The Aesthete Blogger Award

Happy Friday, everyone!

The weather has finally gotten warm over here, so I’ve been able to spend a lot more time out in the sun. Which is definitely a nice change from being locked up in a room with just my thesis for company! Although I’m also starting to get a bit scared of finals, which are slowly drawing closer… I seriously need to start binge-watching Russian series again, because in the last listening comprehension that we did – some documentary about volunteer work at Lake Baikal – I understood maybe half of what was said, tops 😅

But anyway, since I’m feeling creative and have now been tagged for it three times in a row, I thought it might be about time I got around to The Aesthete Blogger Award! A huge thanks goes to our very own Ashmita @ The Fictional Journal for coming up with this and to Pilar @ The Bookworm Shelf, Jan @ The Doodlecrafter, and Zoë @ Reading by the Moonlight for nominating me. You guys thought of incredible questions, so without further delay, let’s get into answering them!

The Aesthete Blogger Award

“This award is to honor every creative person, irrespective of their number of followers and views. Because, as long as you create, that is all that matters. This award is for those bloggers who put an insane amount of thought in each of their posts and for those who spread creativity like wildfire! Just wow!”

The Rules

  • Use the official logo/graphic of the award and display it on your blog!
  • List the rules!
  • Show some love to the person who nominated you!
  • Mention the creator (Ashmita @ The Fictional Journal) and link back to the original post.
  • Tell me a something about this world that you admire.
  • What is your favorite form of creativity?
  • Nominate seven lovely people and notify them by commenting on their posts; Spread some love!
  • Ask your nominees four questions.
  • Share something you created. (Can be anything!)
  • And lastly, just so you know: I LOVE YOUR CREATIONS!

Something About the World that I Admire

Nature! I just think it’s beautiful how there are so many different landscapes, full of all kinds of different organisms working together to form a fully functioning whole. There are so many breathtaking places out there, and I want to visit all of them!

Here’s a very low-quality picture of a very high-quality hike my roommates and I recently took to a nearby volcano, just for the aesthetics of things.

My Favorite Form of Creativity

Writing, obviously 🥰 Especially fiction. Even though only a small selection of the stories I’ve written end up on this blog, I do write fairly regularly, and I have always aspired to publish a novel one day.

But also music! Who says I can only pick one?

Pilar’s Questions

What color is your soul? (You can take the quiz I linked if you want!)

Well, I did take the quiz, and it apparently thinks I have a few villainous secrets:

Black – You have a very deep and dark soul, but people can count on you to hold it all together.

However, with Pilar having received the exact same result and her being one of the most cheerful people within our community, I’m thinking we probably can’t set too much stock in the results of this quiz. I mean, I’m obviously not evil, right? (😈)

Apart from the dark soul, though, Buzzfeed is actually not that far off. How did they come to such accurate conclusions just because I answered that I like Microsoft Word more than Excel? I mean, any sane person would prefer pretty much any other Office program over Excel…

What Disney or Pixar animated movie do you think is the most artistic?

My newest obsession… Picture credit goes directly to Disney.

Gosh, I don’t know. I love most of them! [Except Toy Story. Please don’t hate me! 😅] Tangled is probably my favorite animated movie ever, Moana and Frozen II have the best music, Coco has some pretty epic animation in addition to the good music… But, obviously, my current obsession is Raya and the Last Dragon 😍The story, the characters, the animation, the soundtrack – everything was perfect! I really need to watch it again… Also, I want whatever sort of pet Tuk Tuk is!

Have you ever tried your hand at acting, painting/drawing, dancing, etc.?

I have actually tried all of these!

My acting career was pretty much limited to my elementary schools’ drama groups, though. Not because I didn’t enjoy it, but because there were so many other things I loved that I eventually dropped theater to focus on choir and orchestra.

Painting and drawing, on the other hand, is something I still like to do. I’ve never really been very serious about it – the true artist in the family is my sister – but I’d like to think I’m not completely awful. Plus, it’s just something I like to do when I need some a therapeutic, relaxing activity.

