While I would love to go to BEA, unfortunately, the timing never seems to work out for me. I actually had everything but the plane ticket booked last year, but had to cancel to due to a family illness. Once again, the book lovers Mecca is out of reach this year, so I decided to participate in Armchair BEA again. You can learn more about this event by clicking this link.
To get things rolling this year, participants are asked to answer five questions, and then hop around and visit other participating blogs, so here goes:
1. Please tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? How long have you been blogging? Why did you get into blogging?
I am Julie, aka Manga Maniac. I have been blogging for about 7 years, and when I started the blog, I mostly reviewed manga and graphic novels. I started blogging as a way to keep track of the storylines for all of the all of the series I was reading, and I enjoyed doing it so much that I haven’t stopped!
2. What are you currently reading, or what is your favorite book you have read so far in 2012?
I am currently reading Dead Reckoning by Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill. It’s a zombie western with some steampunk elements tossed in for good measure. I am enjoying it so far, but the pacing is faltering near the end.
Some of my favorites so far this year include: The Song of Achilles, Lies Beneath, Storybound, The Marriage Bargain, The Stubborn Dead, and Born Wicked.
3. Tell us one non-book-related thing that everyone reading your blog may not know about you.
I am terrified to speak in public! This is kind of funny because I don’t mind sharing my writing, and I live to show my horses. I just have a really, really hard time speaking in front of even a small group of people.
4. What is your favorite feature on your blog (i.e. author interviews, memes, something specific to your blog)?
I love to interview authors! I enjoy learning about how they came up with their stories and characters, and what they like to read when they aren’t working.
5. Have your reading tastes changed since you started blogging? How?
When I first started blogging, I was only reading manga and graphic novels. Now I find myself reading everything but graphic novels. I became burned out on them, especially when my favorite series were canceled or my favorite publishers shut their doors (CMX, I still miss you desperately). I hate not knowing how things end, so it was discouraging to have so many series left dangling. There are several that I still love, but I’m letting a few volumes pile up before I start getting invested in them again.
What about you? If you are participating in Armchair BEA, please link your posts so I can drop in and say “hi.”
I am stealing a meme from dear, so-talented, and missed
Eating a Tangerine with this up-to-the-moment report on what is making me happy.
First, the cherished memories of
my trip to the BEA this past week. Thank you, so many of you, for being such an integral part of my adventure, thank you Armchair BEA for the love, and thank you Florinda for
the conversation.Second, the news that
Dangerous Neighbors has been chosen as the summer read by a lovely local private school. I have so wanted that for this book of mine, and I am grateful.
Third, the happy reality that, after allowing myself to stall for a few days (as I imagine most authors waiting to hear about circulating manuscripts do), I have found my way back to my prequel-in-progress to
Dangerous Neighbors. Research proved to be the key. I have lucked onto something astonishing and juicy—a little known fact that will give my story heft, suspense, momentum, and (I'll toss the word in there) thrills. I have myself a riveting something. Now I just have to write it.
Fourth, spending time at the Devon Horse Show, taking photographs of
horses,
children,
riders, and
the big jumpers. Today I'll be photographing the carriages that are rolling down my street (two just did, so I interrupted this blog to catch them) as well as the famous puppy contest.
Fifth, spending an hour with
Kim, my former student, at the show yesterday. There she is, petting a three-month-old mini. Both are, I think, beyond words.
Finally, receiving and reading the richest imaginable e-mails from my son, now in his fourth day in London. The Brits are treating that great guy of mine exquisitely well, and he is turning most every hour into something worthy of a story. In exactly two weeks I'll be there, in London, too. Laughing, I'm certain. And listening.
I'm off to teach at Agnes Irwin today, while back in New York City, the book bloggers have gathered in force. A few days ago, as those of you who followed the Armchair BEA know, I had the chance to talk to Florinda while Elizabeth Law of Egmont USA videotaped our conversation. I re-post the video here, in celebration of the book bloggers I have come to know and love.
I am a loner by nature. When I tell people I am not social they laugh at me because I seem like a social person. I can pull it out when I need to it's just not my favorite. I am not actually sure I could attend BEA because of the crowds.
This is why I love the internet because I can participate but not be seen. (And I can do it from the comfort of my own home). But I will admit that commenting on blogs is not very easy for me. I read a lot of blogs, I just don't often add my thoughts.
