Armchair BEA Introductions

Hi, I’m Kate.

I am very excited to be participating in Armchair BEA this year!

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

Hi! My name is Kate and I’ve been book blogging for one year this month!  I had a neglected book blog named Ex Libris for about a year before I started this one, but I really didn’t update it very frequently.  When I finally got around to reading The Hunger Games, I discovered a whole world of book bloggers and since I was already an avid reader, I decided to really give book blogging a try.

What are you currently reading, or what is your favorite book you have read so far in 2012?
That’s a tough one.  Aside from the sequels I’ve read and loved this year (Black Heart, City of Lost Souls) I think that a few of my very favorites have been Heft by Liz Moore, Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan and The List by Siobhan Vivian.

Tell us one non-book-related thing that everyone reading your blog may not know about you.
My undergraduate degree is in Music Education.  I was a music teacher for six years and mostly taught in inner city schools.  It was very hard work but also very rewarding. (I work in HR for a NASA contractor, these days.)  Also, I’m old.  I’m 36 and I feel like a senior statesman amongst all of the very young book bloggers, sometimes.  I’d like to think that my age gives me some added perspective when I read. 🙂

What literary location would you most like to visit? Why?
I have always wanted to take a Jane Austen tour of England, which really means I would send most of my time in Bath, but I think it would be wonderful.  I’m a bit of an Anglophile, so I would probably end up in England no matter the author I was “visiting”.

What is your favorite part about the book blogging community? Is there anything that you would like to see change in the coming years?
My favorite -art of book blogging, aside from the reading, has been the friends I have made.  I have found that, for the most part, my fellow bloggers are very generous and willing to help out a newbie.  The author have also been wonderful and I have enjoyed getting to know them.

As far as changes go, I think I would like to see a little more maturity in the community as a whole.  I don’t mean that only older people should blog, but that everyone should act more professionally.  If you are accepting books for review, you have a professional relationship with the publisher.  Even if book blogging is a hobby, I think that it can only benefit the community to remember that this is, in essence, a business transaction.  I have been to two ALA conferences in the past year (ALA Midwinter and TLA) and I was horrified at some of the behavior I witnessed.  Not only was there pushing and shoving, but the poor attitudes and sense of entitlement that I witnessed really made me fear for the book blogging community as a whole.  We are all capable of behaving like professionals and we are all doing this because we love books.  The twitter fights and the ridiculous drama only serve to damage everyone’s relationship with publishers and authors.  To take this back to a more positive place, I also see a lot of generosity and kindness in this community, and I wish that those bloggers got more of the attention because I think that they are in the majority.

That’s it!  Thanks so much for stopping by!  Please leave me a link so I can check out your interview. I am really looking forward to meeting some new bloggers!

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Kate

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29 responses to “Armchair BEA Introductions

  1. I really need to get in gear and read City of Lost Souls. It’s been sitting on my Kindle since the day it came out. I’ve just been so far behind. And you soooo do not look 36. So dont’ feel old. 😀

  2. Hi, Kate! You’re lovely, I wouldn’t think you were 36 at all! I think it’s super cool you were a music teacher. I don’t have a musical bone in my body so I appreciate people who do. 🙂 I’ve heard a quite a bit about bloggers’ behaviors in conferences and it baffles me people would think to act that way. I hope that changes too! I agree with you, there is so much generosity in this community and people are SO supportive!

  3. Hi Kate, you are SO not old. 🙂 I have always thought it would be fun to be a music teacher. Hard, but rewarding.

    Stopping by to say thank you for sharing your love of books with the on-line world. I especially love what you had to say about kindness in your post today. Thank you for being a thoughtful and kind book blogger!!

  4. Hi Kate, what a lovely picture you have there. You remind me of my favorite book character. I have yet to read City of Lost Souls, so far I’ve been waiting for my copy to arrive. You don’t really look old and you’re a music teachers, how cool could that be? I wanna go to England too but I think I love to go to Narnia instead and meet Prince Caspian 😛

    My Introduction post here

    Jay
    We Fancy Books

  5. Girl, you look awesome for 36! I turned 29 in April but I don’t let age stand in my way. I certainly don’t feel 29 and I constantly get carded when/if I order an alcoholic beverage. 🙂

    I have UNSPOKEN via NetGalley and want to read it so bad but I’ve been trying to read books in order by pub date!

