Know Me Better (8)

Know Me Better is a weekly meme hosted by I Am a Reader, Not a Writer.

Things you’d rather be doing right this moment
Ally: Reading, writing, practicing my flute.
Lee: Reading, sleeping (really missing that lost hour due to setting the clock ahead).

Time wasters
Ally: Television commercials, waiting on lines.
Lee: All social networking media.

Books they should make into movies
Ally: The Raven Boys, Throne of Glass, Leviathan.
Lee: The Infernal Devices, Unspoken, Unearthly.

Things you wish you knew before . . . . (fill in the blank)
Ally: Before this year, I wish I'd known it's inevitable that some of your friends and you will grow apart. Also, when you're in a leadership position, you can't make everyone happy. Finally, college is expensive.
Lee: Before I turned 30, I wish I'd known that a lot of life changes were ahead of me, and that there wasn't much I could have done differently to avoid some of them. Some things are just meant to happen a certain way.

Games you like to play
Ally: Pokemon, Kingdom Hearts, Spyro.
Lee: Scrabble, Tetris, Rock Band, the Lego Harry Potter video game, and, occasionally, Call of Duty (I get to take out my frustration on some CPU characters).

Know Me Better (7)

Know Me Better is a weekly meme hosted by I Am a Reader, Not a Writer.

If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?
Ally: Ireland. I want to go back to my roots.
Lee: New York City. I really miss living there.

Favorite Literary Characters?
Ally: Will Herondale, Jem Carstairs, Ronan Lynch, Valek, Adrian Ivashkov, Sirius Black, Jaime Lannister, Arya Stark.
Lee: Elizabeth Bennet, Fitzwilliam Darcy, Anne Elliot, Frederick Wentworth, John Thornton, Will Herondale, Jem Carstairs.

In your wildest dreams, which author would you love to co-author a book with?
Ally: J. K. Rowling. I'd love to hear some of her ideas.
Lee: Jane Austen. I just think she was a genius.

Things that bring a smile to your face?
Ally: My puppy, Tyler.
Lee: Ally and her siblings, Melissa and Denis, are the funniest people I know. When I'm feeling down, they always know the right thing to say to cheer me up.

Do you have a favorite saying?
Ally: I say, "Stop giggling, Cosette" to my brother Denis all the time. It's in reference to Les Miz.
Lee: I'm a big fan of Game of Thrones, both the book and the TV show, and I use "You know nothing Jon Snow" frequently in conversation.

Know Me Better (6)

Know Me Better is a weekly meme hosted by I Am a Reader, Not a Writer.

Pieces of advice you have for aspiring writers?
Ally: A very wise person once said to me that you have to write something you want to read. I think that's the best advice out there; thanks, Lee!
Lee: Never give up. Ever. When I was in school, I thought I'd pursue some kind of writing career when I got older. I thought that I'd major in journalism or English when I went to college, but some bad experiences in freshman writing class really discouraged me. We had to critique each other's work all semester, and I seemed to always end up with partners who thought they were better writers than Shakespeare. I'll never forget the one guy who grinned evilly at me while rubbing his hands together in a "hahaha, I can't wait to see her face" kind of way before handing me my paper back. A more confident person would have just taken all of it in stride, but I've never been that type of person. One of my biggest regrets in life was giving up so easily on my dream of a writing career back then. So, if writing is what makes you happy, don't let anyone ever discourage you from it.

Favorite TV show when you were younger?
Ally: Avatar the Last Airbender.
Lee: Voltron, the cartoon series about the robot that was made up of five lions.

What would we find if we looked under your bed?
Ally: Narnia, board games, and old school books.
Lee: Um, I'm thinking dust bunnies because there's no storage room under there.

Book Store or Library?
Ally: As much as I love the library, there's just something about going into a bookstore. I think I like that everything's really new.
Lee: 50/50. If I'm not sure how I'm going to like a book, I'll borrow it from the library first.

Heads or Tails?
Ally: Tails. I'm not a conformist.
Lee: Tails.

Know Me Better (5)

Know Me Better is a weekly meme hosted by I Am a Reader, Not a Writer.

I can't live without . . .
Ally: I don't want to get mushy or anything, so I'm just going to say books.
Lee: My family. They drive me crazy a lot of the time, but I'd really be lost without them.

Do you make your bed each morning?
Ally: Please. No.
Lee: Yes. I am a neat freak.

City or Country?
Ally: City.
Lee: Most definitely City. I spent the first 30 years of my life in New York City, and I miss it a lot. I often wonder if moving 1000 miles away to the suburbs was a wise decision. It was at the time, and it still has its upside, but I second guess it more than I should. If I ever had the money, I'd seriously consider moving back to NYC, though.