As for dancing, I know how to ballroom dance, so I guess that counts? It’s pretty traditional for schools in Bavaria to have their students attend lessons sometime around tenth grade. And I still really like going to balls; it’s such a good way to meet up with old school friends and have fun! I’ve never really done much dancing outside of that, though, unless you count the awkward flailing around we had to do in P.E. lessons 😂

If you had to give up reading or listening to music (including playing an instrument), which one would you choose?

Seriously, Pilar??? You are beyond evil!! How can you make me pick between these two?! Reading and music are my favorite things in the world, so I don’t see how I could ever give either of them up 😭😭😭

But fine, I’m keeping reading. While it would break my heart and soul into pieces to give up music, I just don’t think I’d be able to survive without escaping into fictional worlds. And when it comes down to it, I’m pretty sure I spend more time reading than playing instruments or listening to music.

Besides, while music is fun, it can also be kind of frustrating when you practice a piece forever and still can’t play it, so reading is probably better for relaxation 😁 And I can still read about musical characters and imagine music in my head right?

Jan’s Questions

What book/movie character do you relate the most to?

Ummm, I don’t know? There are so many! Hermione and Professor McGonagall from Harry Potter. Skye from The Penderwicks. Cath from Fangirl. Most recently, Sunil from Loveless.

And as far as movies and TV-series go, I’ve always loved Lex from Jurassic Park (book-Lex is kind of annoying, though), Mary from Gifted, and Wesley Crusher from Star Trek: The Next Generation (if we ignore the existence of the episode Journey’s End, which I absolutely despise). I mean, Wesley was basically my childhood idol 🥰

What’s your least favorite trope?

Probably insta-love. All other tropes I can usually get behind if they’re done well. Insta-love, though? In the best-case scenario, a book including it will be so well-written and interesting that I can ignore the insta-love. Usually, though, I just end up hating the book because of it. I just don’t see how two characters would be so madly in love with one another that they’d be willing to die for each other within a matter of days, when it takes me longer than that to even talk to someone about the weather. And besides, I love myself a good slow-burn romance, so who is insta-love to take that away from me?

Would you rather be a bestselling author or work in a bookshop?

Be a bestselling author for sure! 🤗📚 I love writing, and eventually publishing a novel would be a dream come true, even if no one ever ended up reading it.

I probably wouldn’t hate working in a bookshop, either, but it’s never been a goal of mine. To be honest, I probably wouldn’t enjoy the administrative work very much.

If you could travel in time, would you go to the past or the future?

That depends! What kind of time travel are we talking about here? Would my knowledge of the future change the outcome?

Because I actually think it would be kind of smart to check in on my future life and see whether I’m happy with the choices I made up until that point – because then, if I had any regrets, I could make sure to live my life in a way that would help me avoid them. 😎

Or it would also be really neat to go several hundred years into the future. Will humans finally be at peace with one another? Will interplanetary travel be possible? Will someone have proven Goldbach’s Conjecture by then? I would love to know these things, although I think I’d also be horribly depressed if I ended up finding out we had destroyed all nature on our planet and were constantly at war with one another…

So the safer option might be to go with the past. I’d love to meet some of my ancestors and see how they viewed the world. Or explore it in a time when dinosaurs were still around! Or go watch a premiere of a Shakespeare play! There ‘d be so many options!

Zoë’s Questions

What’s one thing that made you really happy this past week?

The double-stop passage in the cadenza for the Haydn violin concerto I’m currently practicing no longer sounds like a dying cat. Just close, but that’s still progress 😁

Also, all of us siblings are currently at my parents’ house for my dad’s birthday, and it’s nice to be together again!

And finally, the Euro Cup starts today!!! I’m so excited!!! Fingers crossed that Turkey will beat Italy tonight, because Italy’s way too much of a threat and I’ve got to root for the underdog, right? 😜 That’s probably not going to happen, though. Also, how did Germany end up in the same group as Portugal and France?! If we don’t make it into the last sixteen, I’m going to be severely disappointed. You’d better not mess this up, Germany!

