Wahoo! Wednesday - combined with the Armchair BEA post of the day

For anyone new to my blog, Wahoo! Wednesday is just a day to count my blessings and talk about things that make me happy or good things that are happening in my life. It's a feature I came up with years ago, dropped for a while and have recently revived.

Let's start with the A-BEA business, though.

Today, we're supposed to talk about networking. When I read that, I went totally blank. And, then I read Alyce's post and realized I have, in fact, done some networking in a matter of speaking. Let's start with my interview of Simon Van Booy. I was writing for Estella's Revenge ezine when I read the Turtle Point Press version of Simon's wonderful book of short stories, The Secret Lives of People in Love. I was so blown away that I asked to interview him. And, then one thing led to another and I ended up meeting up with Simon in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Here's a reprint of my interview of Simon Van Booy in 2007.

While I was in town, I also met up with the fabulous Colleen Gleason, the author of a number of romance series books. At the time, I was really into her Victoria Gardella Vampire series. I can't seem to find my interview post, but here's a link to the photos I took of Colleen and Simon.

I don't do many interviews because I don't consider myself all that hot at coming up with insightful questions, but I've also chatted with and interviewed Patricia Wood, the author of the fabulous, Orange short-listed Lottery. I could have met up with Pat when I was in Hawaii but I neglected to tell her I was coming. Darn.

Last year, I finally met up with my first blogging buddy, the very awesome and totally perky Carrie of Care's Online Book Club. That's Carrie in Charleston, South Carolina, at right. She and a writer friend from my online writing group years stayed at a Bed & Breakfast and spent our days touring the town, riding boats, eating good food and chat-chat-chatting. It was absolutely wonderful -- actually, my first buddy trip, apart from writers' conferences.

In the fall, Carrie mentioned that Simon Van Booy was going to be speaking at the Boston Public Library and that led to another trip to hang out with Carrie, this time in Massachusetts. We drove in to Boston on a rainy day, had coffee with Simon and then attended his reading. That's Simon with Carrie, at left.

More recently, I managed to meet Alex George, author of A Good American. I already linked to my photo of the delightful Alex George at Lemuria Books, but here 'tis, in case you missed it.

Whew! Much more hanging out with bloggers and authors than I realized. I need to do more of that, definitely. Maybe a book festival in the future?

In other wahoo news:

We have placed an offer on a house! I am terrified but excited that we finally found something we're interested in. We won't hear back from the seller till tonight.

Book wahoos!

I'm reading slowly because we've been back and forth a lot (the house we're interested in is 30 miles away from our current home) but enjoying my reading. Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada is an amazing WWII novel. Hans Fallada is the pen name of a German who died in 1947 and the story is about the resistance in Germany. It's going to take me quite a while to finish it, since I'm not finding much reading time and it's over 600 pages long but it's definitely a fantastic read, which is a huge wahoo! I've had trouble finding books that really grab me, lately.

Wahooey read #2 just arrived in the mail: Forbidden by Syrie James & Ryan M. James. It's a nice, light paranormal YA that I won from Alyce. Loving it, so far!

The other books in my sidebar are languishing but they're both excellent and I hope to get back to them soon. I need more hours in my day!

Crazy cat wahoos:

When I saw Isabel squeezing herself under the dresser, I grabbed my camera. I had no idea what drew her there, but I always try to capture the cat antics. So, I got a shot of her working her way into this 3" high opening. She has feather bones and is quite thin. There's no way Fiona could possibly do this.

It turned out Isabel had located a jingle ball. She batted it around beneath the dresser for a time and then grabbed it in her teeth and brought it out to play with. So cute!!

What wahooey things are happening in your world?

©2012 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Emailbookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Armchair BEA, post #2 - Besties

Today's Armchair BEA assignment is to write about some favorite books we've read this year and books being promoted at BEA that we're excited about. I did mention some of my favorites in yesterday's post, but I've read so many terrific books that it won't be difficult to add to that list.

A Good American by Alex George is beautifully written, an immigrant story that pretty much everyone in America can relate to, in some way, with emphasis on music and food. Bonus: Alex George is a terrific guy. I got to meet him when he came through our area and he is absolutely charming.

On the Beach by Nevil Shute is a classic post-apocalyptic tale in which the entire earth's inhabitants are about to be wiped out. Most of them are already dead. The book explores how people might spend their remaining days in such a case and it is every bit as fascinating and relevant today as it was when it was written.

Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan is a YA set in outer space. Two space ships have been sent from a dying earth to colonize a new planet, one ahead of the other. But, the first ship drops behind and its inhabitants attack the second ship and snatch all the young females. Absolutely gripping. I have been bouncing on my toes in anticipation of the second book in the series, which my friend Tammy is going to send me.

And, what about titles being promoted at BEA? I must confess I have no idea what's being promoted, apart from one particular title that a squillion people have mentioned on either Twitter or their blogs, which just happens to be a book I'm eagerly anticipating:

The Twelve by Justin Cronin, sequel to The Passage. I gobbled down The Passage in a surprisingly short time (for me) and then proceeded to have all-night, frequent-waking, tossing, turning nightmares. That was one bizarre experience, let me tell you. But, I loved the book, in spite of the nightmares and the wait has been excruciating. If I could get my mitts on an ARC of this one, I think I would have kittens. Or, maybe I'd just bring home another kitten. Don't tell Izzy and Fi I said that.