So building relationships in the blogging community has been slow for me. But, I am okay with that. I started blogging in 2006, but not real actively.
In the fall of 2009 I discovered the book blogging community and started being a more active blogger. I was kind of obsessed with comments and followers. So I did a few linkys and memes and gained a few more followers and followed a few more blogs. But, it is not natural for me to put myself out there so I decided to stop caring about those things.
I still request ARCs and I still get some even though my follower number is low.
I have a few "friends" in the publishing world that I can beg from if I really want a certain book (I think being a librarian helps). One thing I make sure to do is that when I am working with a new publicist/contact I read that book and review it ASAP. I want to make sure they know that I will be a blogger they can count on. Likewise, if I request a book I make sure to get that one read likety-split! If I get sent a surprise book I am not as concerned with getting it reviewed right away (sometimes they don't even have a note so I am not sure who to send my reviews to!).
I think the hardest part for me is when an independent author contacts me. I just don't have time to read everything and I read so much for my library that I normally don't accept independent books. sometimes I will and have one of my students read and review it. However, I try and respond to those requests because today they might be an independent author and tomorrow they might publish the next big thing. You want to be in good standing with them!
These are just a few of my thoughts about nurturing relationships (or not I guess). Have a great Thursday with Armchair BEA!
Yesterday, as I wrote below, I had the great privilege of interviewing Florinda for the
Armchair BEA event that is going on all this week long. My great thanks to Chris, Tif, The 1st Daughter, Chrisbookrama, Michelle, Amy, Pam, Emily, and Florinda herself, the organizers of this runaway-hit of a program, for also making room for
You Are My Only, which is due out in October, and for facilitating a giveaway of a signed book and poster. There will not be many such giveaways with this book, and so I encourage those who might be interested to head on over and
listen to what Florinda has to say about being a book blogger (and what I have to say about my love of and great appreciation for bloggers).
Please note that I donned my
Undercover stance with this interview, hiding, for the most part, behind my humidity unstraightened hair. This was not intentional, but I'm going to pretend that it is. I write fiction, after all. Or I do, at least some of the time, when I'm not teaching students how best to tell the truth.
Thanks to Elizabeth Law of Egmont USA for the great camera work.
I left the house at 5 AM yesterday, and walked, in the breaking dark, toward the train. The carnival lights from the Devon Horse Show grounds were shining just for me.
I arrived early to the Javits Center and
took a walk first within the silence, then among the onslaught of crowds. Soon I was at the Egmont USA booth, interviewing the wonderful
Rob Guzman, part of the Egmont USA marketing team. (Later in the day I had the privilege of interviewing Egmont USA's
Alison Weiss.)
In impromptu fashion (under Rob's raised eyebrow) I began signing books right there at the Egmont booth, flashing my
spanking-new bookmarks whenever I could. It wasn't long before I was in the presence of Florinda, a beautiful book blogger and a member of the
Armchair BEA team. We had a conversation, Florinda and I, and, thanks to Elizabeth Law, our dialogue was captured for all of time on film. Check the Armchair BEA blog later today to see what Florinda and I had to say.
Elizabeth Law of Egmont USA was my guide throughout the morning; in the rush of my signing,
Florinda of The 3Rs took our photograph. Soon, were we joined by some beautiful people—librarians, teachers, readers, parents, and blogger friends. There I am with Kathy of
BermudaOnion (I finally met her and she's as lovely as I knew she would be) and
Welcome to Day Three of
Armchair BEA. Today is all about
Networking, which is basically a Blogger's bread and butter (correct me if I'm using the wrong expression, please!).
Without it, we wouldn't be able to talk to other bloggers and/or authors, therefore, never being able to build those relationships I cherish so much right now.
Because without book blogging, with whom would I share my craziness over books? Who would hold long talks with me about whether Katniss did the right thing by staying with Peeta (she absolutely did the right thing!)? Where else would I find people so inmerse in books and their world?
To me, finding and making a new book blogger friend is always something beautiful. So when I discovered that Alex, from
A Girl, Books and Other Things, is Mexican, I started jumping up and down in my seat. I love finding new Latin bloggers!
Enjoy my interview with Alex, it's quite fun!
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| Alex with her two dogs. Aren't they adorable? |
Let's start this interview with you telling me a bit about yourself. Where do you live?
Hi!! I live in Mexico City, and I honestly can't imagine living anywhere else, even though it can be crazy living here since it's such a huge city.
