Monday, May 26, 2014

Armchair BEA 2014 Introduction


Someday, I hope to attend the annual Book Expo America (BEA) in person, but for now, I enjoy participating in Armchair BEA from home, joining in the bookish fun this week!

Today's topic is Introductions, so I have chosen 5 of the intro questions to answer so that you can get to know me and my blog better:

  1. Please tell a little about yourself. OK, My name is Sue Jackson, and this is my book blog, Book By Book! I grew up in Rochester, NY, used to live in New Orleans, and now call Delaware home. I also write a blog about living with chronic illness. I started this book blog in 2006 - wow, that's 8 years now! For most of those years, I also maintained a second book blog, Great Books for Kids and Teens. Even though I recently merged the two blogs into this one, you can still find hundreds of archived reviews for kids/teens/YA there. Here is my very first Book By Book post that explains why I started blogging about books.
  2. Describe your blog in one sentence, with links to social media. Book By Book features reviews of good books for both adults and for middle-grade, teen, and YA readers. Like Book By Book on Facebook and follow me on Twitter.
  3. Favorite book read last year and so far this year? My favorite book overall last year was The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson - blew me away! You can see the rest of my 2013 Top Ten here. My favorite so far this year? That's a tougher one...I guess I would choose Moloka'i by Alan Brennert as my favorite adult novel so far and Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys as my favorite YA (that's not cheating, is it??)
  4. Share your favorite book. It's hard to pick just one, but one of my favorite books for the past 20 years now has been Replay by Ken Grimwood. It's about a guy who keeps reliving part of his life over and over again, making different choices each time, and I find it so thought-provoking! I've read it three times so far and love it just as much each time.
  5. Some of my favorite blogs. These are a few of my favorite book blogs - their authors feel like friends to me by now!
Tanya at Girlxoxo

Anne at My Head is Full of Books

Julie at My Book Retreat

Tanya at Mom's Small Victories

So, that's me! Leave your link if you are also participating in Armchair BEA - I'd love to get to know you, too!

15 comments:

  1. I think it's amazing you're blogging about living with CFS! It's a very brave thing to share your struggles like that! I've heard of 'The Orphan Master's Son' but haven't read it myself. I'll have to give it a try! I'm sure I'll stop by again during BEA!
    My BEA Intro
    Juli @ Universe in Words

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    1. Thank you, Juli - I appreciate your kind words.

      Oh, you must read The Orphan Master's Son - sooo good! Fascinating, frightening (about North Korea), and captivating.

      Sue

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  2. Replay sounds fascinating--I'll look out for it!

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    1. Yes, you should! From what i read of your reading preferences on your blog, you'd love it!

      Sue

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  3. Anonymous3:21 PM

    Hallo! I'm taking part in ArmchairBEA too(found you via twitter)/ hope you have fun and get lots out of it!

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  4. All of the books you mentioned sound great! I have The Orphan Master's Son on my shelf. I hope to get to it soon. Perhaps this will be the nudge I need?

    Btw, I think you are supposed to have word verification for comments turned off for Armchair BEA.

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    1. Yes, you should definitely read The Orphan Master's Son, Rachel - it was captivating!

      Thanks for the heads up on word verification - I turned it off.

      Sue

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  5. The good news about this year is that we still have many months to still discover a favorite book of the year. ;) I haven't read The Orphan Master's Son but have heard great things.

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    1. Yes, Trish, I agree! So many good books still to come!

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  6. Visiting your blog via ABEA; my YA mystery / thriller, FERAL, will release in August with HarperTeen.

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  7. I grew up in Rochester, too! West Irondequoit to be exact. My dad worked for Kodak- no surprise there.

    I loved The Orphan Master's Son! I actually listened to it as opposed to reading and the narrator was amazing, using different voices. I know it's fiction but given what we now know about North Korea I think it was fact as well.

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  8. I read Moloka'i a number of years - while we were honeymooning in Hawaii - I loved it too and also read his other book set in Hawaii, which escapes me right now :-/

    Happy Armchair BEA

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    1. We honeymooned in Hawaii, too - wow, what a great book to read while visiting! I will have to look for his other books.

      Sue

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  9. Hi, Catherine!

    Nice to meet a fellow Rochesterian! Half of my family worked for Kodak, too! The other half worked for Wegmans ;)

    I grew up in Chili and went to Gates-chili HS.

    I agree completely about The Orphan Master's Son - fascinating and frightening!

    Sue

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  10. I really love Anne and Julie's blogs too. :-)
    Great meeting you!

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