Armchair BEA - The Introductions

Designed by Nina @ Nina Reads

I’m participating in Armchair BEA this year, a virtual conference for book bloggers who can’t attend Book Expo America in New York this week. So all week long, you’ll see me posting according to the daily themes for Armchair BEA.

Today’s theme is “Introductions First!” Participants were given a list of 10 questions and asked to answer 5 of them, so that we can all get to know each other a little better. So here’s a little bit about me!

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

a. My name is Shelley and I run Gizmo's Reviews. I have lived in Florida for the past 12 years. I’m originally from New York State not the city. For the past 2 years I've been one of the top reviewers on Goodreads and have nearly 600 friends & followers. I've been blogging for less than a year but my blog was created June 2011. Since I started doing it full time, it has grown to the point where I have nearly 500 followers (linky, GFC, and email). I totally got into it when a friend suggested I use it more often to express my opinions and reviews. Needless to say my blog also got a newer sleeker look since then as well.

2. What are you currently reading, or what is your favorite book you have read so far in 2012?

a. I'm currently reading Tarnished by Karina Cooper. It's a steampunk, action, adventure novel that I've been holding onto since receiving it from Edelweiss in April. I have too many books to list as favorites, but the last book I actually loved was the Janus Affair by Pip Ballantine, and Tee Morris. 

3. What is your favorite feature on your blog (i.e. author interviews, memes, something specific to your blog)?

a. I would have to say that my favorite feature is the Feature & Follow Friday that is run by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. It gives my blog exposure to new followers and allows me to have fun with coming up with new answers to the question or activity of the week.

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

a. The answer is no. I still enjoy the same books and the same genre's and authors that I did before my blogging started en masse. I would say however, that my desire to read more books has actually increased over last year when I read nearly 500 books!

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

a. Without any hesitation whatsoever, I would have to say Italy. I'm Italian and part of my family was originally from there. I would love to go back and take in the sights. The last time I was there was in the 1980's while I was in the military (Navy).

That's a little bit about me! I welcome all visitors and comments!