I've noticed your favourite genres are Romance and YA, like me! Let's imagine I'm not an avid reader, and I have no idea what to pick up next. What would you recommend me, in both genres?
In the YA front, definitely get you started on some Meg Cabot, she writes in such a way that it's like a friend is telling you a story, probably recommend the Airhead series, or The Mediator, depending on how you feel about Paranormal. An in the Romance front, for historical Lisa Kleypas, definitely, either Dreaming of You, or maybe her Hathaway series - and she also writes lovely contemporaries.
What do you do in your spare time?
Lately, all I have is spare time, as I'm looking for a job. A regular day for me involves cooking and baking, tiding up the house, playing with my dog and watching TV. Other than that, I work on my blog and watch anime and write my own stories - which I post for fun on Fictionpress. I also like to write old-fashioned ink and paper letters, though few people answer in the same way. Oh, and I also knit scarves like crazy.
When and how did you start your blog?
I started the blog because I could see how my friends got annoyed whenever I started to gush about a book, so one day I just started. It was April of 2008 and I was just finishing up my college degree so I had more free time than I had while at scho
Today was Interview day on Armchair BE. I had serious doubts about getting any posting done for Armchair BEA and was pretty sure I wouldn't be getting an interview prepared so I opted out of that. However, I am going to spotlight some blogs and other fun things online that I love!
*I love this quote & post by Rick Riordan. Somethings never change!
*This is another great article on the appeal of YA literature (even for adults).
*And another written by an "old" reader who loves YA.
*I follow a lot of blogs, I don't comment on near enough of them, but there are a few that I find myself wanting to comment on the most. Here they are:
Small Review: I just love her posts. She has only been blogging since last October, but I always find something interesting on her blog!
The O.W.L: I love Jill's reviews and she normally has a few real students review things on her blog. A must for middle grade books!
Book Dreaming: If you want inspiration for writing check out Shannon's blog. She always posts food for thought and has a great dialogue in her comments section.
Adult 4 Teen: This is a blog on School Library Journal where the author spotlights adult books that appeal to teenagers. I love reading about these books so I can recommend them to more mature readers at my school.
Forever Young Adult: These ladies are hysterical. I love that their reviews are book reports and that they play MASH with the authors they interview (not to mention their drinking games and Vampire Diaries recaps).
Screwy Decimal: my very favorite NY city librarian. She is hysterical on her blog and her tweets.
There you have it, some of my favorites.
What are yours?
Welcome to Day Two of
Armchair BEA, the bloggy event meant for those of us who couldn't make it to the actual BEA.
Today's topic is:
Best of 2011.
Well, this isn't very hard. There's one book that came out early this year, which I love and can't wait to re-read:
DELIRIUM, by Lauren Oliver.This book tore at my heart and left me hopeless, until I found out there was hope for them.
I love, love,
love this book, and I'm waiting for it to come out in Argentina, so I can have my own printed copy, since I read it on NetGalley.
And there were other books that I really liked this year (considering I haven't read very many books):
Red Glove, by Holly Black.A great way to continue this series;
I love Cassel!
Wither, by Lauren DeStefano.
Such a brilliant start to a new series!
It must be terrible knowing when you're going to die,
I can't imagine Rhine's world.
Both have 5-monkey-reviews :)
Today starts this new bloggy event: Armchair BEA, meant for those of us who are unable to go to the actual BEA. Being in Argentina makes it kinda hard for me to attend, so when I heard about Armchair, I immediately signed up!
The organisers are giving us a prompt every day, and today it is: Who are you, and how do you Armchair?
*stands up* Hi, I'm Ella, a 19-year-old Film student, and I have a problem.
I'm a bibliophile. It's something I can't control, every time I'm close to a book store, I'm somewhat "forced" to go inside and buy a book. That leads to me having less and less money to buy anything else, and to my having books piled up at home, without having the time to read them all.
But I'm trying to change. I am. Now that I'm in uni, I have to save money, and buy photocopies for class, food, rent, etc., etc.
It's hard, specially because I pass a book store every day on my way to uni.
So, that's who I am. Oh, and I'll be forever grateful to the people who invented NetGalley, because I can read free ARCs of wonderful books whenever I want to!
That was a little about me, hope you enjoyed it!
Welcome all to my blog this week. I am hoping that I get to get out and find some new blogs and that some new people find their way to me!
