Getting To Know... Jess from The Tales Compendium

This month marks my five-year blogoversary and there are a number of Aussie bloggers who have been with me from the beginning and others who I have met along the way. While many are no longer blogging, there are still some who are and who continue to keep me enthusiastic about what we do and why we do it. To celebrate five years in the YA blogging community, I thought I would do some little get-to-know-us posts in the lead up to my blog birthday which is today!

Getting To Know Aussie YA Bloggers

Rebecca from Reading Wishes

Claire from YA Madness

Nomes from Inkcrush

Danielle from Alpha Reader

Today, it's my turn to answer the questions...

Jess from The Tales Compendium

How long have you been blogging?

5 years today! How time flies when you are having fun. It has been amazing and I'd just like to shout out to all my online book-loving friends, and the authors who chat with us and don't get freaked out by our fan-girling/stalking. And to the publishers who are enthusiastic and open to including book bloggers and recognising the value in what we do. Especially Penguin Teen Australia who have been with me from the very beginning :)

What is your favourite thing about having a book blog?

All the wonderful people I have met over the years. It's so nice to belong to a community that shares my enthusiasm and that is always there to welcome you back if you take a little break. No one understands my YA love like my fellow bloggers :)

What are some of your favourite YA reads?

I have a 'favourites' page here on the blog and the books in my banner are all favourites. But for a quick answer, Where She Went by Gayle Forman, Friday Brown by Vikki Wakefield, Just Listen by Sarah Dessen and Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley.

Which author/s are on your auto-buy list?

Gayle Forman, Cath Crowley, and Stephanie Perkins

What is your favourite book to re-read?

Harry Potter :) But since we are talking YA then it would be Just Listen by Sarah Dessen.

Where is your favourite place to read?

At home on the couch or my bed with a blanket and a cup of tea.

Which book do you swear you will finally read in 2015?

I'm going to finally read the 2nd and 3rd book in the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy

What is your preferred genre?

Contemporary :)

What has been your favourite blogging or book event/experience?

This is really hard because I have been to a lot of book events and met a lot of my favourite authors but the Reading Matters Conference held by the Centre for Youth Literature in Melbourne was amazing. I'll be attending again this year and can't wait!

What is your favourite book to film adaptation?

I was pretty happy with Tomorrow When the War Began... and Harry Potter. Also, I was super surprised how much I loved Mockingjay considering I didn't particularly like the book.

Which book would you like to see become a film?

I'm always scared the books will get ruined by turning them into films (just look at what they did to Vampire Academy, City of Bones, Beautiful Creatures! Oh the horror!) but I am looking forward to Melina Marchetta's screenplay of On The Jellicoe Road. I have complete trust that it will be amazing. It would also be nice if they could do the rest of the Tomorrow series. There was a rumour it could become a TV show but that seems to have fizzled out :(

Favourite new Aussie blog you have discovered in the last year or two?

I'm sorry to say I haven't really discovered anyone new. I haven't had much time to browse blogs over the last couple of years so have just been sticking with those I know. I would love to hear about the new wave of Aussie YA bloggers so shout out to me in the comments!

And now for some non-book related fun...

What are some of your favourite TV shows (current or ended)?

I'm a bit of a TV junkie so I have quite a few favourites! Currently screening includes Criminal Minds, NCIS, Scorpion, The Night Shift, Rizzoli and Isles, Chicago PD and Chicago Fire.

Those that have ended could be a very long list but for now I'll say Veronica Mars, Buffy, Gilmore Girls, The Newsroom, Friends, Dark Angel...

How about all-time favourite movies?

Easy A, Pitch Perfect, Love Actually, Still Crazy, Die Hard, Remember the Titans

If you could visit anywhere in the world, either for the first time or a return visit, where would you go?

I am obsessed with travelling and have done quite a lot of it. My favourite place to visit is Paris and I flirt with the idea of moving there almost every day. If I can stop myself from going back to Paris again then I would love to go to Canada and see the Northern Lights.

If you were an animal, what would you want to be?

I'm going to say a giraffe because I think they are awesome. And they are tall and I am not :)

And the all-important question, what is your favourite ice-cream flavour?

I'm pretty happy with cookie dough ice-cream but lately I've been obsessed with vanilla custard gelato from a new place near my house.

Where can you be found?

Blog: The Tales Compendium (You are here now!)

Twitter: @TalesCompendium

Facebook: The Tales Compendium

Goodreads: Jess - The Tales Compendium

Instagram: jwillis_87

Website: Jessica Willis

Thank you to everyone who has commented, shared, entered giveaways and fan-girled with me over the last five years. You guys rock. Check back on Monday the 26th Jan for a special Blogoversary/Australia Day Giveaway :)