(I know that was three things… But picking just one was way too hard!)

What one book do you keep saying you need to read but never get to it?

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson 😅🙈 I have wanted to read it for what feels like about a decade now, and still haven’t done it! I’d like to blame my sister, because she took the Stormlight Archive books with her when she moved out and keeps forgetting to bring them back so I can read them.

To be fair, though, it probably would be that hard to get a second copy somewhere. Part of the problem is probably also that I want to wait for the right moment, where I’ll have loads of free time so that I can binge through the series without distractions. However, judging by the size of those books and my insane busyness, that time is probably never. I should really get a move on and read it already.

Shuffle your Spotify playlist (*other music providers available*) and tell me the first five songs that come up!

Well, here you go:

#1 Twenty One Pilots – Fall Away

Oooh, I haven’t listened to this in ages! Even though I’m not a huge fan of the melody, Fall Away used to be one of those songs that I put on repeat when my life appeared particularly depressing. It was kind of comforting that it could get even worse, I guess 🤣

#2 Edvard Grieg – Peer Gynt, Op. 23: IV. In the Hall of the Mountain King performed by Andrew Davis and The Philharmonia Orchestra

My Spotify playlist is a very chaotic mix of modern things and classical music, so it’s very fitting that at least one classical piece cropped up here. And Grieg is such a great composer! I really hope I eventually get to play one of his suites in an orchestra; that would be amazing!

#3 Pharrell Williams – Happy

Hahaha, this one is a throw-back to my school choir days. We performed it for our school’s 350th anniversary as part of a Happy Birthday medley our music teacher had put together. And once you’ve sung this, it’s absolutely impossible to get the chorus out of your head. I’ve annoyed so many friends by singing this literally everywhere 😁 It was a good time.

#4 Sido – Astronaut

I don’t like a lot of modern German songs. They have an extraordinary tendency to be incredibly cringy. This one however, is an exception. I love it!

#5 Gavin Mikhail (cover) – It’s Time

Spotify obviously knows me well – I love Imagine Dragons! They’re one of my absolute favorite bands 🤗😍🤗 Like, ever. And this acoustic cover is pretty great, too, although I do like the original more.

If you could be best friends with any book character, who would it be and why?

Since I’m very shy and introverted, I think it would probably be good if I had an extroverted book bestie, so they would drag me out into the world and actually get me to do stuff. Because I do like travelling, experiencing new things, and sometimes even meeting new people once I am actually out there doing it. It’s just, I need someone to give me that push every once in a while 😂

Jane Penderwick would be a pretty great friend, I think. Plus, then I could also hang out with the rest of her family and do math with Skye. Or Elizabeth Bennet. (And also Mr. Darcy because come on, the guy is definitely a soulmate of mine 😊). Or maybe Zoe from Andrew Clements’ The School Story. Or Ginny Weasley – at least she’s a bit more extroverted than I am, and plus, she’s cool and has a great sense of humor!

Also, can I please be friends with Peeta Mellark, too?

Something I Created

Most of the stuff I’ve created recently is back at my apartment, so here’s something I made back in tenth grade or so that I still think is pretty cool. Basically, it’s a puzzle cube that consists of eight smaller wooden cubes. When you stack the cubes together to form the big cube, three of their sides are always facing outwards, leaving three empty sides that point inwards. This means that by turning the small cubes around, you can actually make two different big cubes with six two-by-two sides each, so that each of these twelve squares has a picture on it. In case you couldn’t tell, the themes for this particular puzzle cube were land/air animals (big cube #1) and sea animals (big cube #2).

