Armchair BEA 2013 Introductions.

Today is the first day of the Armchair BEA, and it is introduction time.

Who are you?  How long have you been blogging? Where did you get into blogging?

I am Kathryn, and I have always loved reading.  Growing up in the '50's in a small town there was no library and few books at the school I attended.  I was always hungering for a book!  Probably why I have so many of them now.  Mostly I enjoy women's fiction, some romance and romantic suspense.  

I have been blogging on this blog since the beginning of the year.  I have a class blog and teacher blog as well and have been blogging there for four or five years.  I find the teacher bloggers very generous and willing to share so much of what they know.  I admit I have neglected my teacher blog since I started this blog!  I can't keep all the balls in the air!  I am looking forward to moving more in the book blogging world now that I am nearing retirement.

Where in the world are you blogging from?  Tell a random fact or something special about your location.

I am blogging from New Zealand in a town about 40 km north of our capital city Wellington.  Most of New Zealand is near the seaside and I live in a place that certainly does. I live about 6 km from the sea.  On our coast is Kapiti Island a nature reserve.  It is a bird sanctuary and is beautiful to visit.  I have lived most of my life here.  I have spent time living in other parts but always love to come back to the place that feels like home.

What drew you to participate in Armchair BEA?

Being new to the book blogging world I hadn't heard of BEA or Armchair BEA.  But obviously as the time draws near the hype begins to grow and I first heard of BEA and then Armchair BEA just last weekend through a book hop.  When I went to the Armchair BEA site, it sounded like fun and something I would enjoy participating in.

What is your favourite book of 2013?

This is the first book in a new series by Susan Wiggs.   You can read my review here.

Name your favourite blogs and explain why they are your favourites? 

This blog is a favourite because the writer Rachel, has an amazing blog and writes tips for blogging. Very savvy and wise.  She also has a great design website - she designed my blog.  

This blog is run by Jen and Kellee, they read many children's and YA books and share their reviews.  As a teacher it is a wonderful resource and keeps me up to date in both the mentioned areas. I sometimesjoin in their It's Monday What Are You Reading? on my teacher blog.

As I began book blogging this year, this was the first blog I came across where the blogger has a similar taste in books as myself.   She reads more than me which is great so I have enjoyed reading her reviews and marking books for my TBR pile.  

Lastly I enjoy Wendy's The Misadventures of a Super Librarian Blog.  She runs the TBR challenge that I am taking part in this year.  As I went around the blogs taking part this month, I found blogs that again have  a taste in books somewhat similar to my own.

As I am only starting out, I am still watching out for blogs that I might want to follow.  I want them to be similar in taste to myself, but with a stretch - ones that have me considering books I may not have heard about or thought about reading.

Attribution:  Kapiti Island by Simone M (a student in my class) and used with her permission.