Q&A - Get to know Me

One of my lovely readers (Susanne) asked me some questions and I thought I’d answer them in a blog post.

1	Describe yourself in three words Creative, funny, generous
2	If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why? Hmm, that’s a tough question. I don’t want to just say one places, because I have a couple, who are very close to my heart. I’d say close to the sea, but also close to a city.
3	What would your last meal on Earth be? Probably a yummy salad, spare ribs and French fries.
4	What trait do you wish you could change about yourself? I wish I could be braver when it comes to talking to guys I like or even make the first step once. Sometimes I also would like to be less emotional, in the sense that I don't start crying immediately in certain situations and react and stand up for myself and my opinions.
5	Where do you see yourself in 10 years’ time? Happily married, with kids and still working as a teacher (part time). I’d still like to blog as well and always do something with singing.
6	What do you regret? Nothing! And I can honestly say that.
7	What is the best thing about you? My loyalty and they way I care about the people around me.
8	What do you value most? My loved ones, my lifestyle, job and my hobbies.
9	What would you tell your 17 year old self? Stay true to yourself and be brave and confident!
10	What makes you laugh hysterically? Imitating accents and joking around with my mum.
11	Name three famous people (living or dead) you would invite round for a meal, and why? J.K. Rowling: She wrote Harry Potter, hello!!!? Tyler Seguin: I love ice hockey and he’s my fave player, so it would definitely be fun. Aaron Tveit: He is a fab actor and singer, he’s been on Broadway, it would be great to talk to him.
12	When in your life were you most happy? I’d say in Summer 2014, when I graduated from uni and got my teacher’s degree. The summer was great with lots of celebrating, singing in Riga, visiting London and starting my first job and finally earning money.
13	If you could be invisible for a day, what would you do? Follow some people, maybe have a look in certain classrooms and homes.
14	What makes you sad? Violence, war and seeing all these people in the world who have nothing and no perspectives in their countries.
15	If a Genie granted you three wishes, what would they be, and why? No more violence, war and terrorism. Possibility to travel the world. Finding THE ONE.
16	How long did it take you to learn English (and how)? I kind of grew up bilingual. Ever since I remember, my mum has been in an English Theatre Group, so I heard her speak English every day. Then I started learning it at school and did a lot of language stays, talked to my mum and got to know so many great people, with whom I only spoke English. After high school I went to live in Vancouver and I did my English C2 diploma there. I love languages,, so learning English never felt like learning something, it was just something natural added.
17	If you had to change your career, what would you become? A writer/author.
18	What do your co-workers think about you being a blogger? I have only had positive comments from them. Most of them are surprised that I do so many next aside from work and they actually admire me for reading so much. I think I’m actually most known for traveling to England, because of it all. I get the following question a lot: When are you going to London again?
19	What makes you feel truly alive? When I travel the world, sing or perform.
20	Do you journal? No.

If you guys have questions for me as well, let me know and I might make this a little series. 

#AskSimonaElena

In the Blogger Q&As I post on my blog I always as you guys questions, so I thought I'd turn it around and asked you guys to send me questions. It's my birthday today, so I thought it would be a good idea to post the answers today.

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Becca from Becca’s Books: When reading, are you easily distracted?

It depends on the book, my mood and the place I’m at. When the book is really good, I really can’t get distracted, I just wanna read. Depending on my mood I sometimes drift away and think about other things. The best thing then ist o talkt o someone like my best friends or my mum, let it out and then I can focus on reading again. When I’m in my room reading, nothing really distracts me, but when there are people around, I sometimes do get distracted, especially when they try to talk to me. I’m reading ,can’t they see that?!

Ellen Faith: Was there any book in particular that triggered your love of reading?

Oh yes there was, it might be a bit cliché, but it’s true. I hated reading in my childhood and then J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter came along. I got the first book as a present and I fell in love with everything about it. So there we go...

At high school we were forced to read boring books an das my teachers loved anything conntected tot he second world war, all the books were about that. I didn’t read as much anymore until I boight a Paige Toon book, loved it and bought all her other books. Then I started blogging...

Maryline: How important is the cover when deciding on which book(s) to buy?

Oh god, you got me there! I love beautiful covers and they look so pretty in my bookshelf. And yes, most of the time the cover is the first thing I see connected to the book, if the cover is gorgeous, I’m more likely to read the blurb. But I have learned to read all the blurbs, reviews etc. first and not always only look at the cover. The most important thing is definitely the blurb and things I heard about the book from other bloggers.

Maryline: Which do you prefer: bookshop or online shopping (for books, ofc)?

When I started blogging I bought almost all my books in my local bookstore or the English book store in Zurich. Then the kindle app came along and I started buying them on amazon, not only ecopies, but also paperbacks. With Book Depository a great possibility came along, because you don’t have to pay for the shipping.

Books in Switzerland are really expensive, with amazon and Book Depository I have a cheaper option. I still like walking around and exploring bookstore. When I’m in England, I love going to Foyles and Waterstones and the books are cheaper over there as well.

Maryline: How do you decide what's going to your next read?

That’s a really good question my dear. I have my never ending paperback TBR, then I have my blog schedule, where I write down all pub dates, there I also have an empty page, where I write down books I wanna review in this month. Looking at all of this I decide what to read next, always considering pub dates, blog tours and trying to get a mixture between these books and older books, I’ve been dying to read. It’s working out pretty well, I’m really happy with that. I try to always read a TBR/to-review book and then one that is waiting on my bookshelf.

Julie Shackman: If you had to take your favourite book away on holiday Simona, which one would it be?

That’s a bit of an impossible question my dear ;) Can I take my kindle?! I have so many faves. If I’d really have to pic one I’d pick a Paige Toon or an Aven Ellis book. These two ladies are just fab. With Paige Toon I’d would probably be Chasing Daisy, just love that story and with Aven Ellis definitely The Definition of Icing, that book is amazing!

Laura Lovelock: How many books on average do you read a week?

It really depends on how busy I am. During holidays I read up to 5 books a week. On average I'd say about three books a week, sometimes it's also only two.