I also have a three-by-three-by-three puzzle cube consisting of twenty-seven smaller cubes that is literature-themed, but that one is older (which means the art is a lot worse), the math behind it a lot more complicated (which means it would have taken longer to explain), and it has 18 different side-pictures (which means it would be more annoying to take photographs of) – so due to my laziness, you’re getting this one instead 😜

But who knows? Since it’s been quite a while since I last made one of these, another one might be due sometime in the future…

My Nominees

Ahaana @ Windows to Worlds

Joy @ Ohsrslybooks

Nicole @ Nicole’s Book Thoughts

Rachel @ A Bookworm’s Paradise

Riddhi @ Whispering Stories

Sahana @ Incomplete Pages

Samantha and Amber @ Bibliomavens Book Blog

Remember, you don’t have to do this unless you want to! I have over thirty tags in my own drafts folder, so I totally understand if you’ve got a lot going on and would rather sit this one out 😂 But I really like your blogs and thought other people should check them out, too!

My Questions

These were partially stolen from inspired by the ones I was asked. But they were just so good that I hope their creators won’t mind.

1) If you and a book character of your choice could travel back in time and take your younger self to try out one activity they’ve never done before, how would you spend your day? (Any changes resulting from this outing would obviously impact the present once you return 😉)

2) Shuffle your current music playlist and tell me something about the first three songs that come up!

3) What bizarre combination of plot elements would you love to see in a book one day?

4) If you had to choose to give up two of the following forever, which would you keep in your life: literature, music or the visual arts?

And that was it for today!

Let me know down below what your favorite form of creativity is, and what you would have chosen when confronted with having to give up reading or music! Also, did anyone take the Buzzfeed quiz? Do any of you have a non-black soul? I would love to know!

52 thoughts on “The Aesthete Blogger Award”

  1. Sahana says:
    Reply

    Thanks for tagging me, Naemi! That’s super sweet of you! I loved reading your answers to the questions, they’re eerily similar to mine 😃 And your last question is a bit cruel. How can I possibly choose 1? 🥺
    (I also love your playlist! )

    Liked by 1 person

    • abookowlscorner says:
      Reply

      You’re welcome! And it’s good to know there are people out there whose souls are apparently a bit more colorful than mine! I suppose me asking that last question proves that buzzfeed wasn’t that wrong about my soul color after all 🤣 But Pilar also put me through the agony of having to choose, so I don’t see why my nominees should be spared! 😁

      Liked by 1 person

  3. Jan_thedoodlecrafter says:
    Reply

    Oh gosh, I got black as well😅😅 hmm does it have anything with me choosing microsoft word? I mean, when I’m not on the internet I’m on word, so…and haha i used to love experimenting microsoft excel, though now i’ve mostly forgotten stuff. And yes, Raya and the Last Dragon is the best!! I haven’t watched tangled, but Coco and Moana😍
    I’ve been thinking of starting Brandon Sanderson’s books because they seem to have generally high ratings on goodreads, but I’m a bit apprehensive if they’d turn out like another version of game of thrones haha. What do you think of them?

    Liked by 1 person

    • abookowlscorner says:
      Reply

      Well, I’m in good company then! 😂 Besides, I’m sure it’s just because our creative minds recognize the true value of Microsoft Word, so I wouldn’t be too worried 😉
      I’m so happy you also liked Raya! And OMG, Jan, you have to watch Tangled! It’s so good 🥰 It’s easily the best Rapunzel retelling out there 😊
      As for Brandon Sanderson, I’ve read quite a few of his books! (Just not Way of Kings 😅) I’ve liked all of them, but I absolutely adore his Mistborn trilogy! 😍 I’d say his style is definitely very different from George R.R. Martin’s – if it helps, I’m not a huge fan of Game of Thrones, either. Me thinking A Song of Ice and Fire is one of the most overrated series out there is probably one of my most unpopular bookish opinions ever 😅🤣

      Liked by 1 person

  4. Riddhi B. says:
    Reply

    Awesome post! I love nature too, tbh, and that puzzle thing is so awesome! Also. I have tried painting and drawing and drama too!
    And Happy is on my current playlist too! It’s such an upbeat song!!
    And Disney movies are the best!
    And I agree, instalove suckss!
    Thanks for the tag, I will get to it as soon as possible!

