Tag: blogging

I’ve been mostly offline the last couple of days due to playing with my adorable niece and sweet nephew on Wednesday and then having a weather-related headache yesterday (Thursday). I’ve kind of kept tabs through the WordPress app and my email on my phone, approving a few comments and such, but mostly I’ve been offline.

I’ve come back to a wonderful surprise of my FIRST award as a blogger!! Thank you to Jay @ this-is-my-truth-now for nominating me for this award! You should definitely check out his blog as well. I’ve been following his blog for about 6-7 months now and I really enjoy it! I’ve included Jay’s answers to the questions he was given at the bottom so you can get to know him a little more too!

The Rules:

1. Thank the person/persons that nominated you and link back to their blog.

2. Answer the 11 questions your nominator has given you.

3. Nominate 11 other people and give them 11 new questions to answer.

4. List the rules and display the award

Here are the questions Jay asked me and my answers. He really asked some that made me think, so it took me a while to answer all of these. 🙂

1) Where were you when you realized what career you wanted to pursue? Explain.

Well, I originally thought I wanted to be a teacher. I was only 5 when I decided that, but it was something I worked toward right up until I got to my student teaching and went “Whoa… I like small groups of children, but I’m not so keen on this large group of children”. After that I floundered a bit (about 5 years), until I started working as a page (book shelver) for Ann Arbor District Library here in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I decided shortly after beginning there that this was definitely what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Now I have my library science degree and I’m searching for a librarian position while working in a non-degreed position at AADL.

2) What age do you want to live to, and why?

As long as my physical health stays steady and I can stay independent, I think I’d like to live to around 90.  That would be old enough to see my adorable niece and sweet nephew’s children (if they have any) have children. I’d like to see that.

3) What book character most annoys you? Explain it.

I don’t know as there’s a specific character that annoys me the most, but there is a type of character that annoys me the most. Those are heroines who are what I call “too stupid to live”. These are heroines who really aren’t heroines, they’re just damsels in distress with window dressing. These are characters, often the amateur sleuth in a cozy mystery, but the archetype shows up in other genres as well, who are constantly getting themselves into situations where they need rescuing because they didn’t bother to think about the danger before they jumped head-long into the fray. They go looking for trouble and they annoy me beyond reason. I will often stop reading a series because of heroines like this.

4) What are your least and your most favorite of the 50 states? Explain.

Hmmm… this is a hard choice. I have not visited very many states, so I’m sure I have a least favorite.

My favorite is Michigan, my home state. Michigan has so many great things to offer. We’re surrounded by the Great Lakes, plus there are a lot of inland lakes, so there’s incredible opportunities for swimming, canoeing, boating, water sports, fishing, etc. We’re also full of wooded areas which make for great hiking and hunting (if you’re into hunting. I like wild game, but I don’t hunt myself). The Upper Peninsula (the U.P. to native Michiganders) has almost 200 waterfalls which make for some gorgeous hiking and road trips. We also have two Big Ten conference schools, plus several smaller, equally good, schools.

As far as weather goes, yes, northern Michigan (both the Upper Peninsula and the northern Lower Peninsula) can get pretty harsh, but for the most part, we have decent weather. We don’t have earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, or even very many tornadoes. We do get some tornadoes each year, but not nearly as bad as Kansas or Oklahoma. Summers can get hot and humid in the southern portion of the state, but many residents have somewhere “Up North” that they can escape to on the weekends, whether it’s a family cottage or simply a quick weekend trip to Traverse City or Mackinac Island.

Michigan also has a wide array of cultural attractions, museums, venues for live music, etc. Detroit is now the only city to host all four major league sports teams (NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB) within the city limits. I’m proud to call Michigan my home.

I suppose, if I have to pick a state that’s my least favorite it’d be New York state. New York‘s a beautiful state, don’t get me wrong. It’s the home of my best friend, but it’s not Michigan and that means my best friend is 300 miles away from me when one of us is not visiting the other. I don’t like being that far from her. If New York state was right next door to Michigan like Ohio is just south of us, I’d be happier, but 300 miles separate us and that sucks.

5) Where do you go when you need to feel comfortable, and why?

At home, you can usually find me on the couch in the living room. My bedroom doesn’t have room at the moment for a sofa or some other sort of place to sit other than my bed, which hurts my back to sit on. I’m very particular about “my spot” too. Think of Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory and his obsession with his “spot” and you’ll understand my obsession with “my spot”. I literally do not know where else to sit if someone’s sitting in my spot. Yes, I’m weird.

6) What book do you most want to see made into a movie? Explain.

Once Upon a Winter’s Night by Dennis McKiernan, or some other version of the folktale East of the Sun, West of the Moon. I absolutely adore this folktale. I have since the first time I read it back in my undergraduate years. It’s a great book/folktale and I think with the things they can do with makeup and CGI, this would make a fabulous movie.

7) What is your favorite type of weather? Explain.

I prefer fall/spring weather the best. Highs between 60° and 70° or 75°, partly cloudy so the sun is not overly glaring and it’s at an angle that won’t trigger my sun allergy. It’s the only time of the year I can actually go out in short sleeves.

