Tuesday, May 28, 2013

2013 Armchair BEA - Introductions

Designed by Emily of Emily's Reading Room
Once again, Armchair BEA is upon us. As we did last year, the even kicks off with introductions of those participating. It's a way to get to know each other better as well! We were told to choose 5 questions to answer. These are the questions I choose:

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

Hello everyone! My name is Shelley and I'm a bookaholic! June of this year will mark my 2 year anniversary since my blog was created. I actually got into blogging at the suggestion of some friends on Goodreads who had been following my reviews. I've been posting reviews on GR since 2009. My favorite genre's are Urban Fantasy, PNR, Steampunk, Post-Apocalyptic, Mystery, and Thrillers. I do, in fact, enjoy YA as well, and have been reading a steady diet of YA since the start of this year.

2. Where in the world are you blogging from? Tell a random fact or something special about your current location:

I currently reside in Jacksonville, Florida where I've lived for the past 13 years. I would say that Jacksonville's claim to fame is that it has an NFL team called the Jacksonville Jaguars and once hosted the Super Bowl between Philadelphia and New England. It's also one of the biggest land mass county/cities in the nation.  Jacksonville is home to the Navy at Mayport. 

3. Have you previously participated in Armchair BEA? What brought you back for another year? If you have not participated, what drew you to the event?

I actually participated last year and found it highly entertaining as well as informative. There  were a lot of wonderful bloggers involved and the organizers really seem to have their acts together. 

4. What is your favorite part about the blogging community?

I think we will all agree that bloggers are a tenacious group by nature. We love our books, we love certain authors without hesitation or reservation, and we scream like little kids when a new book comes out from one of our favorite authors. But, above all, I've found MOST bloggers approachable, and respectable of new bloggers trying hard to make it this business. If I have a question to ask, they will without hesitation or reservation help me regardless of the number of followers they have, or how long they've been blogging.

5. What are you currently reading, or what is your favorite book you have read so far in 2013?

As I am posting this introduction, I will have stared The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau as well as Unbreakable by Elizabeth Norris. I'll answer the second part as well. My favorite books of 2013 have been Binding the Shadow by Jenn Bennett as well as Written in Red by Anne Bishop. 

Please leave a comment and your link below and I shall return the visit!


45 comments:

  1. Wow you've been on goodreads a long time. How big is your tbr shelf? haha. I want to read Unbreakable! It's on my shelf just haven't gotten to it yet. I'm jealous you live in sunny FL. I need to move somewhere that's warmer. Nice to meet you!
    -Melissa @ Harley Bear Book Blog

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    1. Hi Melissa nice to meet you as well! To answer your question, it is absolutely out of control and I see no end to the insanity!

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  2. Shelley
    Enjoyed your post. Florida must be great place to live in except for hurricanes? Funnily enough I had never heard of steampunk until last year when a librarian used the word! Since then I have read one steampunk and one cyberpunk, both good but names escape me right now. They are not my normal genre but like to stretch myself every now and then!
    Kathryn
    My Introduction
    Just deleted above comment as I accidentally used wrong place in Florida!

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    1. Hi Kathryn! Thanks for stopping by! Living in Florida is okay. I've seen our share of bad years for hurricanes as well as good years where we were spared. Living in the Northeast I can honestly say is probably safer than living near Miami.

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  3. You've been a member of Goodreads just as long as I have, but I really didn't use it as much. I still prefer LibraryThing, but do find myself using GR a lot lately. Jacksonville is a nice place! I've never been, but have seen the pictures my parents took when they visited although Florida with the swamp land, etc has me running for the hills.

    Jess @ Literary, etc

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    1. Hey Jess! Thanks for stopping by! I'm a member of LibraryThing as well. I used to win a bunch of stuff from there, but it's been kind of quiet for the past 2 years.

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  4. Great post. Love your response about us tenacious book bloggers. :)
    Never been to Jacksonville but the hubby does visit Florida for work a lot. Not sure if he goes there, though.

    mari

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    1. Hey Mari! Great to meet you! If he's driven down I-95 then there's a good chance he's probably visited. We're supposed to be the First Coast First City after all :)

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  5. Hello!

    I was going to say something and then I just spied your Goodreads reading challenge icon and wow!! 156 books so far!

    Looking forward to reading your posts.

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    1. Hi Kayleigh! Thanks for stopping by! Yeah, I read a bunch of books each year. I'll probably end up with more than 300 books read this year.

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  6. Hi Shelley!

    This is my first time participating in Armchair BEA and I'm also a new follower via GFC.

    Holly @ Words Fueled by Love

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    1. Hi Holly! Thank you so much for following me! Enjoy yourself with the rest of the weeks activities!

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  7. Great intro. I'm past my goal for this year, but I didn't set the bar as high as you did. You go girl!

    My Intro @ Lindsey Gray

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    1. Thank you Lindsey! I actually lowered my expectations for what my number would be this year. I think I need to raise it!