    Liked by 1 person

  5. Corrie.S.P. says:
    Reply

    OOOOO!
    I would probbably frinds with Seirra Russle frome Escape from Mr. Lemonchello’s library.
    I would love to sit and talk books all the time😁
    I took the quiz I got:
    “Blue”
    “You have an honorable soul and you strive to always do what’s right.”
    I guess that is true(Im not sure what my favorite avenger has anything to do with that though)
    I would give up music!

    Liked by 1 person

    • abookowlscorner says:
      Reply

      Ooh, I’ve never even heard of that, but the words “library” and “talk books” have definitely caught my interest! That does sound like a pretty good friend candidate!
      And I guess you’re just a better person than I am and have the correct Avengers tastes 🤣 Though yeah, I am very skeptical as to how Buzzfeed determined my soul color from those questions, too… And, I mean, how can you truly have an honorable soul if you could give up music that easily? 🧐🤔

      Liked by 1 person

      • Corrie.S.P. says:
        Reply

        I have an honerable soul because books are better than music.
        And whatt??? You have never read Escape from Mr. Lemonchello’s library???
        It was even made into a movie. Not as good as the book though.
        What avenger did you pick?

        Liked by 1 person

  6. readingbythemoonlight says:
    Reply

    (Not sure if my comment went through so posting again) I absolutely loved reading your answers! I have to watch Raya and the Last Dragon – it sounds so great.
    I’m also excited for the Euros (rooting for England of course🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿).
    I also loved hearing more about the 5 first songs on your place, it’s so interesting to hear all these little anecdotes and memories people attach to music. And you listen to some great music!

    Liked by 1 person

    • abookowlscorner says:
      Reply

      It actually did come through, but said its author was anonymous (No idea how that happened, but I’ve been there, too 🤣), so I would have had to manually approve it. But seeing that you were nice enough to comment again, I hope you don’t mind that I just decided to keep this comment instead 😁 I must admit already had my suspicions as to who might have written the other one (which I read first) when I saw your reactions to my playlist and your proud support of England, but it’s nice to know for sure who this comment is from! I’m glad you enjoyed my answers and approve of my absolutely chaotic taste in music, and yes, Zoë – you need to watch Raya! It’s the purest story ever, and I’m absolutely in love with it 🥰
      Also, thanks again for tagging me! The playlist question was a really cool idea, you actually got me back into some old songs I hadn’t listened to in a while 😊🎶

      Liked by 1 person

  7. Line says:
    Reply

    First of all, you’re so on point with your Disney movie opinions 😄 I don’t like Toy Story either (yay for sharing unpopular opinions!) and Tangled is without a doubt the best! And Disney has a lot of cute animal companions but Tuk Tuk is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen and I need one!!! 😍😍😍

    I’m glad I didn’t need to answer whether to give up reading or music because I literally couldn’t live without either. It’s been two years since I’ve attended a concert and I’m actually dying. I think I might cry when I get to do that again. So I can’t pick one over the other 😅

    Of course I’m going to comment on you mentioning the Euros because I’m so pumped for that! 🥳 Finally! I usually support Germany but it’s looking tough for them. That group is insane. Poor Hungary 😂 Denmark is actually kind of good this time which is a new experience, so we’re all very excited to see where it leads.

    Oh and I have a black soul too. And I liked seeing what you listen to because I actually didn’t think I would know any of the songs, but I did 😄 I like Imagine Dragons too although I don’t listen to them as often.

