart? If so, what was it, and why was it better?
Hmm. This is a tricky one. I’ve seen a lot of film adapations of books, but if there’s one that’s better than the book, I think I’m going to have to go with The Hollow Crown, which is a BBC miniseries adaptation of Shakespeare’s history plays.
Now, please, dear friends. I’m not in any way saying that I dislike reading the plays. I LOVE reading the plays. It’s just that watching Shakespeare (for me) is sometimes SO MUCH more fun than reading it, especially since they were written to be performed.
That doesn’t mean I’ll sit down and read The Taming of the Shrew just for fun. I’ll read Shakespeare for leisure any day. It’s just that I love watching it performed so much more.
Hopefully that made sense. 🙂
And Tom Hiddleston is just about the most perfect Prince Hal/Henry V that there’s ever been.
So there.
Next question, please!
Question 2: What is your least favorite color to wear and why?
Hmm.
Interesting question.
I’m going to go with bright green – because it clashes with everything. 😆
Question 3: What is your favorite restaurant?
*looks around*
*makes sure no one is listening*
*whispers*
Chick-fil-A.
This is me talking about how much I love those chicken nuggets. 😉
Question 4: What is your favorite quote from a non-fiction book?
“Whoever destroys a soul, it is considered as if he destroyed an entire world. And whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world.”
This is actually from the Hebrew Talmud, but it’s best known for its significance in Thomas Keneally’s Schindler’s List, so it’s technically a quote from two non-fiction books (and the Spielberg film).
To tell the truth, this quote has stolen my heart, and it gets stuck in my head so often. But it holds so much significance: saving one human person saves the whole world for them, and our action to intervene on their behalf is just as courageous as if we had saved the entire world. The sanctity of life is a precious thing…
Question 5: Have you been to Disneyland and/or Disney World? If yes, did you enjoy it? If not, do you want to?
I have been to both Disneyland and Disney World, and I enjoyed both parks equally! I want to go to one of them again soon.
I’m not sure which one I like more…Disney World is ginormous, and I wasn’t able to see all of it, but because I used to live in California, I know the ins and outs of Disneyland like I know the back of my hand. 😉
Both are truly magical places.
Now, let’s have the five questions from dear Amelie!!
Question 1: (for fun) Do you view water as a necessary and even delicious beverage or as a substance that must be avoided at all costs?
A necessary and even delicious beverage! I love water, and I drink it all. the. time.
I struggled with GI complications, chronic fatigue, and depression a few years ago, so drinking water was something I was always advised to do by my doctors. Now, I know that the key to staying healthy is drinking lots of water. I’ve grown to have a glass by me pretty much all day long. 😉
Question 2: What is your favorite book(s) of the Bible?
James. Ohh, I love James. I feel like it isn’t recognized enough, but it is a book that I go to over and over whenever I’m unsure of which to read next. It discusses in detail the faith/works dichotomy, which is something I think a lot of Christians want to learn more of, and it also hits on the power of speech and the ways a Christian ought to employ it (which is something it’s famous for).
Question 3: Do you have a favorite (or a few favorite) movie soundtrack(s)?
Oohh. I love this question.
I really love the soundtrack for The Lord of the Rings. Obviously, that’s a given. Also The Hobbit trilogy. Sooooo. Good. Those are probably at the top of my list. “Concerning Hobbits” always chases the blues away. 🙂
But! I also really love the soundtracks for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Little Women (2019), Emma (2020), Schindler’s List, the BBC television series Victoria, Doctor Who Series 5 and 6, The Gladiator, the BBC television series Sherlock, The Imitation Game, Star Wars The Force Awakens, and although I don’t watch the show (and have no plans to), I really like the music from Game of Thrones.
Question 4: What is your favorite board game?
“Settlers of Catan!”
And also “Ticket to Ride.”
Homeschoolers have the best board game recommendations. It’s true. 😉
Question 5: What is your favorite trilogy?
Also The Lord of the Rings 🙂
I wouldn’t be a proper homeschooler if I answered otherwise, no would I?
Now, for three things about moi.
