ARMCHAIR BEA 2014 WRAP UP...

CAUTION: THERE IS A STROBE EFFECT GIF IN THE BODY OF THIS BLOG POST

So... what did I think of the ARMCHAIR BEA 2014 experience? 

I did find a few interesting blogs to follow and I did get a few new followers myself, and some new tweet peeps, but for all the work the extra blog posts were, I am asking myself, "Was it worth it?"

Probably not.

I did have my confusion about Twitter parties re-confirmed.

I won a prize the second day...

but all the good prizes on the list were gone the first day. 

LAME

Then there was the "PERSONALITY LEAKAGE" incident...

Um...

I got some bloggerly advice on my Day Four Expanding Your Blogging Horizons post. Apparently we are all supposed to be like sheep...

and follow a strict narrow "theme" if we want to have a successful blog. Apparently my "theme" of books and libraries isn't narrow enough and my "personality leakage" is detrimental to my blog's presentability.

Funny how some of those comments came from bloggers also posting about the need for DIVERSITY in literature. 

"PERSONALITY LEAKAGE"

Why should blogs be similar? BORING.

In my opinion, your blog should reflect your personality and your personal views.

 Isn't that why we blog?

So my blog is never going to look like this...

Or this...

This...

And definitely NOT this...

I will just have to embrace my leakage...

I could have been reading.

ARMCHAIR BEA Day FiVe: LAST DAY POST ~ Personal Choice...

Well, my PERSONAL CHOICE POST will be a RANT in honor of SKULLBLOGGERY!!

Although I did find and add the blogs of a few new friendly bloggers through this ARMCHAIR BEA experience, I was a little shocked at the amount of passive agressive, holier-than-thou, bloggers who passed through my comment sections. In reality some weren't really all that passive about it either, " Your blog looks horrible, if you want to see what a beautiful blog looks like come and view mine."

What? I had to delete over ten blog post comments similar to this.

Then there was the "theme lady", if I wanted my blog to be successful like hers, I needed a "theme"... um, I thought books and libraries was my theme. Hello, La La in the LiBrArY, does that ring a bell? And the helpful blogger who said I needed to narrow my focus, movie reviews weren't necessary. I have never reviewed a movie on this blog ever.

Next is my, and my fellow SKULLBLOGGER Brittersweet's, favorite...

... my blog suffers from "personality leakage"...

OH NO!!!! IS THERE A WEB MD PAGE FOR THAT????

I also shouldn't post LINKS, or use my signature varied LETTERS in my post titles.

~It is too CoNfUsiNg~

And what was up with all the non book bloggers voicing their negative opinions on our BOOK blogs???

This was Armchair BOOK Expo America.

What is SKULLBLOGGERY?

It is me and Brittersweet from PLEASE FEED the BOOKWORM supporting each other through dealing with sometimes rude and arrogant bloggers and authors, and trying to figure out how things "work" in the BLOGOSPHERE.

ARMCHAIR BEA Day FiVe: MG Musings...

My two favorite MIDDLE GRADE BoOks so far this year.

I received SCHOOL of CHARM as an ARC from FIRST READS and although I rated and reviewed it straight away on GOODREADS, I should have been more expedient in doing a full review on my MG side blog MOM in the MIDDLE.      

Here is my Goodreads mini-review...

A delightful, delicious, charming, heart-warming Middle Grade book with a message. It was like Steel Magnolias meets Diary of a Wimpy Kid wrapped up in Cinderella. This sounds so cliche, but I literally could not put it down, and I pulled one of my rare all nighters. The age range on this book is grades 3-7, but I feel it would be enjoyed by the YA crowd, as well. Also, if you think the readng level might be a little too much for your 3rd and 4th graders, it would make a fantastic "chapter a night" story. One that will definitely spark parent/child conversations about family, sorrow, belonging, and self-esteem. This book was a joy to read. I had a problem with the choice of two descriptive words (and am hoping because it was an ARC someone saw fit to change them), but this was such a minor foible I still felt great about giving it FIVE STARS!

THE HUNDRED: Fall of the Wents

ARMCHAIR BEA DAY 4 ~ DiVeRsiTy...

BEYOND the BORDERS

While my son was in school I read everything he brought home, so I could discuss it with him, in fact, I continue to read some of his assigned books now that he is in college, for the same reason.  HOMELESS BIRD was a story he read in middle school.

Homeless Bird by GLORIA WHELAN takes place in India in modern times, and gives us a look into cultural norms there, such as arranged marriages for the extremely young, and how that culture views women's roles. The story also makes us aware that many things we consider necessities in our Western World, like electricity, phones and computers in schools, are considered luxuries. The story centers around Koly, who is 13 at the beginning of the novel, and is being given in marriage to lighten the financial burden on their family. This book also shows us what can be accomplished when women bond together.

Although this story is aimed at the Middle Grade group it would be thoughly enjoyed by most YA and Adult readers.

ARMCHAIR BEA Day Three ~ Expanding Your BLoGgiNg Horizons...

This will be short and sweet.

I need more followers. I know that comes with time, but there is a huge disparity between my page "hits" and my followers. I would love to be able to have active discussions on my blog. I will appreciate any and all suggestions from my fellow bloggers.

DAY 2 ARMCHAIR BEA: AUTHOR INTERACTIONS...

There are many levels of AUTHOR INTERACTION across the social media. I am going to start shallow and go deep.