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  8. Hello fellow bookaholic! I'm fairly new to blogging but I agree that the book blogging community is pretty cool! Looking forward to BEA. My first time here and it's already good :0)

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    1. Hello yourself! Thanks for stopping by! We should have a lot of fun if this years is anything like last!

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  9. I love what you said about (most) bloggers being super approachable - that's definitely been my experience. I remember being so intimidated when I reached out to a few "bigger" bloggers, but they were so sweet that I can't imagine feeling that way now!

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    1. Hiya Kelly! Yeah, there's a bunch of awesome bloggers who step up and really help you out. I love Parajunkee and Cuddlebuggery probably the best.

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  10. Happy Armchair BEA, Shelley! I agree. ON the whole, the book blogging community is approachable and accepting and awesome. Keep up the good blogging work! :)

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    1. Hi Andi! Nice to meet you! I shall do my best to keep things entertaining!

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  11. Ooh, I just finished The Testing; it was SO much better than I was expecting! I agree that our community is pretty tenacious... I've loved being a part of it just about every second! Hope you enjoy Armchair BEA this year!

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    1. I'm about 50 percent into The Testing but it really could be considered a spin off of The Hunger Games. Thanks for stopping by!

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  12. Definitely agree about your favorite part of blogging! My book blog isn't my first blog I had--I had a few others that were part of different blogging communities, and I felt I could never break into the group the same way I have with book bloggers(Not to say they weren't friendly--those blogging communities were just really hard & it was easy to get lost in them).

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    1. Thank you for stopping by! As my blog grows, hopefully, I would love to add 1-2 associates reviewers who can write reviews for genre's I don't do.

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  13. I adore too how everyone in the blogging community is respectful to each other. I love the community too.

    Steampunk is a great genre, have you read the Levithan series by Scott Westerfield? Those books are incredible.

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    1. Hiya Rachel! Nice to meet you! No, I haven't read Leviathan yet, but, it's on my monstrous TBR pile!

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  14. I've been to Florida once and I enjoyed it so much! So jealous that you get to enjoy it year round! Great intro!

    Armchair BEA Intros & Classics

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    1. Hi Nikki! Thank you! Florida is okay, but living in the Northeast, we do have a tendency to get some incredibly cold weather on occasion.

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  15. Hello, great intro WRITTEN IN RED is one of my favorite books of 2013 too. :)

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    1. Hi Becky! Nice to meet you! Written in Red was AWESOME and I can't wait for the sequel.

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  16. I agree about the blogging community. It's such an awesome group of people :)

      Mel@thedailyprophecy.

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    1. Hiya Mel! Thanks for stopping by! Let's hope I make another 2 years!

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  17. Great questions and your answers are very informative! I wish I could go to BEA in the future.

    P.S. You're one of my fave blog buds, Shelley! :*

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    1. Hey Braine! I would also love to go to BEA since my parents live upstate. Unfortunately, it's so expensive! Thank you very much for your comment :)

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  18. That's so great that you started from GoodReads and decided to start on your own blog. It's so much more open and free too :P

    ------
    Giselle @ Book Nerd Canada

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    1. Hiya Giselle! It's great that you stopped by! My goal is to eventually be considered an established blog with serious followers :)

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  19. Hi Shelley! *waves* Nice to meet you! The blogging community is great isn't it? I'm about to start The Testing! Really looking forward to it :)

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  20. I like what you said about bloggers being approachable for new bloggers starting out. It can seem like a big world when you're just starting out and be a bit intimidating but it's not like that all! Hope you have a wonderful Armchair BEA.

    Shan @ Curled Up with a Good Book and a Cup of Tea

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  21. Happy early blogoversary! I love stories of people supporting them and encouraging them into blogging. That's so great! I completely agree with you that this community is so supportive of new bloggers. You're so right about that. Everyone I've "met" has been approachable, encouraging, and helpful. Good luck with the rest of Armchair BEA.

    Sandy @ Somewhere Only We Know

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  22. Did you know that we are almost neighbors? I live in Melbourne, just a little ways south!

    Lisa @ Just Another Rabid Reader

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  23. This is my first ABEA and I can already tell I'm going to be getting to know some fantastic people.

    Happy early blogoversary! My one year event is coming up soon :)

    I hope you're having a great ABEA, enjoy the week!

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  24. Hi Shelley!

    I am so glad to participate in ABEA this year. I love finding new book lovers to follow.

    Happy ABEA!

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  25. Hi Shelley. Thanks for commenting on our blog. I enjoyed The Testing too even though it had that Hunger Games feel to it. I'm looking forward to the second book now.
    AH@Badass Book Reviews.

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  26. Hey there :) Sounds like we have similar tastes. I enjoy the same genre as you and I just finished The Testing :)

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  27. Nice to meet you! My intro is at:
    http://bookgoodies.com/all-about-bookgoodies-intro-for-armchairbea/

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