Armchair BEA - Introductions (and Being Late to the Game)

 

Whew!  What a whirlwind weekend...three day weekends are NEVER long enough!  I totally took an impromptu blogging break.  Time just seems to keep on getting away from me.  I'm horrified to tell you that I completely forgot to take pictures (ugh) but we had a wonderful time on the houseboat.  Even when it rained almost the entire time.  It just makes you get creative on ways to keep your three littles entertained.  LOL!  I peeked in my reader last night, realized it was Armchair BEA week, and then kicked myself for putting off signing up until now.  I am the queen of procrastination!  I'm not sure how much blogging I will get accomplished this week but I'm using this as a good excuse to get to know a few new bloggers (and maybe take a week long break from reviews. Ha ha!)    

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

• My name's Samantha but I always go by Sam.  I've been blogging now for entirely too long (I'm thinking that I'm on 5 years or something like that.  I got into book blogging thanks to Yahoo book groups and reading challenges which I used to be completely addicted to.  Funny thing is that I'm still a member of some of those groups even though I couldn't tell you the last time that I checked up on them :)  

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

•  I'm currently reading two books:  The Truth of All Things by Kiernan Shields which is a historical mystery and pretty good so far.  On my reader I'm reading There Was An Old Woman by Hallie Ephron.  This one is also pretty good so I'm having a hard time choosing which one to focus on.  I hate when that happens!  

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

•  I think that by now you probably all know that I'm a mom, avid reader, and library goer.  You may not know that I'm also an awful cook, a planner of all the projects that I'm going to accomplish (and usually never do), and book hoarder extraordinaire.  Hahaha!  That doesn't make me sound so good :)  You may also not know that I love to watch Swamp People, have an addiction to avocados, and am a runner that doesn't run.  What is a runner that doesn't run?  It's that one person who considers themself a runner but doesn't ever find the time to actually run.  I should probably work on that!  Anything else you want to know, just ask!

What is your favorite part about the book blogging community? 

• This is the easiest question for me!  The community!  I love all of the friends that I have made through book blogging.  I love how all of you lovely readers understand my reading addiction and even encourage it :)  I can always count on my bloggy friends to listen to me rave or moan about a book....especially when said moaning is because I'm impatiently waiting for the book to release.  Mira Grant's Parasite I'm looking at you!!!  But my favorite part is all of you readers who have become my friends.  Thank you!  I love getting to know each and everyone of you.

Enough out of me for one day!  I'm not sure how much more rambly I could get on this blog lately :)

The Uninvited Guests by Sadie Jones Giveaway!

Day 2 of Armchair BEA is here and instead of participating in the discussion posts I thought I would do something a little different around here. I can't remember the last time that I hosted a giveaway on my blog (I'm WAY WAY overdue) so I thought that it would be fun to give a book away with Participant Giveaway Day. Somehow or another thanks to the publisher I ended up with two advanced reader editions of this book. I've been meaning to give my 2nd copy away but never got around to it. Until now of course :) I haven't even read my copy yet but the book sounds excellent. Here is a summary taken from Goodreads (Although I like to know less rather than more before going into a book so I cut the summary short. Way short!):

"The Uninvited Guests is the bewitching new novel from the critically acclaimed Sadie Jones. The prizewinning author triumphs in this frightening yet delicious drama of dark surprises—where social codes are uprooted and desire daringly trumps propriety—and all is alight with Edwardian wit and opulence."

Sounds good, doesn't it?? I sure think so! To win a copy of this book you don't have to do anything besides comment with your email addy. That's it! I don't even really care if you're participating in Armchair BEA or not. Today I just want to say thank you to all of the wonderful bloggers out there no matter what kind of blog you have. And share a good book of course :) So comment away!

Disclosure: Contest ends on Friday. Or maybe Saturday. Or honestly whenever I remember to pick a winner. This copy is an advanced reader edition sent by the publisher. It is unread. That is all :)

Armchair Bea Day 1 (I'm Late As Always)

Whoops! I'm so behind lately that I didn't even realize that this week was Armchair BEA week. I participated (kinda/sorta/maybe not so much) last year and decided that I HAD to participate again this year. I love community stuff like this so really how could I resist??? I couldn't! Day 1 is introductions day and even though today is basically over I'm going to go ahead and post my answers. I'm cutting the questions down a little bit since it's so late. Without further ado...

1. Please tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? How long have you been blogging? Why did you get into blogging? My name is Samantha, aka Sam, which is what just about everyone calls me. Except my kids who of course call me Mom or other variations of it :) I am a mother of 3 little ones ages ranging from 9 years old to two. I also have an amazing stepdaughter that lives in Ohio and is 16. Yep, she is driving....crazy! In between all of the craziness I find the time to read and blog. I've been blogging for 4 years now which is just crazy when I think about it. And I got into book blogging after joining a bunch of Yahoo reading groups years ago. In fact, I believe A Novel Challenge is the name of the group that really made me want to try blogging.

2. What are you currently reading, or what is your favorite book you have read so far in 2012? I'm currently reading 3 books (which NEVER happens) and they are all completely different from each other. Here is what I'm reading:



All good and all completely different from one another.

3. Tell us one non-book-related thing that everyone reading your blog may not know about you. One non-book-related thing?? Umm..that I'm a horrible cook. Seriously, this is something that I'm trying to work on/experiment with but I'm not very good at it. Or patient with it. But I try so I guess that is a start. And if you have easy recipes that are kid-friendly feel free to send them my way :)

4. Where do you see your blog in five years? I'm not sure yet. I'd like to say that I'm still around and talking books but I also hope that my blog has evolved into something more personal. I will always enjoy talking books with others but I'm hoping to infuse a little more of my life into the blog. Changes. They are coming!

5. What is your favorite part about the book blogging community? Is there anything that you would like to see change in the coming years? The friends that I have found through blogging. Hands down that is my favorite thing about the book blogging community! I love finding reviews of books that I've already read and talking about them with others. Twitter convos about books are the best! I have met some of the nicest readers EVER through book blogging! I really love the community aspect that comes with book blogging. I feel that it is important that we nurture this feeling with events like these!