Thing 1: I studied creative writing at a two-week Oxford University program last summer, and it was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. I made some of the best friends from all over the world, and we had many wild adventures in the bookstores, cafes, and Oxford city streets.
If you follow me on Instagram, then you probably saw most of my stories and pictures from last summer, but if you didn’t, well…surprise!
I’ve been debating about whether or not I should write a post about my experience…comment below if you’d like me to hear about it… 😉
Thing 2: One of my favorite novels of all time is Bram Stoker’s Dracula, which is something I have already decided to write a post on…sometime soon. 🙂 But really, Dracula is one of the best books I have ever read. It gets such a bad rap, but it is honestly so symbolic and theologically rich. Read it like an allegory, and it is such a fun book to dig into with a literary lens.
Thing 3: I am incredibly passionate about classical music, and I can play the piano at an intermediate/advanced level. I’ve been playing the piano since I was about six-years-old, and that puts me at around 12 years with my fingers on the keys. I love playing Chopin Etudes, Mozart Sonatas, and Tchaikovsky’s shorter pieces (I’m not up for the longer ones just yet 😆 ). Maybe I should post a YouTube video of my latest Chopin Polonaise?
Nomination Time!
Consider yourself nominated if you’re reading, but here’s some people I really would love to see do this challenge:
- Maribeth at A Writer’s Tale
- Kate at Litmospheria
- Shay at Nor Bid the Stars Farewell
- Penny at Jane Austen’s Lightsaber
- Amaris at The Storybook Journal
- Makayla at Raised on Jesus and Disney
- Ivy Miranda at Revealed in Time
- Katie at I’m Charles Baker Harris (And I Can Read)
- Eva at Coffee, Classics, and Craziness
- Joy Clarkson at JoyClarkson.com (it’s okay if you can’t!)
- Jenna Terese at JennaTerese.com
If I’m forgetting any bloggers, I’m so sorry! I hope you all can participate, but if you can’t, then no worries and no stress. 😉 I love you beautiful people, and I hope you’ll have fun with this.
My five questions:
- What was a book that you read as a child that you still have fond thoughts of?
- Star Wars or Star Trek?
- Have you ever finished a full-length novel, or are you planning to do so soon?
- What is your favorite genre to write?
- How old were you when you started blogging/writing?
The best of my posts:
A Study in Doctor Who: The Spirit of Man and the Heart of God
A Theological Monologue Concerning “The Imitation Game”
Those are my best posts – that is, the posts I love the most and are the proudest of. I hope you all find time to read them and enjoy them just as much as I loved writing them. These in particular mean a lot to me as far as posts go. 🙂
Well, there it is, friends! I hope you enjoyed this post! I also hope that you will have fun participating – if you choose to. And again, thank you Amelie and Maya for tagging me! I enjoyed it beyond words. 😉
Auf Wiedersehen,
Emily 🙂
My gratitude over being tagged knows no bounds, haha! Between Camp NaNoWriMo, querying agents, brainstorming new articles for future submission, and sending off book proposals, blogging has been unusually difficult these days. But now I know what I’ll post next Monday!
I can’t believe you asked me to choose between Star Wars or Star Trek, though–O THE CRUELTY XD (This used to be an easy question to answer, but then TROS happened and my life got complicated.)
Tom Hiddleston as Prince Hal–YESSSSSSSSS!!!! Oh, how I wish I’d had The Hollow Crown when I had to read Henry V in high school. I did enjoy the play–it was actually my favorite of the four I’d been assigned–but Tom Hiddleston just makes it even better!
Chick-fil-A “Chiccy Nuggies”–SO YUMMY. We have Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers here in Louisiana, though, and I *think* they may just edge past Chick-fil-A for me. The chicken is fresh, you get fries and coleslaw with the meal, and it’s ALWAYS piping hot. (*chef’s kiss*)
I knooooow I’m sorry I had to make you choose! For some people it’s easier than others–I for one, have only seen one episode of the old Star Trek with Patrick Stewart. BUT I also thought, “hey, Maribeth is REALLY into Star Trek…I shall make her choose mwahahaha!” Heeheehee. I can’t wait to see your answers!
