Armchair BEA 2013 - Day 1 Part 1 - Introductions

Day 1 of Armchair BEA is introductions and a genre discussion of the classics. I'll be posting my part about the classics next. For more information on Armchair BEA, please click the link above.

Introduction to Me

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

I answered this question in my post for last year's introduction, but instead of directing everyone back to that post I'll answer it again.

My name is Sandy. I'm a Christ-follower. I'm 26 years old. I married my best-friend 4 years ago. I hope to be a mother in the next year or so. And I'm a computer programmer for an insurance company.

I started blogging in March 2011, so I've been blogging just over 2 years. I started blogging because I love reading. I have several friends who read as well, but we don't all read at the same pace even though we usually read similar books and genres. Blogging became a way for me to get my thoughts about a book into a more permanent form and a way for me to keep up with everything I'm reading. It was also my way of letting my friends who read know what I've read, what I thought about it, and what I would recommend them to read. But over time blogging has become so much more to me, and I've loved every minute of it.

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.

I live in central Alabama about 25 minutes (we measure distance by time here in the South) away from Montgomery--the capital of Alabama--in a city called Wetumpka. There's a good bit of history surrounding Montgomery--most of it involving the Civil Rights Movement. Rosa Parks & Martin Luther King Jr. type of stuff. But a fun fact about Wetumpka is that the movie Big Fish was actually filmed here. And another interesting tidbit is that my husband was an extra in the movie.

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?

I did participate in Armchair BEA last year. I still plan to try to make it to New York to BEA one year, but that just wasn't in the cards for this year. And Armchair BEA is a great way to participate from afar. It's a great networking opportunity, and not only did I have a lot of fun participating last year, but I also learned a lot as well.

4) Name your favorite blog(s) and explain why they are your favorite(s).

I follow MANY blogs. And it's hard to keep up with all of them sometimes, but I find that it's helped me as a blogger. Not only do I follow tons of book blogs, but I also follow other types of blogs. I'll start with those first.

Cleaning/Organization blogs (these help me to stay inspired for cleaning and organizing my house which is one of my goals for 2013): Clean Mama, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Organization Made Fun, and FLYLady

Hair & Beauty/Fashion blog (while I have yet to perfect ANY of these hair tutorials, I love the ideas that I get to try something new with my hair): The Small Things Blog

Christian blogs (these help me keep my focus where it needs to be): Brightly Salted (my husband's blog/website), Chasing A Lion (my brother's website/blog), A Wordy Woman, Word Points (Diligently Seeking God, Reaching Forward, and Enthusiastic Ideas)

Book blogs: Words Fueled by Love (my SNL's blog), The Caffeinated Reviewer (love her originality), A Librarian's Library (fellow Alabamian and we typically like the same stuff), The Aussie Zombie (she has different preferences than I do, but I like being exposed to the different books she reads), Anna Reads (the first book blog I ever stumbled upon)...I could keep going.

5) What is your favorite part of the blogging community?

I love how open this community is. There is room for all different kinds of opinions on books. There is room for love for all different kinds of genres. I just love it.

I recently tried to participate in a meme that wasn't based in the book blogging community, and while the bloggers were all about linking up to the host site, they just didn't appear to visit the other pages linking up, and they definitely didn't comment on each other's posts. I found that kind of sad. The book blogging community is so good about encouraging you to visit many sites and comment on many posts. And while sometimes I get overwhelmed with all of that because I'd rather be reading, it's a great way to really engage in the community.

Also, this community is really great about spreading tips and tricks around. There are several bloggers that I know that do regular posts on tips on blogging in general, on coding, on all different kinds of stuff. It's a community of people who want to grow and who want to share what they've learned.

I said this last year, and I still feel the same way, I've never encountered someone in this community that I really just wish I hadn't.

So, now it's your turn to tell me about you! Answer these questions (if applicable) in the comments below, or link me to your introduction post!