Get to Know Me: Book Blogger Tag!!!

To celebrate one week since my blog went live. I have decided to take up the Book Blogger Tag, which I found on Twitter. Most bloggers hop on and some are tagged. I simply decided it would be a great way for us to get to know one another, if you do not know me already. I'd suggest you check out my Insta - it's the perfect combination of sass and professional writing, if you ask me. I promise.

I write to make sense of the erasure and the yearning most of us grew up with to find ourselves and those who look like us.

The questions from this tag were originally compiled by Tia and All the Books on YouTube (for the Book Snob Tag; but I added a few questions of my own). So check out their channel and subscribe.

Before we dive into the questions. Here's a little information about me.

I'm a 24-year-old queer writer from Durban, currently based in Johannesburg. A Swiftie convert, Beyhive by choice. I am a great lover of queer content and queer people; if I could live my life doing one thing it would be advocating for queer rights and visibility. I hold two degrees from UKZN, both in English and Media. I moved to Johannesburg to pursue my biggest goal of producing and directing an award-winning webseries around queer joy - I am giving myself about 5 years to accomplish it.

What's the best thing about being a book blogger?

I love books and I love writing even more, so being a book blogger allows me to merge the two loves and bring out something else entirely out of me. Writing about books allows me to share my opinions with other people and receive theirs in return, creating a platform for genuine conversations. The best thing about being part of the Bookstagram community is that, being around book lovers and seeing books from their POV and merging that with my own. It's great.

Favourite book of all time/ a book you can't help but recommend?

George M. Johnson's All Boys Aren't Blue.

You can only choose one format in which to read books for the rest of your life. Which one do you choose: physical books, eBooks, or audiobooks?

If I had to choose, I'd go with physical books. I have a history with all formats, which are great and have their own people, but nothing can trump the feeling of a physical book in your hand or going into a bookstore with the purpose of buying a new book.

Would you date or marry a non-reader?

This was a rather informative chat that was had on the Twitter platform not so long ago. Both sides raised great points - most of which said that reading isn't and should not be turned into a personality trait (I'm sorry bookworms lmao). I feel like, while I would appreciate a lover who reads something, I would not be quick to dismiss someone who doesn't read. One thing I need in a partner is someone I can have a full conversation with, it doesn't necessarily need to be a discourse chat, but nje a nice conversation where we both have opinions and are able to substantiate our positions. I'd love that. Hower, what I would NOT accept is a person who only reads self-help books. That one can miss me. I am sorry.

You can only choose to read from one genre for the rest of your life. Which genre do you choose?

To say the queer* or LGBTQIA+ genre sounds like a scam because it is most likely a sub-genre as opposed to its own standalone. There are so many queer* books with the thriller, romance, fantasy or horror genres, so saying queer* will not prevent me from reading them. I don't really pay attention to genre when I read, because I read mostly any and everything fiction - queer, preferably. But if I had to choose, I'd choose thrillers.

Which genre do you think receives the most snobbery from the bookish community?

Haha, I certainly wouldn't know. I truly do not pay attention to these things. I simply do not have the time to pay any minds to snobbish behaviour, if I can avoid it. Also, I don't hate.

Do you always read the book before watching the film/ TV show?

I usually try to, if I can help it. I'm always weary of adaptations, so I always try to immerse myself in it with the mind of someone who's both a book and film lover - trying to appreciate both in their own rights.

Favourite film of all time/ a film that you can't help but recommend?

Holding the Man on Netflix It was adapted from Timothy Conigrave's memoir of the same name, so I would very much suggest that you read that, too.

Top 5 reads of the year?

• Freshwater

• Here Comes the Miracle

• If You Keep Digging

• Touch: Sex, Sexuality and Sensuality

• The Vanishing Half

In your personal opinion, what's one film/tv adaptation you fell was well executed?

The Hate U Give. I found that the book was great, and despite the casting choices, I was very engaged by the film adaptation. It made me feel all the emotions I did while reading the book. I loved and appreciated how true they stayed to the book, which I feel may have had something to do with how Angie Thomas was very hands-on during the production. She is always hands-on, and I wish that most writers would be like that when it comes to their material being used.

Favourite author?

Akwaeke Emezi and George M. Johnson

Top 5 films watched this year?

• The Fear Street Trilogy Event

• The Day the World Stood Still

• Arrival (adapted from Ted Chang's The Story of Your Life. Read it!!!)

• Cruella

• The Yin-Yang Master

What are you currently reading?

Being Kari by Qarnita Loxton, and The Spectacular by Zoe Whittall

What's one thing you feel is a terrible habit when it comes to your reading?

I take my time when reading. I can go weeks without touching a book I'm reading, which tends to turn it into a tedious read because after a few days I lose interest. I'm a bit of a mood reader.

If you could spend the night, talking and otherwise, with any book character; who would it be and why?

There's so many characters lol, but I'd like to spend a few minutes with Rufus from They Both Die at the End. Those few minutes after Mateo dies were the worst and he was alone. I'd love to be there for him, to make his transition easier.

Kiss, Marry or Kill: Bookish Edition. Who are you kissing, who are you marrying and who are you killing? It can be either a book, a character, or the author lol.

Kiss Mateo from They Both Die at the End, Marry Dante from Ari and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, and Kill JK Rowling from this Universe :) lmao.

What's a book you wish you could read again with fresh eyes?

The Death of Vivek Oji, by Akwaeke Emezi.

It's Pride Month in SA: What's your favourite quote from a queer author, writer or book?

In All Boys Aren't Blue, George M. Johnson writes: I often think about a statement Viola Davis made when she won her first Oscar. Something along the lines of encouraging people to go to the graveyard and dig up all the dead bodies in order to hear and tell the stories of those whose dreams were never realised. Those are the stories she's interested in telling. Although that is valid, I must challenge it. This book is proof that you do not need to go to the graveyard to find us. Many of us are still here. Still living and waiting for our stories to be told- to tell them ourselves. We are the living that as always been here but have been erased. We are the sons and brothers, daughters and sisters, and others that never get a chance to see ourselves nor to raise our voices to ears that need to hear them.

That quote sums up my entire existence. My entire political stance and what I stand for. I write to make sense of the erasure and the yearning most of us grew up with to find ourselves and those who look like us.