And hmmm. Chick-fil-A versus Cane’s. I have been to Cane’s ONLY ONCE and it pretty much blew open my little brain. It was, quite simply, the most amazing fried fast food I’d ever had. Chick-fil-A definitely has some tough competition there. I also enjoy Zaxby’s, which I’ve had on a few occassions while traveling in the south. Those fried pickles are goldennnnn! But last time I was there, they were gone from the menu! My heart was very sad.
You are very welcome!
I want to check out that Shakespeare series now… I’ve only read a couple of his plays and seen one, and I much preferred the live stage experience to the reading. And Tom Hiddleston is such a great actor!
The Hollow Crown is fantastic! I’m sure you’d love it. I, for one, am still working my way through it. I’ve seen Richard II, Henry IV, and Henry V. There’s a Henry VI I still need to watch, as well as Richard III with Benedict Cumberbatch as the mad king himself!
I enjoyed learning a little bit about you here! I love that quote from the Hebrew Talmud. So inspiring! And I would love to hear about your creative writing experience at Oxford. That sounds so fun!
Hi Kristianne!
Thank you so much for the follow and the kind comment! I’ve been checking out your blog, and I think it’s so cool that you live in ZA! That’s amazing–and you’re an MK which is even more awesome! That’s so cool.
I am hopefully planning to blog about my Oxford experience soon. It was definitely a memorable time of my life, and I’d love to share it on here.
Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you enjoy my upcoming posts as well! I’ll be keeping an eye out for yours as I just started following your blog as well 🙂
Aww thanks! And thanks for the follow 😉 Unfortunately, I haven’t had much time lately to work on my blog and really get it up and running. So it’s still pretty rough. And I’m not sure when I’ll be able to start seriously working on writing posts and all that, just to you know. 😉
Oh neat! I will definitely look forward to reading about that!
No problem, dear friend. In your own time! I look forward to reading your posts when you start blogging away 😉
Happy writing!
Thank you!
*just so you know
I’ve never had Chick-fil-a. I never see any when I’m in the states.
Yes, I’d like to hear about your experiences at Oxford!
The second half of your third question is convicting. Planning to finish a novel? Yes. Actively pursuing? Erm…
Oh, if you ever come back to the states, you have to look for a Chick-fil-A. The best fast food in the world! I’ve never had better. BUT, as Maribeth pointed out, Cane’s is just as good. 😉
And ahahaha, isn’t that how it is with us all? I’m also writing a lot, but sometimes…I just wanna sleep instead!
Ahh, you’re so welcome, Emily!! I loved reading this post!
TOM HIDDLESTON IS A BRILLIANT ACTOR THE END. I MUST check out The Hollow Crown! One thing on my bucket list is to read all Shakespeare’s plays. 😊 I’ve read, so far, The Taming of the Shrew and Twelfth Night.
Oh, wow, I love that quote from the Talmud/Schindler’s List. ❤️
Water is 100% a necessary and even delicious beverage. 😁
James is simply a wonderful book. So full of rich truths (as they all are) :). Most of my favorite books of the Bible are Paul’s epistles, especially Romans, Ephesians, and Colossians.
The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit soundtracks will ALWAYS be my favorites. Especially the music for Rivendell and Edoras. 🥰 And “Concerning Hobbits” is just so lighthearted and beautiful. SO MANY of the songs from those soundtracks are just achingly beautiful.
Settlers! And Ticket to Ride!! *high five* Those are classics. Another one of my favorites is Forbidden Island (and the “sequel,” Forbidden Desert). And I also love the game Dominion (it’s technically a card game, but unlike any other card game you’ve ever played 😊).
Lord of the Rings is the most wonderful book ever. I doubt that anything will ever replace it for me. 😁
I would love to hear about your Oxford experience!!! That’s something that I would love to do myself someday. I’ve started looking into it a little, and I would love to hear about your experience!
This was a fun post to read, Emily!!
The Taming of the Shrew and Twelfth Night!!!! Those are the FUNNIEST plays in the history of drama! Twelfth Night was the first Shakespearean play that I actually saw performed while I was on a class trip in Oxford – poor Malvolio! I just love the quote “some are born great; others achieve greatness; and yet some have greatness thrust upon them!” Such a funny play.