I am a MG/YA blogger, any genre (except animal stories, for some reason I can never get into those!). I do both MG and YA because I am a middle school librarian, pretty much the greatest job ever. I have sixth graders coming in still wanting young books and then I have eighth graders just about ready for high school who totally want older books. I get to buy lots of them and find the time to rest most of them. Sometimes I even have a hard time letting kids check them out (I kid, I kid).
Someday, some year I will get to BEA (or ALA) but this year I saved all my personal days so I could go with my son on his Montana history trip. Should be lots of fun. I am not sure I need anymore Montana history (I was born and raised here). But for now I get to Armchair BEA, which is fine with me. I think my favorite part about Armchair BEA is the fact that each day I have a topic to blog about!
I that everyone has a great week, whether it is at the actual BEA or if you are Armchairing it! Meet you soon!
Book Expo America (BEA) is a pretty big deal in the publishing world. Many book bloggers are attending the event in NYC this week. For those of us not attending there's Armchair BEA.
And rhubarb cake. Staying home has its benefits.
Now, for Armchair BEA, I'm supposed to introduce myself today. Honestly there's not much to tell other than what I've already covered in the sidebar and About section of my blog. I'm Janelle, and I blog primarily about the children's books I read with my two young kids. We read mostly picture books, beginning readers and easy chapter books together, but every so often I review middle grade and YA titles. On Fridays I compile the weekly "Full to the Brim" Kid's book giveaway list. Besides reading we spend time crafting, exploring the outdoors, gardening and doing all the normal things families do together ...
... like making rhubarb cake. (I like it much better than rhubarb pie.)
We picked the rhubarb at my grandparents' farm. That's my grandparents' garden pictured in the header. We try to visit the farm as often as possible. In fact, I much prefer the country to the city, and I'm not altogether sure I'd enjoy BEA even if I had the chance to attend. NYC is a little too big for my liking. Plus, I imagine that trying to find rhubarb is a little tricky in the city. Did you know that when you harvest rhubarb you're not supposed to cut it off with a knife? You just gently twist and pull the stems off at the base of the plant.
So, this week, instead of marveling at all the new books at BEA, I'm up to the usual -- attending Music Together classes with my son, volunteering at my daughter's school, working outside in my vegetable and flower gardens, going for walks, spending time together with other moms at playgroup, trips to the library, grocery store and visiting with family, going to church, blogging, and so on and so forth...
... and making rhubarb cake. I used the "Rhubarb Cake I" recipe from allrecipes and made the following alterations -- I used three cups of rhubarb instead of two and only one cup of white sugar instead of 1-1/2 cups. We also added a handful of blueberries to our batter. The rhubarb flavor is subtle, not at all tart and the cake is very moist. The kids even like to eat it, especially with a little ice cream or whipped cream!
There aren't many children's books about rhubarb. Rhubarb pie makes an appearance in Elizabeth Enright's Then There Were Five. Mona tries her hand at making it, but she forgets to add sugar! Yuc
You know how I was just
recently recalling my first BEA signing, where I stood (Bravely. Enduringly. Boldly. You'd Have Been Proud of Me.) next to Jodi Picoult—her long, long, long line of fans nearly out the door and my line, well, not so out the door?
This year, I recently discovered, I will be standing (Bravely. It Better Be Enduringly. Hopefully You'll Still Be Proud of Me.) again in the presence of greatness, as Megan McDonald, the creator of the adorable
Judy Moody series, signs at a table near mine, at the very exact same time.
I'm going to be reporting on this and many other things—sending along brief videos of Egmont USA's Elizabeth Law and Greg Ferguson, say, or my early morning walk through the aisles—for the
Armchair BEA series.I am already smiling. (Bravely.)
Today, several book bloggers are meeting at the BBC Convention in NY and discussing various blogging topics including Writing and Building Content as well as Marketing. A while back, another blogger asked me how I connect with other blogging moms that love books. The book blogging community is a wonderful place to start, but I've also connected with a number of wonderful book-loving moms outside the book community. Most often I've discovered their blogs while participating weekly meme/link-ups. As far as building content for blogs, do like to use memes. I follow so many great bloggers and would love to read each and every one of their posts every day, but the reality is that my personal life just doesn't allow me unlimited time online reading hundreds of daily posts. The weekly link-ups give me a chance to reconnect weekly with bloggers I've met over the last two years. The memes also serve another purpose in providing me with some inspiration and motivation for my book review postings.