©2012 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Emailbookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Armchair BEA Intro

For those who are unfamiliar with Armchair BEA, it is an event for those who are not attending Book Expo America in New York City.

This is Day 1 of BEA and Armchair BEA; and, today is self-interview day. We're to answer five questions from the list in this post.

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

I call myself "Bookfool" but my real-world name is Nancy. I'm a transplanted Oklahoman, living in Mississippi -- 1 husband, 2 grown boys (one married and out in the working world; one in college) and 2 cats. My 6th bloggiversary is actually this week. I began blogging on June 6, 2006 and it's all Andi's fault. As I recall, it took her at least a year to convince me to blog because I figured a "weblog" was just an online diary and I'd end up talking to myself. Boy, was I surprised when people started to show up and comment!

2. What are you currently reading or what is your favorite book so far in 2012?

You can see what I'm reading by glancing at my sidebar. I'm terrible at picking a single favorite. A few of my top reads:

Little Princes by Conor Grennan

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West

Further Interpretations of Real-Life Events by Kevin Moffett

Mariana by Susanna Kearsley

All Woman and Springtime by Brandon W. Jones

Light on the Concrete by Lucas Hunt

Pure by Julianna Baggott

M*A*S*H by Richard Hooker

3. What is your favorite feature on your blog?

I like Fiona Friday -- my weekly post with a photo or two of one (or both) of my cats -- because it gives me an excuse to take lots of pictures of the felines. And, I really love the occasional "self-interview" in place of the standard book review. Those are always tremendously fun to write.

4. Which is your favorite post that you've written that you want everyone to read?

Probably this one: Between the Storms and Reading Aussie Books on a Mississippi Sofa. It's a good example of my natural writing style, which is completely goofball. Unfortunately, that's also true of my fiction.

5. Have your reading tastes changed since you started blogging? How?

Since I started blogging? I can't think of any major changes. I have overindulged and burned out in the past, a couple of times so in recent years I've tried to read a wide variety of fiction and nonfiction to keep myself from burning out on any particular genre, again. I did come close to burning out on historical fiction, last year. But, I opted to take a break from them and it did help. Now, I'm careful not to read too many historical titles in a row.

That's all for now! Hope to meet as many other participants as humanly possible!!

©2012 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Fiona Friday - A little this, a little that, both kitties & an Armchair BEA comment

First the kitties . . . Fiona hasn't been particularly cooperative about posing, this week, so this is pretty much all I've got of her . . . which really just goes to show that we need a lawn service which involves more than mowing alone. Our jungle is getting a bit intense when you can barely see out the window.

Isabel was really my star subject, this week. She crawled under my mother's cedar chest and reached out to play with Fiona (who disappeared the moment the camera came out). I'm not sure exactly how she managed to get under there, but she continued to play with Kiddo and moi after Fiona left.

Eventually, she ended up on top of the IKEA cabinets with a look of pure "Blah, I've had it. Nap time!"

The Armchair BEA question of the day that I've chosen is, "How do you keep your blog fresh?" I don't know that I do. Occasionally, I feel like my blog becomes "same old, same old" and I do try to liven it up. It's true that you never know what I'll write about. A family anecdote may sneak in or a picture of a ghost (previous post). If I'm having difficulty writing about a book, I go with the so-called "self-interview", which most people seem to enjoy as a change of pace. And, I do try not to keep all my reviews so formal as to make you think the author likely has a bad wheeze and a cane. Fiona Friday, fairly regular photographs, and book reviews are my constants. I could probably stand some tips on freshening up the blog.

©2011 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Armchair BEA Intro

Hello!

I wasn't going to bother posting (thought I'd be lazy and read the Armchair BEA posts but not do one of my own) since I have a nasty cold. But, what the heck. Might as well introduce myself if I'm going to visit others.

I'm "arm-chairing" because BEA (Book Expo America, that is) simply didn't fit into my summer plans. Earlier this month, I had an opportunity to meet up with fellow blogger Care and author friend Cindi in Charleston, South Carolina, and we had a fabulous time. Later in the summer, I'll be traveling to two weddings, including that of my eldest son!

June 6 will be my 5-year blogging anniversary, so I've been around for a while. I've yet to make it to BEA, but maybe someday. We'll see.

A little about me. I am in floody Mississippi.

We've been in the news a good bit, lately (that's a Fox News camera) but I'm a good 5 miles from the Mississippi River, as the crow flies, so it has not caused us any trouble apart from the annoyance of reading inaccurate and/or overblown news articles. I am a BIG fan of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers and grateful that their work has kept the flood from being a deadly disaster on the scale of the 1927 flood (in spite of breaking flood records).