    I don’t get involved with the drama in the blogging community. Sure, I read about it but I refuse to let it get under my skin nor do I give anyone any spot light on my blog either.

  6. I also have a music education degree! Although I quickly discovered that teaching wasn’t a good fit for me, so I have the utmost respect for those who were able to stick with it. Also, you are NOT old. You have a couple years on me, but you look amazing! I would never have guessed you were 36.

    Nice to meet you, and thanks for stopping by my Armchair BEA Intro post!

  7. Thanks for stopping by! It’s great to meet so many more bloggers. And I completely agree with you about bloggers needing to act more professionaly, the drama that happens makes me feel like I am back in high school at times.

  8. I love all of your answers. A Jane Austen tour would indeed be a great thing. What you said on professionalism and book blogging is IMO spot on.

    Have a great week.

  9. Hey Kate!

    City of Lost Souls was awesome, and I’ve got Unspoken too, still need to dig more into it 🙂

    How did you go from Music Education to NASA?

    And about changes in the community, I personally believe that if you have a review policy and you ask people to contact you, you shouldn’t ignore them or get all weird when they DO contact you asking for a review. I mean, don’t be like, “here’s my e-mail” and then when someone does e-mail be like, “how did you get this e-mail?” That’s not working in anyone’s favor!

    Anyway my ranting is over 🙂 Hope you have a good day and nice meeting you!

  10. I wish I was going to be BEA…living in London makes it a little impossible. I didn’t realise you were 36…you look incredibly young! Not that 36 is old or anything but you look early 20’s. Hope you have a good time and bring back lots of goodies x

  11. Hello from one senior statesman to another (I’ll be 36 in August). I loved THE LIST too.

    I am also quite over the unprofessional attitude that can be exhibited. I wasn’t even there, but I feel bad that you had that experience at those conferences! These words are being echoed by so many today that I hope things start turning around.

  12. I am hopefully going to be reading City of Lost Souls soon! I love your comments on how the book blogging community could change, and I definitely agree with you. Thanks so much for stopping by my blog

  13. Hi, Kate! I’ll be 36 in September, so I know exactly how you feel when it comes to feeling like the “old head” of the group. Haha! I try not to let it get to me, though.

  14. I started out in Music Ed, but changed to Vocal Performance in my second year. It was wonderful, but it turns out that’s not what I’m going to do with my life. I do love meeting other musicians in the book blogosphere.

  15. I definitely agree about the maturity! I have noticed that some people can be very immature when it comes to some things. Though I also agree with my favorite part about blogging being the friends I’ve made! 🙂 And I hold a very special place for music teachers! I was in choir in high school and my choir teacher made a big impact on my life. 🙂

  16. 36 is completely not old, but I get what you mean. I think it’s fun though when bloggers of all ages can come together on a love of good books!

  17. Hi Kate. Happy blogging anniversary!

    I’d love love love to go on a tour of Jane Austen England. That sounds like an insane amount of fun. My personal favorite of her novels is Persuasion. What’s yours? I know most love P&P the most.

    If you have the time, I’d love to hear from you at my armchair BEA post.

  18. I have the List sitting on my bedside table waiting for me to get to it – i’ve heard such wonderful things, I can’t wait to get to it. And I would LOVE to do a Jane Austen book tour of England! It would be amazing to go through all her novels and her life. As for blogging etiquette – oh dear. I would think it would be common sense to behave well around publishers and at conferences, but…:( I’m going to ALA this month for the first time and am a bit nervous if I see that.

    Happy Armchair BEA! We’ve been blogging buddies for awhile, but nice to “meet” you 🙂

  19. Nice to meet someone closer to my age. 😉 I’m 32 and I sometimes feel out of place and then I remember that I read a lot of YA books, so I still kinda fit in, kinda. LOL

    Your blog is lovely and I am a new follower.

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