ABEA Introductions

My "armchair" is actually a sofa. I need lots of space for all
those adult and kid books. :) #ArmchairBEA #myarmchair
@armchairbea #bookstagram #instareads

It's that time of year again when the BookExpo America event is going on (in Chicago this year). But for many of us book lovers and book bloggers, we can't make the trip. And so we're grateful for the committee who organizes ABEA -- "Armchair BEA" -- so we can participate from home!

Day One is all about introducing ourselves. So... read on for a little about me.

What is the name you prefer to use?
Around home I often go by "mom". ;-)  My friends call me Carrie, my kids' friends call me Miss Carrie (which is also the name I used when I was a youth librarian).  The name of my blog comes from my last name, which is pronounced like what a lion says.


How long have you been a book blogger?
I've blogged off and on since 2007, but this particular blog has been in action since I started working at a library in 2013. For two years I wrote up storytime plans and some picture book reviews, and since I chose to leave the library to stay home with my kids in 2015 I've focused more on just writing about books and my book-loving children.


Have you participated in ABEA before?

I participated a bit last year for the first time. 

What is your favorite genre and why?

I enjoy YA. Some adult fiction is too dark, too explicit, too much language for me. But YA is tamer, with many of the same topics as other fiction. Within YA I do like fantasy and dystopian/post-apocalyptic stories. 

If you could recommend one other book blogger, who would it be and why?

Anne Bogel of course. :) But since she is already well known by most book-blog-lovers, I'll mention a lesser-known one too: Jessica of Quirky Bookworm. Our kids are roughly the same age and we tend to like a lot of the same books. I'm inspired by how much reading she accomplishes each year, and it's fun following her life in Arizona (I live in Michigan)! 

How do you arrange your bookshelves? Is there a rhyme or reason? Or not at all? (#ABEAShelfie)

Honestly I don't keep many adult books on hand. I have one shelf in the basement with reference books and one shelf in the living room of parenting/marriage books and a few fiction titles I've picked up at yard sales. But I'm one to utilize my Kindle and the library for the majority of my reading. 

My kids' books on the other hand? There is definitely rhyme and reason. And I have to fix it all the time. :) 

I'm a consultant with Usborne Books & More, and I always try to make
sure the Usborne books are shelved together. :) I like to keep Dr. Seuss,
Fancy Nancy, and Laura Numeroff together too, and then the bottom
of the shelves are all board books! Everything else is a mish mash.

What book are you most excited for on your TBR? What are you most intimidated by?

I'm most excited to read Roots and Sky: A Journey Home in Four Seasons by Christie Purifoy. I'm on a kick of learning to enjoy the home I'm in, because while I want to move, deep down I know I need to be content where I am right now. 

I'm most intimidated by The Nightingale and All the Light We Cannot See. I typically shy away from books set during war, especially WWII. It's not that I'm highly sensitive or anything, it's just a time period that hasn't interested me (I enjoy the more distant past or far future). But after reading a YA book set in Korea during WWII for a family book club, I was inspired to look into other WWII books. 

Thanks for stopping by!
Do you sort your shelves?
Do you enjoy WWII books?