Hello all! If you're here for the first time, it's probably the fault of Armchair BEA and they're ability to smush us all together to party for BEA week.
This is my first year participating in Armchair BEA and originally I wasn't going to go to BEA at all this year. I had other plans but those ended up falling through, I'd already committed to ABEA but what the hell, I'll go to BEA for a day too. See I'm right outside the city so I can just hop a train and mosey my ass on in there. Ticket in hand, of course.
I first went to BEA in 2009 and was so freaking lost I didn't know my ass from my elbow half the time. It took me nearly half the day to figure Javits out (that was went the exhibitors were split over two floors). Last year I was much more organized but just as grabby with books and nearly broke myself carrying my bag. This year I'll be there for just a day again but with a ruck so I have to watch what I grab. I'm going to have issues if I can't put the ruck on my back.
So what's about me all bloglike? I review predominantly YA books of varying genres although I tend to stick more closely to fantasy of some type or horror. I like non-normal elements in my stories. Nice and escapist. But I do enjoy contemporaries. In fact some of my favorite books are contemporaries with nothing fantastical about them (except the writing).
I'm not a trend follower so if you came here hoping that I was on the pulse of all that is YA in the publishing world, you're in the wrong place. I have my hand on the pulse alright; I'm just not reporting on every tidbit all the time. I'm attracted to books that are found a little off the beaten path or don't get all that much publicity although I've been known to wade into the hype every once in a while. I'm just not always pleased with what I step in.
I'd have to say I'm known for my honesty. I don't hold back in my reviews, good or bad. Some people have problems with that. This is my caring face -
I function based on me. I don't promote books I haven't read and can't recommend to others. I don't have authors guest post unless I've already read their work and liked it. I just don't see a point in doing so otherwise. When I gush about something or put in the extra effort to get an author here, I want people to know that THIS is an author whose books you should be reading. That tends to leave me out of a lot of book promotions but I'm okay with that. And I've been okay with that for two and a half years now. I learned very early on that I can't, in good conscience, promote a book I wouldn't recommend someone read. And I've held to that. Plus it's really awkward to go all in to a book promotion and end up not liking the book.
I'm excited for ABEA overall. While I tend to function within my own little bubble, it's nice to get out every once in a while and co-mingle with my fellow bloggers. I look forward to reading everyone's posts, seeing what they're giving away and hopping around some interviews. I'll be at BEA Thursday so I'm hoping to contribute some BEA-ness to the ABEA extravaganza on Twitter. And, of course, I'll be sharing the love when I get back. It's all about the books and I hope that even though some people can't make it at all, they still feel like they're there. Bloggers are good for many things; one of them sharing. They know they're privileged to be going to BEA and they want to extend that as far as possible in any way possible. ABEA helps us do that.
I look forward to making many more blogging buddies and adding a shitload of new blogs to my reader! There's always room for more!
Check out the other ABEAers here!
