The Sunshine Blogger Award

A big thanks to Olga from Middle-Earth Reflections and Lisa from Tolkien Read Through who have nominated me for this cool award – the Sunshine Blogger Award. The most rewarding part of blogging about Tolkien is communicating with fellow fans and readers, and sharing our love for the books. So thanks once again Olga and Lisa! 🙂

Now on to the official procedure.

The rules:

– Thank the person who nominated you in a blog post and link back to their blog.
– Answer the 11 questions sent by the person who nominated you.
– Nominate 11 new blogs to receive the award and write them 11 new questions.
– List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo in your post and/or on your blog.

*Now, since I’ve received two separate nominations with different questions, I decided to alternate between both blogs. 

The questions:

1. Why did you start blogging?

It was brought into being by an intense desire to share my thoughts and express opinions with like-minded individuals. Without ever having come across ardent Tolkien readers in my locality, I decided to reach out over the world wide web in the hope that I could discuss with others topics for which I had a passion for with others.

2. How did you get into reading?

Truth be told, my pre-teenage years saw me detesting the sight of books. The small font, the thickness of the book, all put me off reading novels or short story collections of a substantial length. However, all that changed suddenly after I began to delve into Tolkien’s works. Ironically, struck by the immense depth of his creations, I looked further and branched out into the author’s primary influences and inspirations – wanting to learn more about the books and works that drove him to write. And frankly, I have never stopped since.

3. Outside of blogging, do you engage in other types of writing?

I would love to write a book of sorts. Other than that my writing is still limited to this blog.

4. What is your favourite quote?

Too many to list, but one which I recently came across and has captivated me is an anonymous quote:

“Death and nature illuminate, elevate. Love ventures under, the rest all never.”

5. What things are you most grateful over in your life?

My family (and the cinema ticket which gave me access to watch The Fellowship of the Ring for the first time 😉 )

6. How do you prefer discovering new books to read?

A visit to the Library, Google search about subjects of interest, or suggestions from other authors.

7. Do you have your dream job/education?

A historian of sorts. A researcher who goes into a dusty library and sifts through illuminated manuscripts to write a book.

8. What’s the story behind your blog’s name?

I do not consider myself to be in any way an expert on Tolkien. But “Tolkienist” had a nice ring to it and combined the subject of my blog with the word “perspective” – a blog all about my own ideas and opinions.

9. Have you ever gone to the cinema or a restaurant alone?

Oh yes, cinema definitely. Most recently during The Hobbit film releases. Each year I would go to an early morning screening of the films. The theatre would be almost empty and without any unwanted interruptions. Oh the joys!

10. When you write something, do you prefer to do it by hand or type straight away into your blog?

I use a mixture of both. When a computer is not within reach, I write it down. Sometimes, I prefer the old-fashioned method. You don’t have to worry about saving the file. Somehow, the use of a pen and piece of paper feels more direct, more instant. The writing seems to flow better.

11. If you could meet three historical persons (who are now deceased), who would it be?

• J.R.R. Tolkien (is he considered “historical”)
• Charles Dickens
• Henry V

Here are the blogs I’d like to nominate:

1. A Pilgrim in Narnia
2. The Fine Art of J Glover
3. Deutscher Wanderwolf
4. Roots of Hope
5. Autistic Wordpainter
6. The Travelling Geek Show
7. Post prodigal
8. Writing Bliss
9. The Everyday Epic
10. Hamlette’s Soliloquy
11. Untamed Shrews

Here are 11 questions for the blogs I nominated:

1. What books on your shelf are begging to be read?
2. How do you motivate yourself to keep the blog up and running?
3. What was the most recent compliment you’ve received and savoured?
4. What’s your favorite season?
5. What’s something that amazes you?
6. Do you have a catchphrase?
7. What do you like to do on a rainy day?
8. What’s your all-time favourite town or city? Why?
9. Where would you like to be in blogging five years from now?
10. What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?
11. If you could have dinner with anyone from history, who would it be?