Florinda at The 3 R's Blog offers a different view of memes today on her blog. I do agree that sometimes bloggers rely a little too much on memes for content builders. And I also agree that it's important to make sure personalize meme posts so that readers can get a sense for, as Florinda say, "voice of its writer." But I disagree with the statement that a book blogger can outgrow memes. If you have a book blog and are serious about getting the word out about your blog, you would be doing yourself a disservice by ignoring memes. When I spend my precious time writing a review, I sure hope that someone will take the time to read it. And from my experience, the posts I've written for memes in general get more traffic. But here's my little secret about participating in memes and content. Chose memes that allow you to post on a topic that could easily stand alone without the meme. Make memes the bonus, not the driving force behind a post. Your original content will shine through and just maybe someone new will stop by your blog and say hi!
Zoe at Playing By the Book posted great list of kids’ book memes and weekly play memes in April. I've expanded her lists and also added a few other general memes. If you know of any other memes that fit this list, please let me know!
Childrens' Book Related Weekly Memes, Link-ups and Round-Ups:
Nonfiction Monday - host schedule at Picture Book of the Day
Book Sharing Monday at Serendipity Home School
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What do Margaret Wise Brown, Arnold Lobel, Ian Fleming, Diane deGroat, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Mary Pope Osborne, Lillian Hoban, Margret Rey, Eoin Colfer, L. Frank Baum, Edward Lear, James M. Barrie, Leo Lionni, Charles Shaw, and Don Wood all have in common? They were all born in the month of May!
My birthday is in May, too, so I thought I'd have a special birthday bash book giveaway to celebrate. Plus, today also happens to be Armchair BEA Giveaway Day! One of our favorite picture books about birthdays is Otto Grows Down by Michael Sussman. I reviewed Otto Grows Down last year on Brimful Curiosities and here's a snippet of my summary (make sure to click on over to my whole review if you want to learn more about the book):The birthday. The candles and cake. The WISH! Otto, on his sixth birthday, feels rather neglected. You see, one week earlier, he became a big brother. No longer the center of attention, Otto takes his birthday wish to heart and wishes his baby sister Anna was never born. In theory, you'd think a wish like that would set things like they were before. Not quite so, as Otto quickly learns. The wish makes time go backwards. Yes, Otto's parents take his sister back to the hospital. But backwards time doesn't stop there. Time continues to go in reverse. Otto, to his dismay, grows younger, smaller and more frantic as each former birthday passes and he desperately tries to set things right.
Believe me, Sussman's humorous and unusual book is definitely memorable. My daughter frequently requests to read "the birthday book" because the premise of growing down and time going backwards is so very interesting and unique. As I near my mid 30's, the thought of time going backwards does sound kind of appealing. But even though I sometimes dread growing another year older, I'm going to think on the positive side and take each day as it comes, enjoy my life and count my blessings. No, I won't be wishing to for time to go in reverse. But it's still fun to take a trip down memory lane. Today I'm posting pictures and taking you on a journey as "Janelle Grows Down," from age 6 to age 1. Enjoy and don't forget to enter the giveaway at the end!
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Hooray for happiness! I love this post...
Enjoy, Beth.
XO
A.
Beth you are the best! Thanks for all the great photos... helps the memories stay put, ya know? Looking forward to seeing you again soon!!
xoxoxoxo
Kim
Our conversation was absolutely one of the highlights of my BEA week - I'm so glad it worked out! And great news about Dangerous Neighbors - both the current book AND the prequel-in-progress.
xo,
~Florinda
Thrills! How wonderful. I'm so glad for all the happy things.
Congratulations on all of these fabulous Happy Moments!! Kudos and High Fives!!!
No one could have read "Seeing Past Z...." and not fallen in love with your son, BUT we need to hear more tales about him now. In another book perhaps?? (Hoping so.)
All good things--happy for you. The breakthrough on the prequel = very exciting.
Lovely. I adore that photo. A good friend of my mother's raised mini's when I was young and I've always loved them.
So exciting about Dangerous Neighbors on both accounts. I know I'm eager to hear about the plot thrills, but I know it will be fabulous!
And yay! I'm so happy to hear of your son. He sounds like he's having the time of his life, which is marvelous and just how it should be. :o)