Truthwitch Inspired Friend Interviews

I read Truthwitch and fell in love, not just with the story, but with Iseult and Safi's friendship (which deserves ALL the hype it gets). I reached out to some of my friends and they were super awesome and agreed to do these little interviews about reading, books, and bookish friendships. So, in no particular order, here they are:

Interview #1: Josh

He wanted me to put links to Quiver, so if you're interested in the Genre Magazine he and I work for, click here and here (it's an awesome magazine, tbh).

What is your favorite genre to read, and why?

My favorite genre to read is fantasy, largely because I like reading from the perspective or about the adventures of non-human characters. I also enjoy seeing what kind of worlds the authors have built, and it's fun to see what cultures and social norms writers can come up with.

What are your favorite books and authors? Any interesting stories about your favorite books?

I'm currently reading The Stormlight Archives by Brandon Sanderson, which has been a favorite of mine since highschool. However, my favorite completed series is the Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathon Stroud, which is a young-adult historical fantasy featuring rituals and djinn. A year after reading the series at the local library, I found out that my mother actually owned all the books but hadn't known I was reading them.

How do you organize your books?

I separate them into piles of 'big' and 'small.' Very complicated, I know. A lot of the comic books I would read when I was younger look odd when paired with paperbacks, though, so 'big' and 'small' it is.

What are your favorite bookish friendships? If a character became real who would you want as your best friend?

My favorite friendship, or perhaps 'working relationship,' within a book is that between Bartimaeus and his summoner Nathaniel. I like it because the relation is nearly always strained -- they don't actually become very close till the final moment of the final book, and even then Bartimaeus can't help but to think back to his original friendship with Ptolemy as a marker. If Bartimaeus existed in our universe, and I had the magical capacity to summon him, I imagine that we would hit it off very well. He's a sarcastic know-it-all who boxes above his weight class, and we share a similar narcissism. We would banter tirelessly.

Interview #2: Halle

What is your favorite genre to read, and why?

My favorite genre is historical fiction. A couple of years ago, I read a historical fiction book (I can't remember what it was called now) but I remember it being really good and interesting, and making me want to learn more about history. Honestly, creative renditions or writings about history is the only way that history is interesting to me.

What are your favorite books and authors? Any interesting stories about your favorite books?

I read a lot of books from a lot of different authors and different genres, so it's kind of hard to choose. If I had to choose, I would probably say that, as of recently (past few years), my favorite book I've read is All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. I actually bought the book in a Jewish neighborhood bookstore in Rome when my family visited just because it looked interesting, without even realizing how many people were already talking about the book. I remember loving the writing, and thinking that it was just a beautifully written book.

How do you organize your books?

I'm a bit of a mess, so my bookshelf is honestly not organized in the slightest. After I read books, I tend to kind of just put them somewhere in the house or give them away to someone else to read, so I don't really have a lot of books on my bookshelf right now. I also tend to read a lot of books on my kindle, so most of the books I've read are on my kindle.

What are your favorite bookish friendships? If a character became real who would you want as your best friend?

In the book I mentioned earlier, All the Light We Cannot See (without giving too much away), the main character is moves in with her great uncle during WWII, and they bond and become close over the course of the story. I would probably be friends with the main character of that book, because I remember thinking that she is one of my favorite characters to read about in a book.

Interview #3: Saltyscribe aka Salty

Shy, bi, and ready to fucking cry. 

Check out Salty's tumblr here.

What is your favorite genre to read and why?

Fiction, specifically fantasy and sci-fi, I've loved books like that since I was a kid and they really influenced how I viewed the world. How there's the potential for good and evil in every person, you're stronger than you may think, sometimes just believing is magic enough... blah blah blah. All that corny stuff. Also, who doesn't love a story where a character has the potential to set shit on fire with a wave of their hand, fight in epic space battles, or just have a  talking dog. It's fun!

What are your favorite books and authors? Any interesting stories about your favorite books?

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer definitely has a special place in my heart. Marissa is an absolute gem of a person, she's funny, witty, and we both have a great appreciation of fairytales. My goal is to become an author someday and honestly I'd want to be one like her. Also, anything written by Neil Gaiman. His writing style mixed with the kind of fantasy he writes is absolutely phenomenal.

How do you organize your books?

I try to keep books from similar series together. New Adult fiction or fantasy is like 95% of my bookshelf, so at this point I just shove them where I can fit them. Otherwise, the school books go at the tip top of the shelf. I've got white builtins in my room at home and God it's so comforting to have a wall just... dedicated to books.

(I can confirm that her bookshelves are absolutely beautiful wonderful things.)

What are your favorite bookish friendships? If a character became real who would you want to be your best friend?

I'm just gonna be basic and say the golden trio from Harry Potter. You're thinking it, I'm thinking it, that friendship profoundly influenced a generation of readers. Like I can't top that. Plus I may read a bit too many books that are heavy on romance as opposed to friendship. I should change that. And as for a book character as a friend: Sophie Hatter from Howl's Moving Castle; I want her to be my best friend. If you don't understand why then I'm plugging this book right now. Go buy it. Go read it. It's some nice easy fantasy that you could finish in a day. 10/10 great summer read. SERIOUSLY.

Interview #4: Vee

Hi Hello Hola my name is Vee, I'm a spunky California native who just wants to sin. I enjoy shiny things, the colors pink and hot pink, Her Majesty the Ocean, and strong female characters in fiction. Tumblr: http://broken-hearted-qpid.tumblr.com

What is your favorite genre to read and why?

My favorite genre to read would definitely be fantasy because magic and mythology are two of my favorite things especially when they are implemented into our world.

What are your favorite books and authors? Any interesting stories for your favorite books?

The Percy Jackson series will always be my favorite series, although the Kingdom Keepers series trails right behind it. In all honesty, even though it's middle grade, I also really enjoy the Monster High series because it discusses a lot of important topics that aren't even in a lot of more mature books (such as racism and body dysphoria). My favorite stand-alone book is The Siren. A somewhat interesting fact is that Kingdom Keepers was the first series I had actually read fully and it is what made me really enjoy reading (at the age of 14; before that I didn't enjoy reading at all).

How do you organize your books?

I don't really have "bookshelves" per se, my books at home are kind of all over the place. However, I know where everything is and why they are there. Those that are actually stacked on my desk are there because I've finished them, won't be reading them, or they are textbooks. The books under my desk are the ones that I've had for a while and want to read again or they are like guide books. The ones next to my bed are ones I own and am reading currently. The ones in my backpack are ones that I am also reading currently but are ones I checked put from the library.

What are your favorite bookish friendships? If a character became real who would you want to be your best friend?

My favorite friendship, more like a sisterhood really, is the one in The Siren by Kiera Cass. They are a group of girls who have been saved and given the chance to become sirens by the anthropomorphic ocean. None of them are related by blood but are all very close. They have varying personalities but bond over their hardships of being sirens, such as not being able to talk to humans or being away from their family, as they can't have any form of contact with them.

Thank you guys so much for doing these interviews!
(P.S. All book covers are linked to Goodreads)