8) What past life do you wish you had, and why?

I think I would’ve liked to have been a scientist or artist (or both) during the Renaissance period in history. There were so many new things and new knowledge being discovered during that period. I think it would have been fascinating to live then.

9) Which president would you want to meet? Explain.

I’m thinking outside the box and going with President Nelson Mandela. I admire the way he fought tirelessly to end apartheid in South Africa. He fought both peacefully and non-peacefully, while jailed and while free. He refused to back down on his own morals and principles in exchange for freedom. He was an all-around fascinating man.

10) How did you find out about WordPress? Details please…

I’ve known about WordPress for many, many years. I’ve tried twice before to put together a blog on WordPress of various things, but I just was never very good about updating it. About 2 years ago, I started reviewing books for various authors and review crews. After I joined NetGalley in the spring of 2016, I decided to try doing a blog yet again. This time, I had a better focus, reviews and other things about books and life in general and after floundering a little for the first 6 months or so, I’ve settled into more of a routine and have been blogging more regularly and building up more of a following. 🙂 I’m up to just shy of 70 followers here on WordPress, but I reach other 250+ on various social media outlets (Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn).  I’m having a lot of fun and really enjoying the books I’m reading as well as the writing process.

11) Where are you when you draft your blog posts? Explain!

Sometimes I’m at home sitting in “my spot” on the couch and using my laptop. Sometimes, I’m on my break at work, sitting in the backroom at a computer. Finally, sometimes, if it’s slow at work (I work as a desk clerk at Ann Arbor District Library), I’ll work on a draft or two or three. I work all evenings and often times, the closer it gets to 9pm, the slower it gets. While I’m not specifically blogging for my work, I do transfer reviews over to our online catalog if it’s something the library owns.

That’s all there is about me! Hopefully you feel as though you know me a little bit better now.  Thank you again to Jay @ this-is-my-truth-now for nominating me for this award!! It made me very happy and excited! 🙂

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My Nominees

1. Always Trust In Books
2. Susan Loves Books
3. Café Book Bean
4. MJBReviewers
5. Drizzle & Hurricane Books
6. Birdie Bookworm
7. Dee’s Rad Reads and Reviews
8. Nerdy Book Club
9. Out of the Box Library Programming
10. jenacidebybibliophile
11. Ketchusifucan

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Questions for my Nominees

1. Not all of you are book bloggers, so please tell us what your blog is about and why you chose to blog about that.
2. If you had to choose just one book to read for the rest of your life, not including holy texts or Shakespeare, what would you choose?
3. Where is your favorite place to write your blog? At home? In a coffee shop or park? Why?
4. If you could spend one day with anyone, realistic or fictional, who would you want to spend your day with and why?
5. What hobbies do you have outside of blogging?
6. Do you like to travel? If so, where is the one place that you really want to go and haven’t been yet? If you don’t, why don’t you?
7. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live and why?
8. What fictional world (book, tv show, movie universe, etc.) would you like to live in the most and why?
9. Who has been the one person outside of your family who has had the greatest impact on your life?
10. Which song or songs (you may pick up to 3) have had the most influence on your life? Why?
11. If you were given $100 to spend on something you wanted but didn’t need, what would you spend it on and why? Try to be specific. If you’d buy books, which books.

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I copied/pasted Jay @ this-is-my-truth-now‘s answers below so you can get to know him a little bit too!

• What is your favorite book from childhood/young adulthood?
  • I adored Flowers in the Attic by VC Andrews and want to re-read it again.

 

• If you were given $50 right now to spend on books, what books would you buy?
  • Origin by Dan Brown
  • A Column of Fire by Ken Follett
  • The House at Riverton by Kate Morton

 

•  What’s your favorite thing to do in the summertime?
  • Vacation to the mountains or hide from the sun!

 

• Name one book that you really disliked reading or an author whose work you can’t stand?
  • The White Bone by Barbara Gowdy… don’t make me remember it, please! Go see my review if you need to know more.

 

•  If you could meet any literary character, who would it be and why?
  • Professor McGonagall from Harry Potter. She embodies all the things I love!

 

• What are you currently watching on tv (Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, etc (that you would recommend?
  • Grace and Frankie, Younger, Young & Hungry, How To Get Away With Murder, Kimmy Schmidt, Great British Baking Show, Falcon Crest, Scandal, Modern Family, The Real O’Neals, SNL, Schitt’s Creek, Downward Dog, Mom, Life in Pieces, Who Do You Think You Are?

 

• If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
  • Time Travel

 

•  When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?
  • Teacher, Architect or Writer

 

• Which book has left the most lasting impression on you?
  • The Philosopher’s Apprentice by James Morrow

 

• What’s the weirdest or most unusual thing you’ve ever eaten?
  • I tend not to eat things unless I know what they are, but I have tried frog’s legs. They were OK, nothing to write home about!

 

• Which character in a book do you think is most like you?
  • In about 25 years, Qwill from the “Cat Who” book series! LOL