My blog has always been a combination of personal and book blogging with book reviews, photos, anecdotes about family and my cats -- kind of a hodge-podge, although at times I just focus on books, for a while. I'm an extremely eclectic reader. It's actually easier to tell people what I don't read than what I do; and, even then . . . sometimes I do step outside my comfort zone, so I guess it's best to just say I avoid violence/gore, true crime and graphic sex. I read a pretty broad variety of fiction, history, classics, young adult novels and children's books. I frequently mention Simon Van Booy, a favorite author whom I've met, interviewed and been charmed by.

These two gals (Isabel and Fiona) get a lot of air time:

I tend to pepper my posts with photographs (some of which are obviously not so hot) and I'm kind of a free spirit. I don't necessarily follow along with the trends, so you'll seldom see things like "Mailbox Monday" or "Library Loot" updates on my blog, although I do take the occasional photo of recent arrivals. Still . . . you're more likely to see flowers, cats or the adorable children of total strangers, since my photos are generally added as decoration.

Plus, I love flowers, beautiful scenery, small children, cats, people walking dogs, looking into each others eyes with affection, reading (the lady in the background with the dogs is smiling -- I love friendly people):

My posts are a little more sporadic than normal, these days, and I'm attempting to keep them shorter because of the fact that I'm making some lifestyle changes that are cutting into blogging time. So, occasionally I'll disappear for a week or just not visit other blogs because I'm too busy. But, I always return. It's like an addiction. But, I prefer not to be cured.

The book I've most recently finished is Chime by Franny Billingsley. If you participate in the annual RIP Reading Challenge in the fall, I highly recommend you grab a copy of Chime. It's dark and atmospheric, beautifully written, massively creative and surprising. I love the way the author turns everything on its head at the end but manages to drop enough hints that the ending is believable. I'm working on a review of Chime, right now.

Happy Armchair BEA, everybody!!

Bookfool, aka Nancy

©2011 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Armchair BEA - Blast from the Past

Since I'm stuck at home during the week of Book Expo America, when Bookblogville becomes eerily quiet, I figured it would be fun to participate in the Armchair BEA adventure. Do not ask me why the above image is so large. I can't figure it out. Must be a Blogial Anomaly.

Blast from the Past, aka "Books I Fell in Love With, Way Back in the Time of Dinosaurs":

Jiggers by Joy Muchmore Lacey is the first book I remember falling in love with, the story of a cute little puppy who goes missing. I remember the puppy bounding happily through the snow and into the little girl's arms at the end. I thought that little girl looked a lot like me (substitute bright blonde hair for the reddish-blonde) at the time. 1963 is the date of publication. Wow, that was a long time ago. My original copy probably went into one of my mother's infamous bi-annual garage sales, but Huzzybuns bought me a copy off eBay, a few years ago. He got something on the order of 50,000 brownie points for buying that little gem. It's still in the plastic bag. It's so special I haven't yet touched it, apart from a single reading when it arrived.

In The Trouble with Jenny's Ear by Oliver Butterworth, young Jenny develops the ability to overhear the thoughts of people around her. I don't actually remember this book as well as I used to, but I happened across a copy of it in the library sale, a couple years ago, and snapped it up. I remember thinking it was funny and trying to will myself to hear the thoughts of the people around me (#fail). I'm almost positive I checked the book out from my library more than once, but other than that . . . . I really don't remember much. It seems like Jenny is due for a reread.

Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier

When I was in my early twenties, it occurred to me that it was about time I caught up on all the classics I'd missed out on reading because I chose to substitute other courses in high school and college for the typical lit courses (Journalism, Writing About Film and The Geography of Music . . . all were valid substitutes for English Lit, which I'm pretty sure I feared). To that end, I went shopping at a small local store and found this "classic tale of romantic suspense". I recall sitting on the porch outside our apartment, practically inhaling the book while my eldest son was in kindergarten. Could. Not. Put. Down. Is it a true "classic" of literature? I'm not certain. But, Rebecca was most definitely an excellent starting point for leaping into the classics.

Désirée by Anne-Marie Selinko is a book I snitched off my mother's shelves when I was in junior high. Désirée is the story of Désirée Eugenie Clary, Napoleon's first love. I'm not certain, but I think Désirée may have been my first foray into historical fiction and I loved it so much that I eventually walked off with my mother's copy, bought three more copies and gave two to friends. My mother eventually said she didn't mind that I'd kept her copy. I assume that's because I read it repeatedly (had it not been read regularly by someone, it likely would have gone into one of the infamous bi-annual garage sales). Désirée is one of the most re-read books I own.

A few other books that encouraged my early love of reading (in no particular order):

The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas (père)

Are You My Mother? by P. D. Eastman

Daddy Long-Legs by Jean Webster, Where Are the Children? by Mary Higgins-Clark, and A Separate Peace by John Knowles (all borrowed from my sister's shelf during our school years)

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett - Also due for a reread. I'm careful with my books, but I've nearly read my childhood copy of A Little Princess to tattered shreds.

My thanks to Book-a-rama Chris (whom I mentally call "Chris-a-rama") for drawing my attention to the Armchair BEA posts with her hilarious fantasy panel post, "I See Dead People".