You asked (kind of), so we’re delivering! Well, actually… We asked if you want to ask & then you did. But it counts, right? It’s almost like this whole post was your idea!
Hopefully you will have as much fun reading our answers as we did answering your questions in the first place! 💛💚
What were your top 5 books in 2018?
Anna
That’s an awful question! I distinctly remember showing it to Charlotte and saying that whoever sent it, must hate us. :<< It’s just so hard to choose!! But okay. First, you should check our post where we already listed 3 fav books of last year each! Now, I’m gonna go with: Skyward by Brandon Sanderson, Midnighter and Apollo by Steve Orlando & Fernando Blanco, Almost Like Being in Love by Steve Kluger, The Weight of the Stars by K. Ancrum, and Release by Patrick Ness.
Charlotte
Oh that’s hard. There were so many amazing ones I read but. The Queen’s Thief by Megan Whalen Turner (yes, I know it’s a series), Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan [check out her review!! – Anna], Don’t You Forget About Me by Mhairi McFarlane, Thief in the Interior by Phillip B. Williams, and The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi [she has a review of that, too!! – Anna] were five of my favourites.
What type of character do you instantly fall in love with?
Anna
I’m sitting here having an existential crisis trying to answer this question… Do I have a type???
I definitely love gentle characters, the ones who would do anything for the people they love but also just, the good of the world in general. (Think Ram in BBC’s Class.) That’s one end of the spectrum, though, and the other is – the ruthless ones, the ones who know hwat they want & aren’t afraid to ask for it. (And if they happen to fall in love and turn soft around their loved one? Even better.)
Charlotte
Okay, this is really cliche and typical but, those characters who are kind of dickheads at the start (not straight up arseholes/bigots though – the ones who are rude to cover up some kind of insecurity or vulnerability), who have room to develop as characters (and do). And especially if they’re the kind who go also soft around their significant other.
Anna: what does your job at a city hall involve?
The department I work at focuses on social cooperation which means we work with various NGO and the general public to help run things smoothly. I’m in the culture section, so my job is basically to help everyone who wants to do a cultural project of any kind in the city. It entails both simply explaining to people how things work, but also later doing all the paperwork for their project from the city’s side (writing contracts, money transfers, checking reports etc.) I also do small fun stuff like a monthly events calendar!
Charlotte: what made you want to study sports psychology?
When I was 13, and at secondary school, in the science block they had these posters of people in science. And one of them was the England cricket sports psychologist. So I just kind of decided then that’s what I wanted to do. That or coach cricket.
How many books do you read a year, and how do you read so much?
Charlotte
I’ve hit over 300 the past two years, but I don’t know if that’s average for me or what. I’m probably not going to make that many this year just because of my Masters degree. And, no, I really don’t know how I do it.
Anna
Don’t listen to Charlotte, she’s a monster when it comes to reading! 💀 She’s such a fast reader it makes me jealous. :<< I, on the other hand, am a very average reader and just read about a 100 books per year. It’s easier when you read some poetry and graphic novels.
What got you into reading?
Anna
I’m… not sure?? I grew up surrounded by books, everyone in my family always loved reading, so it was just natural for me! I didn’t even notice when I first started reading. I have some vague memories of reading The Little Witch by Otfried Preußler and the Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery when I was a little kid, but I cannot tell you if those where the first ones I loved.
Charlotte
I guess just that my parents always read to me before bed when I was young. I also just can’t remember a time when I wasn’t reading.
Do you prefer character-driven or plot-driven books?
Anna
I would say plot-driven just a few years ago? But I feel like that shifted somewhere along the way… I’m not sure how it happened, but I think it’s tied with the fact that I more often will read contemporary books now over fantasy or sci-fi.
Charlotte
Plot-driven for sure. Unless it’s a really really good character-driven, I need something to get the plot moving along because I have a really short attention span. If there’s nothing happening within about a quarter of the book, and I’m not engaged with the characters, then likelihood is I won’t enjoy the book.
Charlotte: what do you look for in a good fantasy novel?
