11/25/2017

Women & Their Books: Me, Myself & I



Hello and happy Saturday. You may remember last month I introduced my new series, Women and Their Books. Well it is back for November and this time I am interviewing, myself. Oh how meta of me. I guess I can spare you all the introductory ramble. Sit back, relax and enjoy me talking to myself. 

-What are you currently reading? 
Well Sophie, I am glad you asked. As of right now I'm serial reading several titles. All for my own pleasure but some with the point of recommending them for Christmas gifts. That's a longwinded way of saying I'm in the midst of a few book's pages. The main ones though are Trying To Float* x Nicolaia Rips, Big Little Lies x Lianne Moriarty, The Crown: Official Companion* x Robert Lacey and Moranifesto x Caitlin Moran. 

-What is your most read book? 
I don't know for certain but I think it'd be Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone x JK Rowling. I've lost count of the number of times I've read it now but each time is still just as enjoyable an experience. I think even if I didn't have this book bathed in a metaphorical pool of celestial light, I'd still cherish the opportunity to read this. 



-You love to write and aspire to be published someday. Is there a book that inspires your writing? Yeah Sophie, let's call you out to your readers and tell them how slack you've been with this aspiration. Or not, because that's a tale (ha) for another day. As for a book that inspires me as a writer, anything I can read over and over, usually by people I admire definitely inspires me. Inside Vogue x Alexandra Shulman is the first thing to spring to mind here and I only dream of being half as talented as Alexandra is someday. In terms of autobiographical essays; Where Am I Now x Mara Wilson is a firm favourite as is Yes Please x Amy Poehler. Again, I can only dream to be as talented as these women.

-What is your favourite book by a New Zealand author and why? 
Admittedly I have a bit of a prejudice around New Zealand writing. Maybe because I had to read some simply terrible pieces of it in school and at university but I am trying to not let it cloud my judgement too much. I'd have to say Can You Tolerate This? x Ashleigh Young is my favourite. Brilliant, relatable and decadent essays. I still think about+talk to people about her essay on working at the Katherine Mansfield house, as well as her stories of small town New Zealand. She's also wonderful on Twitter too and I'm not going to lie, I am a lowkey fangirl for her cat Jerry. 



-Which women writer's words have left a lasting impression on you? 
Tough question, says the person who composed these questions (oops). I am going to cheat and list a few here. Stephanie Lacava. Never have I read a book that draws you in immediately and makes you want to search every possible page and line for treasure. Caitlin Moran. Her essays are just brilliant and clever and funny and I freakin' love her. If I ever get to meet her/hear her speak I'll probably be speechless. Mara Wilson's essays stayed with me for a very long time and I find myself referring back to her book often. As well of course as recommending it a lot. 

-Finally, if there was one book you'd recommend every woman have on their bookshelf, what would it be? 
Brave Enough x Cheryl Strayed. I only recently returned to this book when I was contemplating gifting it to somebody for Christmas but it's one of the best books I have ever purchased. Loaded with wisdom and insight to apply to life, it's just like a comfort in paper form. I have several pages post-it noted to refer back to but the whole book is so valuable. 

*Review Copy

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