Tuesday, May 28, 2013

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!

28 comments:

  1. I love Kimba's blog too and The Sunday Post meme is awesome. I want to visit Alabama some time. Never been down there before. I love the accents down there. Maybe we'll meet at BEA next year. I really hope I can go!

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  2. Haha...sure! I have no problem with that! Thanks for stopping by!

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  3. Yes, I love The Sunday Post. You should definitely visit Alabama some time. We can't help but speak "country" down here. :) We'll have to keep up on the plans for BEA next year! Thanks for stopping by!

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  4. I love coming across new tips and tricks through the blogging community too. There's so much out there that it can be overwhelming at times.

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  5. I love what you said about not having encountered anyone in the community that you wish you hadn't. I think even if we like different genres or had totally different feelings about a book, we're all still very encouraging and nice toward each other.

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  6. Yay another southern blogger! I've only found 2 others in GA, but Alabama seems to have plenty! I love Kimba's blog and she's such a great person too. The book blogging community is really unique and I definitely haven't really found anything else like it.

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  7. Thanks for stopping by and saying hi! The community is wonderful and so diverse. I love it!

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  8. Hi Sandy! Thanks for stopping by my intro post yesterday. :) So happy you follow The Broke and the Bookish, and enjoy our blog! And I supposed it's rather sweet that your husband catches and releases spiders, but I'd probably die waiting for him to do it! Haha.

    - Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl

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  9. Nice post! I do hope you'll get to go to BEA some day. Wonderful that you have a world-famous movie-acting husband! :-)


    Happy ArmchairBEA.

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  10. Hi Sandy! I majored in computer science in college and really enjoyed programming. I don't do too much of it now, just what I need for blog-related stuff, though since I'm pretty sure we'll be moving to WordPress eventually, I've been looking into learning some PHP. Great to meet you, and thanks for stopping by!

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  11. The book blogging community is fantastic isn't it? It's a wonderful thing to be a part of :) Yay for us!


    I hope you're enjoying the ABEA. This is my first time participating and it's been great meeting new people.


    Happy reading!

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  12. It definitely is a great community. I'm enjoying my 2nd Armchair BEA experience, but I'm also a bit overwhelmed with all I'm trying to do and keep up my normal schedule. I should have taken this week off work. :) HA! Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

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  13. Good to know that WordPress is PHP based. I don't forsee moving my blog to WordPress right now, but you never know what the future holds. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

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  14. Thanks Judith! Hopefully one day I'll make it! I don't know about world-famous but that's okay. Thanks for stopping by!

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  15. Haha...yeah, he can't stand the thought of killing anything--even a spider. I've definitely had a panic attack or two waiting on him to scoop one up, but I've realized that the more panicked I become to more laid back he is. It's really quite odd. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.

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  16. Hmm...seems like there are a couple of GA bloggers I've come across, but I can't think of them off the top of my head. Yep, Kimba's awesome and so is our community. Love it! Thanks so much for stopping by!

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  17. I agree. Typically we're very nice to each other despite our differences in opinion. Thanks for stopping by!

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  18. Yes, our community is so good about spreading the "how-tos" around. It's great, but it can definitely be overwhelming. Thanks for stopping by!

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  19. You live in Wetumpka?! I'm going to school at Auburn right now! I've been following you quietly for quite some time and had no idea. How cool! My friends are the same way. Sometimes we read the same type of books but I'll finish way before them and by the time they finish, months later...if they even finish, I've already moved on to the next thing. I'm like you, I haven't met a book blogger that I haven't liked. Even if we read different genres we still share the same love for books. And as you said, it's nice to be exposed to books that you normally wouldn't read.

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  20. YES! Oh wow! You are so close! Definitely cool!! Have you read any Abbi Glines or Colleen Hoover? They're both going to be at an indie bookstore in Fairhope on July 20th--I won't be able to make it because I'm hosting a bridal shower for a friend that day! Total bummer! But I've been there to see Richelle Mead. It wasn't hard to get there at all!

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  21. I haven't, but I've been dying to read THE VINCENT BOYS and HOPELESS. Thank you for telling me about this! I'll have to check my calendar and see if I can go! Do you know if we have to register ahead of time? If I can go, I can get some things signed for you, if you want :)

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  22. :) You'll have to let me know if you ever use the "I know one of the "actors" from Big Fish card.

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  23. LOL definitely. I suppose, it might help if I actually you know, see the film first and all... Let me work on that.

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  24. Yeah...that could be embarrassing...especially if you don't know anything about the movie.

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  25. Yes. This is a problem that must be rectified.. Off to hunt the interwebs for where to acquire a copy.

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  26. Great post. I think that is really cool that you can say that your husband was an extra in a movie like that. It is definitely a conversation starter. If he ever decides to take up acting and makes it big, can I say "hey, I knew them when!"?

    Lisa @ Just Another Rabid Reader

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  27. Hehe! Awesome! I shall file this away in my memory vault for now.

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