Okay, this could be a long one. Firstly, the worldbuilding has to be good. And by that I mean comprehensive and unique (or at least, not based on the same trope done over and over). I also don’t want this worldbuilding all info-dumped on me at once. Just trust that I can pick it up for the most part. If there’s something that needs to be info-dumped, then it should work seamlessly into the narrative (like politics or the magic system). Speaking of the narrative, I need both enough action in the plot and characters I can root for – they don’t have to be “likeable” but I have to like them as characters. In terms of action, I mean I don’t want the big event not happening til 2/3 or 3/4 of the way through because I will definitely get bored. But also, if the books is just building up to a big event and there isn’t much else going on before, I don’t want this action brought about through senseless violence (looking at you, white male fantasy authors). And I don’t want things like rape and mass murder thrown around like they’re actions without consequences because that’s just messy. You think I want to read about a world where these things are normalised? (Similarly when you put homophobia or racism in the book. It’s a fantasy. Make this kind of diversity normal or get out.) Finally, if there is going to be a romance in the book, I want it properly developed (i.e. if you have a series, you can leave that shit to the side for most of it) and not just shoehorned in because the author thinks it’s needed. (Okay, yeah, this did get long. Oops.)
Anna: what do you like most about poetry?
I think the greatest thing about poetry is that there’s never only one, right way to read a poem? There are as many emotions hidden in verses as there are readers. But at the same time poems can convey such universal feelings, that will make as much sense to you today as they did to someone who wrote them hundreds of years ago. There’s just something magical about it.
What books with poc mcs do you feel deserve more attention?
Anna
Well, okay, let’s do it! I’ll try to only include books actually written by POC authors, too. The Weight of the Stars by K. Ancrum, Taproot by Keezy Young, Ascension by Jacqueline Koyanagi, Tall Story by Candy Gourlay, Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel by Sara Farizan (and her other books!), Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova, Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds, A Tiny Piece of Something Greater by Jude Sierra, Saints and Misfits by S.K. Ali…
Charlotte
We could be here a while… Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan, The Star-Touched Queen and A Crown of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi (she deserves more!), Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng, The Astrologer’s Daughter by Rebecca Lim, Mirage by Somaiya Daud, Jade City by Fonda Lee, The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo, Sleepless by Sarah Vaughn & Leila del Duca, A Duke by Default by Alyssa Cole, The Black God’s Drums by P. Djèlà Clark, Once Ghosted, Twice Shy by Alyssa Cole [reviewed by Charlotte here! – Anna], Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho, The Epic Crush of Genie Lo by F. C. Yee and Outrun the Moon by Stacey Lee. (Okay, I have to stop now. Really.)
What are your top 5 2019 releases?
Charlotte
Oh this is hard because there are so many coming out in 2019 I’m excited for. Okay, okay. Five I am absolutely buzzing for (that I haven’t yet read as ARCs, just to be clear). Thorn by Anna Burke, Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee, The Afterward by E. K. Johnston, Return of the Thief by Megan Whalen Turner, The Place on Dalhousie by Melina Marchetta, Jade War by Fonda Lee, and Gideon the Ninth by Tamsen Muir. (Yes, I know it’s seven and not five. But I really couldn’t cut it down any more.)
(Special mention to a couple of ARCs I read: The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi, Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston [review already up! – Anna], Don’t You Forget About Me by Mhairi McFarlane, and The Perfect Assassin by K. A. Doore.)
Anna
I’ve already read some of them, so let me cheat and list those first, so I still have 5 titles to choose: The Weight of the Stars by K. Ancrum & Bloom by Kevin Panetta and Savanna Ganucheau. Okay, so, let’s go: On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong, King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo, Dealing in Dreams by Lilliam Rivera, How Not to Ask a Boy to Prom by S.J. Goslee, and Into the Crooked Place by Alexandra Christo. And Charlotte already mentioned Marchetta’s book!!
What Marchetta book would you recommend beginning with for someone who has never read her books before?
Charlotte
Saving Francesca! It’s probably her best contemporary one to read first (Jellicoe Road is confusing at first and that might put you off as a first time reader, and I love Looking for Alibrandi but it’s her first one so, kind of less good). Also, the third book about these characters is due out in May.
Anna
What she said! I always worry when I tell people to read Jellicoe Road because it has a dual POV with different timelines and it really can be confusing at first. It’s worth it in the end! If you’re a fantasy fan, though, just start with her trilogy Lumatere Chronicles! That’s what I did.
First of all, thank you again for sending in your questions! We absolutely loved answering them. It was a great way to interact with you guys a little bit more than just in the comments here & there! We hope it also made you realise we’re both just little sapphic fools, like I’m sure so many of you are as well, and that will make you more willing to talk to us more often in the future!
Remember we are also both on twitter, if you want to chat! Charlotte is @mahitdzmare and I’m @heresthepencil! Feel free to follow us and chat with us about anything you want.
We hope you guys will have a great weekend and an even better whole reading year! There are so many LGBT books coming out, you are bound to! We already started listing them in our post about January-June 2019 releases and make a post every month about what you can expect in upcoming weeks – you can find them all here!
