Armchair BEA Day 1: Introductions First

Welcome to the first post in a series for Armchair BEA! If you're not sure what it's all about be sure to visit the Armchair BEA headquarters. They sum up the event with:

So, what exactly does being a[n Armchair BEA] participant entail? First and foremost, you'll be able to celebrate and participate in an event that happens each year in New York City, Book Expo America, from the comfort of your very own home, hopefully a snugly armchair! Secondly, and we hope equally as important, you'll be able to meet new book bloggers and join together in a celebration of the wonderful community that comes out of book blogging. Last year we had over 600 participants, so you're bound to meet some new great bookish friends! Lastly, it means participating, however you're able to. This can be by posting, tweeting, discussing, or even by simply reading and commenting on participating blogs. Your level of participation is entirely up to you, but we hope you'll find something to get you involved in this fabulous event! 

Each of us has an entirely valid reason for not being able to make to BEA in NYC, including many of the organizers. Because of that the organizers and publicity team are working hard behind the scenes to give you an event that you won't soon forget!

-Posted from 2012 Participant Registration Now Open

Needless to say, for another year I am unable to attend BEA. Having recently moved 800 miles from my home state of North Carolina to the corn-filled fields of Illinois, it just wasn't in the budgetary plan to spend a long weekend in a very expensive city. One of these days I will make it. In the meantime I am perfectly content to sit at home in my green, oversize, covered-in-cat-hair armchair with my tea & computer to participate in Armchair BEA.

Now down to business for the day! It's introductions day so here are my five self-interview questions.

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

So there is a little bit of confusion surrounding who I actually am. My handle usually says loreleimarsh & my blog URL is lisettebes. In reality these are both variations on my real name. My name is Laura. I'm a 25 year old, cataloging assistant at a private college in the Midwest. I started Tattooed Books in the summer of 2009 as a way to get my opinion about books out into the world. At the time I was a YA program specialist in my local public library. Teens found it easy to relate to me & often asked my opinion about books. As I have been writing personal book reviews since elementary school, it was only natural for me to transfer my thoughts into a digital format. I will admit though that it took the convincing of the lovely Terra Elan McVoy for me to finally take the leap & commit to blogging.

Tell us one non-book-related thing that everyone reading your blog may not know about you.

I have been with my husband for 12 years as of this fall. That's right, do the math. Accounting for the fact that my birthday is before our anniversary, I was 14 when we started dating. He was 17. We are that sickening couple that despite all our time together still act as though we're newly dating. It helps that we are both the children of older parents, so many of our values & ideals are a little old fashioned for our contemporaries & we just seem to get each other. I truly hope our future children can find that same kind of happiness & support.

Which is your favorite post that you have written that you want everyone to read?

It's hard to believe that I wrote it over 2 years ago, but my post on Age Appropriateness & Content is my favorite. After working in libraries for several years, you expect all sorts of issues, but working with young adult/teen readers lends itself to a special set of rules or rather guidelines. There are no hard & fast rules for what books are appropriate for specific age groups at any particular time. There are a number of factors to be included in the decision making process & this post highlights that issue as seen from a public library worker's standpoint.

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

It took me FOREVER to decide on this one. Obvious answers would be Shakespeare, Harry Potter, or Scout (from To Kill a Mockingbird), but I decided to go with the author Jennifer Echols. While I have met some incredible authors and there are so many more I would like to meet (Ellen Hopkins, Rachel Vincent, Patricia Briggs to name just a few) I can't shake the desperate wish that I could meet Jennifer Echols. I have reviewed several of her books & I can't imagine a better lunch/dinner discussion partner. She creates such strong, independent characters, even if they don't start out that way. I really would have given almost anything to have some of those kinds of characters in my books at a younger age. Seriously, realistic fiction for teens doesn't get more powerful than her writing.

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

When I first started this blog I was reading YA almost exclusively. I just didn't like "adult" books because the ones I had been exposed to were murder mysteries, psychotic thrillers & hum-drum "woe is me" fiction. As I spent more time exploring my options I found several adult authors who carried on the themes & character-driven books that I found myself drawn to in the YA genre. I've even read somethings outside of my comfort zone & preferred reading niches just so I can say that I've tried them. Some I've liked & some I haven't. While my reading tastes are ever-evolving, I try to review books that are still mainly geared toward teens & young adults looking for books to help bridge the gap between children's books & adult books.

There you have it folks! Please feel free to ask me any questions you like & I'll be sure to give you the best answer I can. You can find me on Twitter & Goodreads as well. Let the Armchair BEA fun begin!