    Liked by 1 person

    • abookowlscorner says:
      Reply

      I’m thrilled to hear you agree with my Disney thoughts! Especially since I think you’re the first person I’ve ever come across who also doesn’t like Toy Story, apart from my siblings. It’s so satisfying to get some support on this unpopular opinion for once 😂 Although your thoughts on Tangled are on point, too! 🥰

      Also, concerts! 😭 I totally relate, I haven’t been to one in ages, either. At this point, I think the most mediocre band in the world could reduce me to tears if I got to see them perform live. And I want to at least get to play in our orchestra one more time before I graduate 😪

      And of course I had to mention the Euros! I am in full-on soccer mode, although my enthusiasm doesn’t seem to be doing the teams I’m supporting much good so far – after all, I just had to watch poor Turkey be demolished in one of the most bitter opening matches in European Championship history. And they did so well until that own goal, too! I actually thought my support might be helping 😅😪 But ah well, as long as Germany wins its next matches, I suppose I can live with my disappointment 😂 Though with that insane group I’m also a bit worried. I guess Denmark will just have to be good enough that if Germany gets kicked out, I can support you guys instead. Neighbors have to stick together, right? 😉

      Also, I’m relieved so many cool people seem to have black souls as well. It’s probably an honor then. And I’m very happy to hear you like Imagine Dragons! I wasn’t sure how much our music tastes would overlap, either, so it’s nice to see you don’t think mine are totally out there 😄

      Liked by 1 person

      • Line says:
        Reply

        Yeah, your support really didn’t help Turkey much 😂 Such an awkward own goal too! And yes, to neighbors sticking together! As long as they aren’t Sweden 😅 If they get kicked out in the group stage, you can bet I’ll be cheering!

        Liked by 1 person

        • abookowlscorner says:
          Reply

          Yes, I felt so bad for Demiral! There really wasn’t much he could have done in that situation 😪 And I totally get what you’re saying about Sweden – I don’t want Austria to win, either. I guess there’s always that one neighbor you have a particularly special relationship with 🤣

          Liked by 1 person

  8. jawahirthebookworm says:
    Reply

    This was so much fun to read! You’re totally a creative person and it shows. I never did any acting although I love theaters and musicals, I’m much more of a behind the scenes person.

    Happiest Birthday to your Dad! 🎉❤️🎉 And if you ever do get that book published I can’t wait to add it to my TBR and end up reading it! Fingers crossed your dreams coming true ✨

    Liked by 1 person

    • abookowlscorner says:
      Reply

      Aww, thanks Jawahir! ❤ And honestly, I think if I got back into anything drama related now, I’d probably be more of a behind the scenes person, too – I could see myself getting massive stage fright with that many people staring at me! 😅 But I still love watching theater and musicals and am desperately waiting for everything to open back up again.

      I’ll also let my dad know he has lots of well wishes from across the world! And thanks for being so supportive 😊 If I do ever get close to the publication stage, you guys will be the first to know!

      Liked by 1 person

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  11. Strawberrys Corner says:
    Reply

    These questions and answers were so good! Once again I had to go to your site to see it but I found out the problem and WordPress had made me unfollow you apparently, so I followed you again and hopefully, I’ll be able to know when you post something else! haha

    Liked by 1 person

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  14. Lesserleaf says:
    Reply

    I read The Way of Kings last year and liked it. Luckily I took some notes, because it’s quite complex and has lots of characters and I’ve probably forgotten half of it by now. It’s world-building is incredibly awesome. I meant to continue with the next novels straight away, but haven’t got round to them yet…. But I found out that Sanderson is planning for 10 novels in the series, and I think only 4 have been published so far. Should be lots of time to catch up 🙂
    I hate PowerPoint worst of all. When I have to create slides at work, they look like someone in kindergarden could do a better job ;-).
    Word is definitively the best.

    Liked by 1 person

    • abookowlscorner says:
      Reply

      I’ve pretty much come to expect incredibly awesome world-building when it comes to Sanderson, but you confirming it is still nice to hear! And I suppose I’ll just have to reread it a few times so I can remember all those characters and plot points eventually 😁 I usually do that anyway, and I kind of hope I’ll get around to reading this before the whole series has gotten published 😅😂 Taking notes is also a smart plan, but I’m almost always way too lazy to bother…
      Also, I’m glad you agree word is best! I don’t mind PowerPoint, either – by now, I’ve had to do so many presentations for school and university that I think I kind of know what I’m doing – but I still think word is loads better 😄

      Like

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