Armchair BEA - Introduction Questions 2015

It's that time of year again; a time when a number of bloggers look forward to sharing the excitement of those that are heading to the BEA Expo from the comfort of their own homes.  And to kick things off, we answer a bunch of questions.

Here are the questions for this year:

Tell us a bit about yourself: How long have you been blogging? Where are you from? How did you get into blogging?

Why do you loving reading and blogging?

What is your theme song?

What does diversity mean to you?

What is one book everyone should read?

Share your favorite blog post on your blog. (aka written by you!)

What is your favorite genre and why?

What book are you reading right now?
What is the top book in your TBR pile?

What book are you most looking forward to reading this summer?

If you were stranded on a deserted island, what author would you want to bring with you? Why?

1) I am from Vancouver, BC. I have been blogging for about 4 years, but probably a bit longer. I started blogging on LiveJournal and eventually made the transition to Blogger.

2) I love reading because it gives me an ability to go to different places and times and I love blogging because I get to share my enjoyment of my reading with others.

7) I would say that my favourite genre is historical fiction with literary fiction not far behind as my favourite genre

8) I am reading a number of books, but am mainly reading All Quiet on the Western Front

10) If I was stranded on a deserted island, I would probably bring Tolstoy along with me, as his two main books, Anna Karenina and War & Peace would last a long time and probably make good kindling for fire, if need be.

Kicking off #ArmchairBEA: Introductions First!

(design credit: Emily of Emily's Reading Room)

1. Please tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? How long have you been blogging? Why did you get into blogging? 
2. Where in the world are you blogging from? Tell a random fact or something special about your current location. Feel free to share pictures. 
3. Have you previously participated in Armchair BEA? What brought you back for another year? If you have not previously participated, what drew you to the event? 
4. What are you currently reading, or what is your favorite book you have read so far in 2013? 
5. Tell us one non-book-related thing that everyone reading your blog may not know about you. 
6. Name your favorite blog(s) and explain why they are your favorite(s). 
7. Which is your favorite post that you have written that you want everyone to read? 
8. If you could eat dinner with any author or character, who would it be and why? 
9. What literary location would you most like to visit? Why? 
10. What is your favorite part about the book blogging community? 
11. Is there anything that you would like to see change in the coming years?

1) My name is Melissa.  The name of my blog comes from my middle name.  I have been blogging since about 2005, when I first joined LiveJournal.  I intially got into blogging because some people I knew on a fan board for a TV show were blogging over there and I thought it was a great way of connecting with people that liked the show and it grew from there.  I have been blogging here for about 3 years.

2) I am blogging from the southwestern corner of BC in an area that is commonly referred to the Lower Mainland and more specifically from a region called the Fraser Valley.  The major centre near where I live is named after Captain George Vancouver and has one of the largest city parks in the world and is more than 10% larger than Central Park.

3) I participated last year and what brought me back this year was because I enjoy participating in it last year.

4) I am currently reading a number of books and am really enjoying the classics that I am reading at the moment.

5) I am a big Vancouver Canucks fan (NHL team from Vancouver) and like to read while watching various sporting events.

6) I have a number of favourite blogs, but I would say that its probably The True Book Addict and its my favourite because she has had a number of readathon events that I have attended.  I also like BookJourney because she not only shares her love for books but also the love that she has for her family and friends and Shelia seems like somebody I could have a cup of coffee with.

7) My favourite post would be the one I did on the fascination with the 1960s.

8) I would love to have dinner with Bridget Jones because she seems the sort of character that I could identify with and if I had to pick an author, I would probably choose Jane Austen as I would love to know what made her write the books she did and what were her influences.

9) The literary location that I would love to visit would probably be the house that was used for Pemberly in the 1995 version of Pride & Prejudice.

10) My favourite thing about the book blogging community is the fact the friendships that are formed through various blogs and that our book blogs are really just an extension of our lives and that we feel each others pain and experience each others joys and sorrows and that really we are there for each other, despite the distances between us and the differences in genres that we read.  What connects us is our love for reading and bookish things.

11) I don't know what I would like to see change in the next five years.

Kicking off Armchair BEA: Introductions First!

(design credit: Emily of Emily's Reading Room)

After seeing this last year on a number of the blogs that I follow last year, I really wanted to participate and when I saw the sign ups a few weeks ago, I knew that it was something that I had to participate in.  And to kick it off, the lovely ladies over at Armchair BEA have gone put up an introductory post with questions that they have developed.

1. Please tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? How long have you been blogging? Why did you get into blogging?
2. What are you currently reading, or what is your favorite book you have read so far in 2012?
3. Tell us one non-book-related thing that everyone reading your blog may not know about you.
4. What is your favorite feature on your blog (i.e. author interviews, memes, something specific to your blog)?
5. Where do you see your blog in five years?
6. Which is your favorite post that you have written that you want everyone to read?
7. If you could eat dinner with any author or character, who would it be and why?
8. What literary location would you most like to visit? Why?
9. What is your favorite part about the book blogging community? Is there anything that you would like to see change in the coming years?
10. Have your reading tastes changed since you started blogging? How?

1) My name is Melissa.  The name of my blog comes from my middle name.  I have been blogging since about 2005, when I first joined LiveJournal.  I intially got into blogging because some people I knew on a fan board for a TV show were blogging over there and I thought it was a great way of connecting with people that liked the show and it grew from there.  I have been blogging here for about 2 years.

2) I am currently reading a number of books, including The Descendants, The Devil in the White City and a number of classics.

3) One non-book-related thing that people reading my blog may not know about me is that I lived in Brazil for two years when I was a young child and cheer for the Brazilians (or Brasilians as they spell it) during the World Cup (the world cup of soccer for those that don't know).

4) Since I don't host a feature on regular basis, I can't say what my favourite feature would be.

5) I really don't know, but I probably doing some of the same things that I am doing at the present time.

6) My favourite post would be the one I did on the fascination with the 1960s.

7) If I could eat dinner with any author or character, it would probably be Peggy Olson.  I know its a TV character, but I would like to pick her brain about what it was like to work for Don Draper and Pete Campbell and ask her why she left SDCP.

8) I would like to visit Stratford-Upon-Avon in England. I have always been a fan of Shakespeare and its just a place I have always wanted to visit.

9) My favourite part about the book blogging community is that I am introduced to so many books that I have to keep my library's webpage open, just in case I find a book I am interested in reading.  One thing I would like to see change in the coming years in the book blogging community is for book bloggers to read books that are outside of their comfort zone and I would like to see more non-fiction blogged on.  It seems that book bloggers like to blog about books they are comfortable in reading and don't go too far outside of their comfort zone (I am guilty of this) and I would like to see more non-fiction blogged about and not just memoirs/biographies.

10) That's hard to say if my reading tastes have changed, but I can say that I am more willing to try books that are outside of my comfort zone.  Some I have loved, some I haven't, but at least I have tried.