It’s time once again for Armchair BEA, an online event for all of us poor bloggers who can’t make it to the real Book Expo America in New York City, due to trivial concerns like work, family, distance and cost.
I enjoyed this event last year and am glad to join in again, if only intermittently. Here are my answers to five of the intro questions. Please share yours in the comments!
How long have you been blogging? How did you get into blogging?
I’ve been blogging for almost a year and a half now, having started on a whim when I had some extra time on my hands over the New Year in 2014. I almost quit after a month but now I’m totally addicted.
Why do you love reading and blogging?
I love reading because it’s like breathing for me! And I love blogging because I get to share my obsession with other people who are nutty about books. I also find it to be a good creative outlet and mental exercise, counterbalancing my day job which isn’t literary at all.
Share your favorite blog post on your blog.
I had a lot of fun writing The Curse of the Terrible Cover Art for Elizabeth Goudge Reading Week. It always baffles me when good authors are subjected to these horrendous covers. For some library love (today’s other BEA topic), see my post My Life in Libraries.
What book are you reading right now?
The Fellowship: The Literary Lives of the Inklings (J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S Lewis, Owen Barfield, Charles Williams) by Carol and Philip Zaleski. I’m a longtime fan of all of these writers and I’m finding their group biography very enlightening.
Take a picture of your bookshelf and share it with us!
Here’s my prettiest bookshelf, showing off my Folio Society and other good-looking books:
Are you participating in ABEA? Be sure to share your introduction post in the comments if you have one.
The Emerald City Book Review Archive 
Oh tell me all about the Inklings book! Is it good so far? I love the Inklings so good books about them are always welcome on my TBR.
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The Fellowship is excellent, definitely required reading for anyone interested in the Inklings.
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I SO agree, a bad cover can really make things difficult. Loved reading the answers to your questions, if you like, you can check out mine @ Bookish Tendencies!http://bookishtendencies.com/index.php/2015/05/27/armchair-bea-2015-introductions-library-love/
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Bad covers should not be allowed for good books. Thanks for stopping by!
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Thanks for this post, Lory! I had no idea such an event existed. I love your photo of your bookshelf!
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You're welcome, and I hope you might be inspired to participate. It's a lot of fun!
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That is a pretty bookshelf! And I love the idea of this event. I'll have to check it out. đ
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I think you would enjoy it too.
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"The Literary Lives of the Inklings" is such a great sub-header for a book. đ
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It is, and a great subject in general.
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Nice shelves, looks like a lot of classic covers. Happy ABEA!
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Yes, that's my classics collection there.
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Happy ABEA! I love your blog design…so colorful and cute!
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Thank you, I'm glad you stopped by.
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Fascinating answers.The Fellowship sounds very good as I also admire several of the writers. I look forward to reading your thoughts on it if you choose to post about it.Reading is indeed like breathing!
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I'll be reviewing The Fellowship later this month, along with another new book about CS Lewis. I'm glad to know there's so much interest.
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Love your bookshelves! Literary biographies are the only bios I really like to read, and The Fellowship sounds interesting. I'm a librarian in real life, so I'm going to check out your Library Love post now!
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The Fellowship is literary biography par excellence. It was marvelous to read about how the four writers interacted and influenced each other.
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I didn't realize you've only been blogging a year and a half – your blog is so polished and your reviews and posts are so well-written and insightful, I thought you must have been at this for years! And I think I have shelf envy over some of those leatherbound books…
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Wow, thank you! I think I've been a blogger in training for years, I just never made the step of actually doing it online.
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I'll have to look into that book about the Inklings! My main interest is in Tolkien but I've been meaning to read a book about the whole group for some time now… I actually took a course on the Inklings in university, but I was a bit miffed by it because the professor was a huge Lewis fan and thought him much more significant than Tolkien đ I love the photo of your bookshelf! Makes me miss mine.
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My books had to be in storage for years when I was moving around, so I'm enjoying them now.I would say that Lewis is the center of The Fellowship, as he was of the Inklings — but Tolkien definitely gets his due. He just didn't publish so much; the range and quantity of Lewis's output is pretty amazing.
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