Bookish Prompts With Andrew Watson

Bookish Prompts is my internet version of a fun interview with other book lovers. Today’s Bookish Prompts episode features Andrew Watson, also known as The Fools Tale on Instagram and YouTube. Andrew is one of the wonderful people I met on bookstagram from the fantasy community. His bookstagram photos are incredible, and he recently launched a booktube with entertaining content and videos. He is a fantasy reader, and those of you who enjoy reading fantasy should definitely look into his content. He’s also a writer and photographer, and I’ll leave links to his work below for you to check out. I hope you find this interview interesting.

Here is my Q & A with him. Hope you enjoy!!

Let’s get into the questions –

1. Tell us a little about yourself and your bookish habits.

My name is Andrew Watson and I’m a book addict. Feels like the start of a book recovery centre. I fell back in love with reading in 2020 and have had a fantasy book in my hands since!

2. What’s your reading ritual like?

It’s pretty all over the place and changes often but I try to read most nights for a bit before bed. I also love listening to audiobooks when doing menial tasks.

3. How has your reading journey been like?

Turbulent. I used to love books as a kid, having stories read to me as a child then picking up novels like Percy Jackson and the Hobbit at the end of primary school. But I feel out of it in high school and got my creative fix with music and tv/film. Then 2020 came along and I picked up The Final Empire and was dragged back into the world of other worlds.

4. Your ideal reading place?

In bed. I probably get tired quicker than if I was reading in a chair but I still love reading in bed.

5. What does your dream personal library look like?

I always loved those old warm wood study like libraries. The ones with floor to ceiling shelves and a writing desk scattered in with notes. That please.

6. 5 books you wish you could read for the first time again?

This is tough because I wouldn’t want to reread The Final Empire for the first time as I’m afraid I wouldn’t capture that same magic. So I’ll pick some other favourites; The Ember Blade, Name of the Wind, Lord of the Rings, Rhythm of War, The Fires of Vengeance.

7. Books you would love to say no to?

I don’t like disliking a book and always read books I think I’m going to like but some recent ones that just didn’t work for me was; Deadly Education (I might try this again at a later date), and Cytonic is a pretty mixed bag for me too!

8. Books that changed your mindset or life drastically.

The Final Empire opened my eyes to what books could really be, Name of the Wind showed me how beautiful language is, 10% Happier by Dan Harris is filled with little nuggets of wisdom, On Writing by Stephen King helped me internalise that I wanted to get into writing.

9. Bookish worlds you would love to live in?

Middle Earth. Spending a life adventuring then retiring to The Shire is the dream.

10. If you could start a new reading or bookish tradition, what would it be?

Reading wise I would love to see UK publishers make paperbacks like they do in the US. Their floppy paperbacks are far superior to the ones in the UK that make it so difficult not to break the spine! Also recap sections at the start of sequel books. Bookish tradition; I want to see self-published books in the big bookstores. Getting to peruse and check out some self-pub authors I haven’t heard of before in store would be amazing.

11. You are preparing a book bouquet for your family member, partner and friend. Which books would you add to each bouquet and why?

Aww this is a hard one. Some of my family read but not the same types of books I do. So maybe The Final Empire in an attempt to convert them… also The Murderbot Diaries as I think that’s the best cross over of their mystery crime books and my fantasy/sci fi tastes.

12. Is there a scene in a book that made you pause and say ‘ Oh, I would love to be part of it!’ ? If so which scene, which book and why?

Uhhh I read some dark books so not many. Although the whole Shire section at the start of Lord of the Rings for sure. And pretty much any urban fantasy like Ninth House, Percy Jackson etc. the idea of their being a magical world hidden within our own would just be the best.

13. A standalone, series, and author you can’t stop recommending.

Stand-alone; I don’t read many standalones but loved The Queens Gambit.

Series – Stormlight.

Author – Evan Winter.

14. Favorite characters you would want in your inner circle and why?

Bridge 4! They just all seem like great fun to be with and the sense of comradery is amazing. Also I really want to try Rock’s stew.

15. If you could live as a bookish character for a day, who would it be and why?

Wax from Mistborn Era 2 just so I could spend the day watching Wayne be Wayne. And also fly about with allomancy of course

16. Genre you cannot live without.

Fantasy. Need my dragon fix.

17. Bookish pet peeves.

Stickers that aren’t stickers, mid series cover changes, information dumps early in a book, books without chapters, super long chapters, to name a few.

18. Tropes you would kill to read and tropes you would avoid at any cost.

I love the chosen one, farm boy/girl, downward spiral character arcs, heists, framing narrative structure, unreliable narrator, prophecy, found family, anndd so many more. As for tropes I dislike; love triangles, fake out deaths, insta love, killing off characters early for cheap emotional pull. Those are the ones I can think of but I’m sure there are more.

19. Quotes that live rent free in your head.

Ah I suck at remembering quotes and I don’t take notes so I’m just going to say; all of Lord of the Rings, Empire of the Vampire, Words of Radiance, and Kingkiller Chronicles has great quotes too.

20. Most shocking book and an unforgettable book that you have read.

Recently Jade City. That had a scene that was very shocking that I immediately needed to talk to people about. The other is Skyward. I was listening to it on audiobook while working and I must have looked like a crazy person just staring blankly at a scene while listening to some surprising chapters.

21. Favorite and unforgettable bookish memory.

Finishing Hero of Ages late one night then looking out the window to see the street lamps lighting the mist outside.

22. Any strange bookish habits?

I don’t have any strange habits that I can think of, unless you consider hanging upside down like a bat while reading weird… I’m a pretty slow reader. I also can’t read in loud rooms, just throws me off completely.

23. It’s book confession time…

I do occasionally buy special editions of books I think I will like.

24. Your ‘The Book Bucket List’.

Hobb. I really need to read Hobb eventually but I want to close some series before opening that Pandora box of 16 books of trauma.

25. Recommend 5 books that you could never get tired of recommending.

*cracks knuckles* The Ember Blade by Chris Wooding, Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark, Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells, Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff, and Flames of Mira by Clay Harmon!