Most embarrassing moment?
Ally: I had to do this skit in history class, and my friends and I just wanted to put something together quickly and be done. We were happy and stuff until we had to go up and present. We ended up looking like idiots, but at least we got a passing grade.
Lee: There have been many, but the one that popped into my head was this one time when I was walking my cousins' dog. It had rained, so the sidewalk was slick, and he suddenly decided to veer off in the opposite direction. I lost my footing and went splat on the ground. At least I managed to both put my palms down to keep from face-planting as well as hang on to the leash. My cousins were there, and after they took about 5 seconds to make sure I was in one piece, they then proceeded to laugh at me.

What do you think of book trailers?
Ally: I don't like them. I feel like they don't have anything to do with the book most of the time.
Lee: I really don't watch them, unless it's a book I'm extremely interested in.

Know Me Better (4)

Know Me Better is a weekly meme hosted by I Am a Reader, Not a Writer.

Is there anything you would like to say to or ask your favorite author?
Lee: I'd like to tell Jane Austen how much I love her novels and ask her what inspired her to write Captain Wentworth's letter in Persuasion, my favorite novel of hers and my favorite novel of all-time.
Ally: I would probably end up gushing to J. K. Rowling about how much I love Harry Potter. If I could remain semi-coherent, I would ask her about the Marauders.

Are you a dreamer or a realist?
Lee: Realist. I'd rather face the hard truth than have it sugarcoated.
Ally: I'm a big-time dreamer.

Theater or Rental?
Lee: It depends. If I really want to see a movie, I'll go to the theater. Otherwise, I'll just wait for the DVD.
Ally: Rental. I'm the type of person who likes to insert my own commentary.

Share a family tradition.
For Thanksgiving, Lee makes two big trays of stuffing: one for dinner with the whole family, and one just for Lee, Ally, and Ally's two siblings to devour for brunch the next day.

Favorite late night snack?
Lee: White Castle hamburgers!
Ally: Chocolate as of right now.

Know Me Better (3)

Know Me Better is a weekly meme hosted by I Am a Reader, Not a Writer.

Top 5 songs on your playlist?
Lee: Right now, the entire Les Misérables movie soundtrack.
Ally: Same as Lee, I’ve recently become obsessed with Les Miz.

How much time do you spend reading each week?
Lee: I try to squeeze in 1-2 hours a day, usually at night.
Ally: It depends on how much spare time I have. It can range from hours to minutes.

What is the last thing you Googled?
Lee: The current pollen count. My allergies are really bad at the moment.
Ally: I actually Googled a picture of the French flag. It was for my nails; my sister Melissa was painting them Les Miz style for me!

Favorite places to travel?
Lee: I haven’t been back to my old home, New York City, in about three years and would love to see it again, but there are zero funds in the travel budget right now.
Ally: I’ve never really traveled before, but I would like to go tour Europe someday.

What is your favorite way to spend a rainy day?
Lee: Reading in front of the TV.
Ally: Reading, with a nice cup of tea and some background music.

Know Me Better (2)

Know Me Better is a weekly meme hosted by I Am a Reader, Not a Writer.

10 words that describe yourself?
We thought it would be fun to choose the 10 words for each other.
Ally (as described by Lee): Smart, ambitious, funny, understanding, energetic, creative, multitasking, organized, determined, perfectionist.
Lee (as described by Ally): Witty, dedicated, intelligent, honest, imaginative, tech savvy, serious, honorable, reliable.

Favorite TV shows?
Ally: Supernatural, Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, Once Upon a Time, The Vampire Diaries.
Lee: The Simpsons, Game of Thrones, Downton Abbey, Modern Family.

If you could take over the world, would you?
Ally: Of course. I feel as if I could accomplish a lot.
Lee: No. I’m really not leader material.

Who was the first boy you kissed?
We're both not the kiss-and-tell type.

How do you unwind?
Ally: I usually lie down, close my eyes, and turn on my iPod.
Lee: I'll read a book while the TV or music plays in the background.

Know Me Better (1)

Know Me Better is a weekly meme hosted by I Am a Reader, Not a Writer. This sounded like a really fun meme to do, with 5 new questions to answer each week.

Where is your favorite spot to read?
I have a sort of open loft space on the second floor of my house (it's a little hard to describe). My bookshelves are here, and it's where I spend most of my reading time; I love this space so much I hardly use the living room downstairs.

Are you a fast or slow reader?
I think I'm about average, but if I find a book engrossing, I'll zip through it faster than I normally would.

Fanfiction - Love it or hate it? Have your ever read/written it?
I've never tried reading or writing it because I'm not that interested in it.

Summer or Winter?
Tough question. I've always loved summer, but moving a few years ago to a fairly mild climate year-round has really made me miss traditional winters with cold temperatures and snow. I think I'll still have to go with summer, though.

Truth or Dare?
Truth. I'm not a very daring person at all.