You’re a first-time Cannonballer, right? How’s it going so far?
Mostly kicking myself that I didn’t participate before! If there were a lurker trophy for Cannonball I’d have one for pretty much every single year. I love how I learn new perspectives on books that I’ve liked and disliked–keeps me honest and on the path to becoming a better human.
What’s a wicherwill?
This is a decades old nickname. In middle school, a friend and I would race to the elementary school during lunch and leave little rhyming poems for two of our old teachers, pretending to be two witches (I was Wicherwill). We did this for ages and eventually created this entire elaborate world with Witch World Newsletters that covered ongoing sociopolitical issues in the witching world (these were written by hand, I would KILL to find one in a box somewhere), a backstory of Witch/Warlock school, ongoing spell theory development, the works. Our teachers figured out who was doing this right away, of course, but we kept it up for a while and still use the nicknames with one another to this day (and online).
How many chapters do you give a book to hook you before you put it down? Or are you a never DNF reader?
I am a recovering never DNF-er! Since I read quickly, I usually give myself to 20% to gauge if I should finish. I’ll stop sooner if the writing is awkward or later if I trust the author/it comes highly recommended (e.g. The City We Became, I gave it a little more because of Jemisin and found myself hooked by 25%).
Which three authors would you like to have on your pub trivia team?
Ooh I always find these questions so difficult. Hmm I feel like Jasper Fforde would be excellent for trivia questions, his books involve so many references. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie because I think her writing style is my actual soulmate on this planet, and she has excellent style. And lastly Naomi Novik–Spinning Silver is one of my most favorite books, and I really enjoyed the Temeraire books and A Deadly Education (which I know people had issues with!). Would love to chat with her about AO3 and fanfic as well. 😀
Who was your childhood actor/actress crush?
I’d say like many South Asian women of my generation I loved Kajol and the characters she played in Bollywood films–she couldn’t be shy or demure if she tried. That or Katherine Hepburn…used to have Hepburn v Hepburn standoffs with a friend of mine, as she was an Audrey fan (i.e. looks over sparkling substance) (it is an ongoing debate).
