Armchair BEA Day 5- The Future of Blogging

Aww, Armchair BEA is winding down, but it's been a fun week. I've visited a lot of blogs I've never been to, which is pretty cool. I've had a great time meeting so many new people and books.

Today's topic is the future of blogging. You know, I don't really have any tips or anything. I think I'm really kind of a sorry blogger. I tend to keep things pretty simple merely because I don't have time to do a whole lot more. Usually just keeping up with reviews and occasional giveaways are it. I like this simplicity though. I think it will help keep me from getting burned out (or burned up). I really try to just keep things about the books around here. That may not get me 10000 followers and hundreds of comments, but it keeps me entertained.

In general I think the future of blogging is bright. I think that book bloggers have really helped to raise awareness and exposure to a lot of different books, including indy ones. That is really awesome! We are in some sense helping writers live their dreams. I think that this really can only increase. Once people find bloggers with tastes like them, they are able to get information on so many books that might otherwise be overlooked. This is a powerful tool, and I hope that we are able to do it for many years to come.

Armchair BEA Day 4- Beyond the Blog

Today we are going beyond the blog! You know, I really have no writing ambitions. I am definitely not a creative writer in anyway (although I was aces at technical writing in school). As much as I think it would be cool to write for a local paper or something, I think I'd be pretty bad at it. My reviewing style is not something that would translate well. I think. I actually don't know what people are looking for. Heh.

You know, I feel like I don't do a whole lot of networking or socializing with other bloggers. The main reason is...I just don't have time. I know some people are able to mutli-task and get so many things done. That's not me. I do well to get reviews done period. So don't think I'm not social or rude, I am just trying to get everything done in my rather busy life.

When I really want to get away, my current way is figure skating. I have never taken skating lessons before in my life, and last year a local rink offered a one-day free class. I e-mailed and asked if they took adults, and they were more than happy to take adult students. So I went. It was so fun. Also, I'm not completely horrid on the ice. So I signed up for lessons last fall. A few months later I added private lessons, and now I'm looking forward to my first competition in July. Now, I'm not doing anything fancy (just things like back stroking and back crossovers), but it's been great to have a goal to work towards. I also have 2 other lovely ladies from my group class that are competing there too (though luckily at different levels).

The moral of this story? Go try something you've always wanted to do! I had always loved skating, but I never dreamed I would be going to my first figure skating competition in my mid-30's. It's been great fun though, and I love it. It's usually a nice stress reliever too. Or at least a chance to get away from the house and have some alone time.

Armchair BEA Day 3- Real Life Experience With Books

Welcome to my post for day 3 of Armchair BEA! Today's topic is "real life experiences with books."

I found this topic really interesting. So much of what we do as book bloggers doesn't seem to have a lot of connection with our real lives. I know some other bloggers get to do a lot of community outreach and stuff. That is pretty awesome. I've never really had the chance to do that. I haven't really met a lot of authors. I have met one though, and it was a pretty awesome experience for me.

My university has a fairly good-sized sci-fi convention every year. It was there that I got to meet Tad Williams. Because it was a fairly small event, there were really only about 10 of us there. We got to just sit and chat for a while. He was working on a new book and let us read through his manuscript. It was a fantastic time. I think as someone who was a heavy reader (and a lover of his books in particular), I was really expecting something else. More stuck-up maybe? At any rate, he was so great. He entertained all our silly questions and just entertained in general.

I got a book signed, but more than that I had a great time. I got to meet someone I admired, and luckily he turned out to be even better than I though. Another great part of that meeting was meeting other book  lovers. We were able to easily converse, and that is not something I am good at. It drew us together in a good way. And that's the power of books!

Armchair BEA Day 2- Best of 2012 and Giveaway

So today's topic is the best of 2012. I have read quite a few great books this year, but one I read recently was Timepiece by Myra McEntire. I'll have a review in a week or so, but it was great. A very different perspective from Hourglass. What better way to celebrate a great book than a giveaway??

I will be giving away Timepiece. This will be open internationally to any country Book Depository delivers to.

I'm going to keep entries nice and simple for this one. You get one free entry and one entry for leaving me a comment on your favorite read of 2012 (or what you are looking forward to the most). I love adding new books to my TBR list! This giveaway will run from June 5th to June 12th. The winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.

Good luck everyone!


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Arm Chair BEA Day 1- Introductions

I, like many bloggers, would love to go to BEA but am not really in the position to go in person. So what's the next best thing? Armchair BEA of course! All this week I'm going to be participating with a long list of other bloggers who are participating this week from the comfort of their own homes. Or wherever they blog.

So first up is introductions! This year they gave us a list of questions, and they wanted us to pick 5 questions to answer. Here are my picks:

1. Please tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? How long have you been blogging? Why did you get into blogging?


My name is Lisa, and I have been blogging for a little over a year. I don't really have an interesting background or anything. I have a 2 year old son who I stay at home with. My other hobbies are playing on computers, playing piano, and figure skating. I actually just started taking skating 7 months ago or so, and it's an absolute blast. So if you're an adult who's always wanted to take skating but was scared, you should go for it. I actually got into blogging through a friend. I got a Nook for Christmas one year and was really excited to have such an accessible way to read, but my husband wasn't exactly dying to hear my thoughts on all the books. My friend had a blog, and I thought it would be a great way to get some ideas about books out without annoying everyone I live with.


2. What are you currently reading?


As of the writing of this post (a little ahead of time) I am reading There Goes the Bride by Holly McQueen. I just finished Timepiece by Myra McEntire. I'm not sure what's up next.


3. If you could eat dinner with any author or character, who would it be and why?


Ohhh, this is a good question! I think I'd love to eat dinner with author Elizabeth Peters. I love her books, and for a while I thought she had a way of seeing my life and then writing it in her books. I'm also fascinated by her vast knowledge of Egyptology. She just seems like such an interesting person.


4. What literary location would you most like to visit? Why?


Pemberley in Pride and Prejudice. I think I could get lost there and enjoy every second of it!


5. Have your reading tastes changed since you started blogging? How?


I don't think they've changed too much. I've always been pretty open-minded about what I read. I've read some really terrific book and some books I thought were not so great, but I don't really want to ever write a completely negative review. Just because I didn't like a book doesn't mean it won't be the most fantastic book to someone else. So I do sometimes have to struggle to find good things about books. In some ways my tastes have become broader I suppose.


Ok, that's all I got. Thanks for getting to know me a bit today. I look forward to reading all the other posts.