My first casual AUTHOR INTERACTIONS (other than real life friends) began on Goodreads. I only joined a little over a year ago, and consider all of the author interactions it has sparked ridiculously amazing in that short of a time space. Being able to become Goodreads "friends" with your favorite authors is a stepping stone. I remember feeling giddy the first time one of them commented on a book recomendation I had given. This is also where I first started interacting with the sweetheart of all authors, A.G. Howard, but she is a bird of a different feather and I will be talking about her later on. I did, however, meet her on the Splintered books fanclub boards, which we have nicknamed the Splintered Clubhouse because A.G. actually comes there and hangs out with us. I belong to more than one Goodreads fan group and even with coaxing, via email and Facebook, we haven't been able to get the associated authors to drop by even once.

.

Next up on my stalker AUTHOR INTERACTION list is Facebook. I was already on Facebook, so once I became comfortable interacting with A.G. Howard on Goodreads, I checked out her author page, and a few others. The setting is a little more intimate, and many authors who don't interact much on Goodreads are pretty chatty here. A few authors even sent me friend requests from their personal accounts after I commented regularly on their author/book pages. The author I have found most chatty on Facebook is Lauren DeStefano. These Facebook pages are where I found out how wildly popular Twitter is with authors and those who obsess about love them.

So... in my opinion, Twitter is the best place for AUTHOR INTERACTION.

Okay.

As I explained in my introduction post I am one of the older bloggers, so I resisted Twitterdom for quite awhile, but all of of my fave and fab authors (and fellow bloggers) were on there, so I caved. I wish I hadn't waited so long because I would have found out about BEA in time enough to save money to go. 

There are many layers to AUTHOR INTERACTION on Twitter. 

I get to chat with authors whom I know about through other bloggers, but haven't read their books. Bookish conversations with authors in general are a lot of fun. Then there are the authors whom you follow, but don't follow you. Usually once you have been involved in enough conversations with an author you will get a follow back, but then there are the exceptions. Some authors only follow @$s k!$s€®s, which I am not, so I never get those follows. Infact, one author will barely even acknowledge your presence, even if you are the only person on and commenting on their post, unless you are one of her minions. Being able to DM (direct message) an author after they follow back is great if you have a weird question to ask them after reading an interview, or if you feel comfortable enough to ask their advice on interacting with other authors.

Around 12 authors follow me, well, authors you might know of that is. And I calculate there are about seven I interact with who know me by name, but do not follow, and about ten random authors I regularly comment with through other bloggers.

A regular bookish day on Twitter looks like this...

But when Bethany Crandall, author of Summer on the Short Bus, and A.G. Howard writer of the Splintered trilogy arrive...

...it turns into this...

Yes, they do talk about their books, but other things as well, and sometimes it gets a little crazy!! 

Now for some reflection...

A.G. Howard was my first non real life connection to an author. She is the reason I am an accidental blogger, she is the reason I started my Twitter account, she was the second person to follow that new account. I have asked her countless questions about my blog (we both are on Blogspot.com), and I have asked her a gazillion questions about interacting with other authors. She even helped me decide on questions for my blog's first author interview.

Bloggers have seen me post this over and over; she talks to us, not at us, and talks about things other than her books. She never makes us feel dumb, awkward, annoying, or silly. We truly do love her. There was an interview posted a couple of days ago that I really felt captured her as a person. You can read it HERE.

Oh, and this is Tumblr...

HELLO ARMCHAIR BEA!!!!

I am a 57 year old reader of books that are mostly YA. I am retired from the music business and now work part-time doing freelance PR work, but most of my work is for one company; l guess I am freelance but not free-range! I live in Binghamton, N.Y., where Rod Serling of The Twilight Zone fame grew up. My son graduated from the Rod Serling School of Fine Arts, in high school. Sebastian is 22 years old, and is currently at university with a major in Biochemistry and a minor in Asian Studies. 

I started my blog less than a year ago. I call myself the "accidental blogger" because I accidentally started the blog while trying to enter a Rafflecopter giveaway on author A.G. Howard's blog. I still don't know how it happened, but I thought as long as I had it, I would use it, and book blogging has been great fun!!

This is where I would love to read...

With this person sitting next to me...

I can describe my blog in ONE WoRd... SERENDIPITOUS; I don't blog every day, I don't do weekly features, I blog when I have a review, or I have come across interesting bookish ThiNgs. Ha!! That was one sentence...I did well!! My Twitter is @LaLaT0adst0ne/La La Cannifshewants2. My blog Facebook page is HERE.

My FaVoRiTe BoOk last year was ORLEANS by Sherri L. Smith. It was one of my rare FIVE STAR ratings!

If you want DiVeRsiTy this book has it!! This was my Goodreads mini-review...

Refreshingly real and gritty!! No kissy facing or love triangles, just in your face life in a dystopian world. Fen is a strong and courageous heroine, who tugs at your heart and amazes you with her facility to be both warrior and gentle caregiver. I loved this book from beginning to end. There wasn't one page of boring filler fluff in it. Now for some SKULLBLOGGERY... Brittersweet at PLEASE FEED the BOOKWORM is my partner-in-crime & fellow Skullblogger. We met on Goodreads in the Splintered "clubhouse" (one more thing I have to thank A.G. Howard for). We are both mothers of BoYs and love the same kinds of books. We found we were both newbie bloggers trying to learn the ropes and survive some of the rude bloggers and authors (thank goodness there are more friendly ones), so we became fast friends. We help each other try to figure out things like, why the font in this last paragraph is so small, lol, and give each other pep talks when someone has been rude, snobby, or mean in the blogosphere. SKULLBLOGGERY!! Right now we are planning our FOR REAL trip to BEA next year.