A big thank you to Rebecca of Fake Flamenco for nominating me for the Liebster Award! I appreciate her choosing Free Thinking Bibliophile for this award. Please take a moment to look through her blog.  When I first started this blog, I was not sure how far it would go or if I even had the time to devote to it.  Nearly five years and hundreds of posts later, I look back on it as one of the best decisions I have ever made. And I would like to extend a big thank you to everyone that has followed its progression.  I hope that everyone is safe and in good health during what are surely strange and scary times.

Rebecca asked all nominees to answer her Fibbing Friday questions. My creative answers:

1. What event became known as “The Shot Heard ’Round the World”?  Cannon fire after Covid-19 is contained.
2. What exactly is a duvet?  Proof that you’re not a bachelor in his early 20s.
3. What was “The Man in the Iron Mask” about?  A couple who took role playing a bit too far.
4. Divan, Chesterfield, settee, and Davenport are all examples of what? Items that 95% of people couldn’t pick out in a photo.
5. Why was the Eiffel Tower built?  The French were bored.
6. The Harry Potter series wasn’t about a boy who finds out he’s a wizard. What was it about?  Testing the stamina of readers.
7. What was Moby Dick about? A terrible first impression.
8. What was “The King’s Speech” about?  The right to remain silent.
9. If you go to a pub and ask for a “black & tan”, exactly what do you get?  Silence and a lot of stares.
10. What is “shepherd’s pie”? A dessert for sheep.

And Now for The Official Rules Of The Liebster Award 

If you have been nominated for The Liebster Award AND YOU CHOOSE TO ACCEPT IT, write a blog post about the Liebster award in which you:

1. thank the person who nominated you, and post a link to their blog on your blog.
2. display the award on your blog — include it in your post and/or display it using a “widget”. (Note: save the image to your computer, then upload it to your blog post.)
3. answer 11 questions about yourself, provided by the person who nominated you.
4. provide 11 random facts about yourself.
5. nominate 5 – 11 blogs you feel deserve the award, who have a less than 1000 followers. (Note: you can ask the blog owner; not all blogs display this information!)
6. create a new list of questions for the blogger to answer.
7. list these rules in your post (You can copy and paste from here.) Once you have written and published it, you then:
8. Inform the people/blogs you nominated them for the Liebster award and provide a link to your post so they can learn about it (they might not have ever heard of it!)

Eleven Facts About Gerard of Free Thinking Bibliophile:

1. What makes you smile? Genuine empathy, one of hardest emotions to show.
2. Favorite book as a child? The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton.
3. Last book you’ve read? I’ll Be Gone in the Dark.
4. Favorite spring flower: Tulips
5. Favorite landscape? Natural landscapes, mountain views
6. Favorite view? Mountains near Moab, Utah
7. Analog or digital? Analog mostly with occasional digital.
8. Horse or bicycle? Horse, one of the most magnificent creatures on earth.
9. First non-essential place you’d go after living shut-in for a while?  The movies.
10. Monument you’d like to live in for a weekend? Taj Mahal
11. What musician plays your life soundtrack? Marvin Gaye

I nominate:

Try to Get It 

Book ‘Em, Jan O

The Miniread

People & History

The Historical Diaries

If you’d like to accept the nomination, please answer the some or all of the questions I did above under “11 Facts” or come up with your own list of facts about yourself.  And  also feel free to answer the Fibbing Friday questions as well.