AND AH! Okay, so I actually do *have* Forbidden Island, and I actually DID teach myself how to play it via a YouTube tutorial, but I haven’t played it with my family yet! It looks SO fun, though. Homeschoolers are the gurus of the board game world, let me tell you! But I would love to hear more about Dominion! I’m always up for a new game. Have you played Seven Wonders?
I’m hoping to put up an Oxford post here pretty soon – it was an amazing experience that I would LOVE to share with my readers.
Thank you so much for your comment, sweet friend!
Emily 🙂
Oh, my, poor Malvolio. XD
Forbidden Island is so much fun! You should definitely play it with your family at some point! 😀 Oh, yes, homeschoolers have the best board game recommendations. I have not played Seven Wonders, but my whole family wants to play it because we’ve heard great things about it from many different people!
Dominion is basically a deck-building card game. You have to buy action cards and treasure cards and work with those to buy victory points (which are what you count up at the end of the game to see who wins). All the cards are medieval-kingdom-themed (which is fun), and there are so many fun expansions to get after the base set. We have the base set and three expansions so far. I definitely recommend it!
I’m so excited to hear about it!
You’re so welcome. I always enjoy your posts. ❤
Forbidden Island AND Dominion sound like so much fun! I will most certainly have to play them with my family some time! Maybe you ought to write about your favorite board games sometime; I’d love to hear more about your favorites!
And thank you so much for your sweet words! You’re a gem to have as a friend and reader! 😉
Emily 🙂
I didn’t even know I had been tagged until you mentioned it in your livestream! Thanks! Your quote you chose is beautiful. Schindler’s List was one of the most difficult movies I’ve ever watched but it’s such an extraordinary story. And Tom Hiddleston as Prince Hal…I loved how he so easily transitioned from an insecure prince to such a confident but humble king.
Hahaha no problem, friend! It’s been such fun having you on the live stream this week. And oh yussss Tom Hiddleston as our boi Prince Hal WAS SPECTACULAR! Loved him in the Hollow Crown! Such a great film!
So here I am, late to the party as usual 😝
I have quickly learned a thing about myself since starting my personal blog: I am bad at keeping up with tags. But I DO (usually) get to them eventually.
And I would LOOOVE to read about your experience at Oxford!! One of the universities I’m seriously considering offers a study-abroad option at Oxford for their English/Liberal Arts majors, and honestly, that’s a big point for it when lined up against the other unis/colleges I’m looking at.
But… you really did it… the most dreaded question of all geeks anywhere… whyyyy do you inflict such pain upon me??? 😔😭
I shall do my best to answer in as much truth as possible, but it will be HARD. 😂
Oh, friend, you are a wizard. And a wizard, as Gandalf tells us, is never late. NOR is he early. You arrived precisely when you meant to! And you’re always good, Shay. No worries, frend.
I am starting to draft the Oxford post. I’m looking forward to posting it, and I hope you all enjoy reading about my crazy adventures. It’s definitely something I recommend doing. It’s an experience I’ll never forget!
And i know…I’m so sorry for asking it of you, friend. I suppose it’s an easy question for me, but I didn’t realize how tough it would be for some other of my blogger friends.
YOU CAN DO IT, THOUGH!
I’ve finally responded to one of your blog tags Emily! A month in the making, but now that school is out I can focus on stuff that I should have gotten to ages ago.
Also….Star Wars vs Star Trek – that’s one brave question. Unlike most people it seems, I actually have an opinion on that, and it may or may not be an unpopular choice, at least according to you lol!
This is such a fun tag – thanks for nominating me! It made for a hefty blog post as well.
Hey Katie!
So glad you were able to respond to the tag! Hooray! I am so looking forward to reading your post. I do apologize for my late reply; it’s been a crazy week what with school starting up again for me.
And oooh…you have an answer on Star Wars vs. Star Trek for me, do you? Well, I’m glad I didn’t put you through too much torture. I didn’t realize how much I was asking of some people until I posited the question!
Anyways, I so look forward to reading this. Thank you so much for participating! 🙂
Emily x
Congratulations. Be blessed.
Thank you! 🙂