Armchair BEA Day 1: Introductions and Library Love

Hello, This is my first year participating in Armchair BEA. Earlier in the year was the first I had heard about BEA and was really excited about the whole thing. I researched and checked into the possibility of going but was unable to swing it this year. I am hoping that I'll be able to make it next year. I didn't find out about Armchair BEA until yesterday when I saw a few of the blogs I follow talking about it, and thought that if I was unable to actually make it to BEA that this still gave me the opportunity to participate in some way. This also gives me the chance to connect with people who share the same interest as me, and I look forward to meeting new people.

How long have you been blogging? Where are you from? How did you get into blogging?

I've been blogging since January 6, 2015. I'm still pretty much a newbie at the whole thing. I'm from Mullens, West Virginia and have lived here since I was 2 years old. I'm originally from Charlotte, North Carolina but my mom wanted to raise me and my sister in her home town. I'm so thankful that I live where I do. I started blogging as a way to talk about the books I read. As much as I love my family, they just don't understand my love for reading and my need to talk about it. No one in my family, except for my sons, will even pick up a book . I'll try to talk to them about what I'm reading or how excited I am for a book to be released and I get blank stares. I've tried since my boys were born to instill them with a love for books. But anyway I started blogging as a way to talk about books and reading with people who really understood it all: the excitement from finding a new book, the smell and feel of the pages between your finger and, the ability to escape and journey to a new world. 

What is your favorite genre and why? 

I actually have a few genres that I  absolutely love: Fantasy, Science Fiction and Dystopian. With Science Fiction and Fantasy there are so many possibilities and the author can dream up just about anything. You can be transported to amazing worlds with amazing creatures, people, and themes. In one fantasy or science fiction novel you could travel to deep space and visit undiscovered galaxies with worlds similar to our own and then in the next one you get to follow the life of a mermaid or a dragon, or make spells and potions. In dystopians you get to experience what life would be like in our world if certain things happened or don't happen and all of them could be real possibilities. 

What is your theme song?

This question is kind of difficult to answer. I guess there are a couple that could be my theme song depending on my mood. 

You remind me of West Virginia by: Wyatt Turner

I'm too Country for that by: Wyatt Turner

Getting the chance to meet Wyatt Turner on May 9, 2015

I think that both of these songs come close to describing me. Aside from my love of all things books, I'm your typical country bumpkin lol.  I'm a product of my raising and life here in southern West Virginia is an experience in itself. From an early age kids are taught how to handle and shoot a gun responsibly, bait their own hooks and clean the fish they catch and grow your own food, you are taught to be respectful to your elders and not back talk, you learn to say ''yes ma'am'' ''no ma'am'' ''yes sir'' ''no sir'' ''thank you'' and ''your welcome'', and you take care of your neighbors and those around you who are less fortunate you are. I live a laid back country kind of life where you just roll with the punches and if life knocks you flat on your rear, you dust yourself off and get right back up taking it all in stride. 

What book are you reading right now?

We are Watching by: M. Stephen Stewart

Henry Malone's childhood was shattered by the unexplained suicide of his father. Now a teenager, his days are spent studying to become a Neural Implant Technician for Planetary Link Corporation, helping them maintain an iron grip over his walled country and every iota of knowledge contained within—but he leads a double life. Henry’s nights are spent helping his mother wage a cyber war against them in her quest to find the truth behind his father’s death. 

He's managed to keep his two lives separate, a delicate balance that's endangered after he repairs the neural implant of a stranger. He finds she’s in possession of illegal memories from the outside world, unauthorized knowledge of his father, and a message: speak to me later and tell no one. Henry has a choice to make—ignore the message and maintain his double-life, or answer and risk everything to uncover secrets Planetary Link would kill to keep buried.

What is the top book in your TBR pile?

The 13th: Destiny Awaits

Kate, the school outcast, has always been able to see ghosts, and she constantly fears that someday, her so-called 'gift' will drive her mad like it did her mother, who has now been confined to a mental asylum. With the ever-present ghosts, her institutionalised mother, the unwanted attention from a bully and everything else going on in a teenage girl’s life, all Kate wants is to graduate quickly and without troubles. But that becomes impossible when Ethan, a gorgeous new transfer student, takes an interest in her, claiming that she is the Soul Reaper, and that he is there to train her. Things get even worse when her nemesis, the school bully Sandra, decides that she wants Ethan for herself. 

The second topic for today is Library Love.

Here's a picture of my local library that I snagged from it's website.

I love my library and the librarians that work there, we are all on a first name basis. Unfortunately my library is really small and what you see in the picture is almost how big it is. They have a small selection of the books that I like to read and I've read almost all the book in that section but my librarian ladies are always good to try and help me find new books whether it be from another library or ordering them on the next book order. My library also offers a website where you can check out ebooks and it has a much larger selection of books in general. 

Here is a picture of my bookshelf at home. 

Check back tomorrow for more ABEA fun! 

ABEA Agenda

ABEA Introduction and Library Love Link Up

Armchair BEA webpage