Armchair Book Expo: Introductions

Today marks the start of Armchair Book Expo, the blogging party and get-together that coincides with Book Expo America in NYC.

I have to admit I kinda forgot it was starting *today*, but now I've remembered and I've pulled together three of the prompts to introduce myself! Hi, my name is Tasha, and...

Currently . . . In my pajamas avoiding all the stuff I should actually be doing.

I love . . . food and trying new recipes. One recipe we tried recently that was really good was veal-wrapped asparagus. Except we couldn't find veal cutlets, so I used chicken cutlets instead that I pounded thin. I wish the pesto had been better (Classico, do not recommend) and that it had some sauce to go with it, but otherwise it was a pretty awesome dish!

My current read . . . I'm finishing up Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner. There was a lot of walking in that book, let me tell ya. And I'm listening to The Hell-Hound of the Baskervilles by GS Denning on audiobook.

My buddy . . . I have three little buddies whose names are Calypso, Thor, and Miss Sofielicious

Thor

Calypso

Sofie

Have an awesome BEA, everyone, whether you're in NYC or home at your computer!


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Armchair BEA Introduction Questions

Welcome, Armchair BEA-ers! While Book Expo America takes place in NYC, those of us who can't travel enjoy BEA in the comfort of our own homes with ABEA. So let's get this party started with a few introductions.

1. Tell us a bit about yourself: How long have you been blogging? Where are you from? How did you get into blogging?

Hi there, I'm Tasha, sometimes known as heidenkind. I began blogging on Xanga, which doesn't exist anymore (I don't think?), in 2006. It was mainly a personal blog, with some book/movie/art reviews thrown in. I started this blog in 2008 because I wanted to write more about books and get involved in the book blogging community.

Today, I manage this blog, a blog dedicated to classics called The Project Gutenberg Project, and I co-manage Book Bloggers International with three other amazing bloggers: Rebecca from Lost In Books, Tif from Tif Talks Books, and Carolina from A Girl That Likes Books.

I'm also a contributor to Book Riot, a reviewer for Bookspan, and a blogger for Quirk Books.

I live in Colorado, USA.

2. What is your theme song?

I like this question! I always thought of "Coming Up" by Paul McCartney as my theme song. I think it matches my hopeful outlook on life.



3. What is your favorite genre and why?

This is a weirdly difficult question for me to answer. A few years ago I would have immediately said romance novels, but I'm not as obsessed with them as I used to be. I've branched out into mystery, fantasy, and spy thrillers as long as they're not misogynist and/or boring, but I wouldn't call any of them my favorites. I suppose you could say I'm in between genres at the moment.

I do love books set in Japan, Venice, or France, if that counts as a genre.

4. What book are you reading right now?

Right at this very moment I'm reading Hearts of Fire by LH Cosway and The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook.

5. Take a picture of your bookshelf and share it with us! :) (#ABEAShelfie)

Here's one of my five bookshelves, newly reorganized after a book purge this weekend:

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Armchair BEA Introductions

Allo allo readers and fellow bloggers. I know it's been really quiet around here lately. I started a new (seasonal--don't get too excited) job at the end of April and my time's been at a premium since, especially since I'm essentially juggling two jobs now. I'm not too stressed, but blogging has definitely fallen by the wayside while I get into a new routine.

In the meantime, Armchair BEA is happening and I can't not participate! Armchair BEA is the internet version of BEA (Book Expo America) in NYC. Today we're being asked to introduce ourselves. So without further ado:

1. Please tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? How long have you been blogging? Why did you get into blogging? Where in the world are you blogging from? That's actually 4 questions, but okay. I'm Tasha--or Natasha, or heidenkind--and I've been blogging since 2005, when my friend convinced me to join Xanga. In 2008 I started a book blog and atm I either manage or co-manage 5 blogs, contribute to Book Riot and Food Riot, and am a media critic at the Pueblo PULP. I started blogging because my friend told me I'd love it, and I guess she was right! I'm blogging from Colorado, USA.
2. Describe your blog in just one sentence. Then, list your social details -- Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. -- so we can connect more online. Truth Beauty Freedom & Books is "A book blog with Bohemian sensibilities." Basically I say what I want and am non-commercial. You can find me on Twitter @heidenkind, on Facebook as Tasha Heidenkind, and on Instagram as @tashabrandstatter.
3. What genre do you read the most? This has actually changed quite a bit in recent years. I used to be all about romance (although I did read other genres--as long as they had romance), but now I'm getting more into mysteries and thrillers. Hormones, I guess. I still love romances, but the current releases tend not to click with me the same way.
4. What was your favorite book read last year? What’s your favorite book so far this year? My absolute favorite book last year was a 3-way tie between Hell is Empty by Craig Johnson, The Bridge by Rebecca Rogers Maher, and The River of No Return by Bee Ridgeway. I actually had a kinda sorta meh reading year last year, but this year has been pretty good. I think my favorite read so far is The Chocolate Touch by Laura Florand.
5. What does your favorite/ideal reading space look like? I actually blogged about this in 2012. I think my perfect reading spot would be outdoors, with perfect weather, and nothing but the wind and the trilling of birds to disturb me.

How about you?



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Armchair BEA Non-Fiction

Today's topic for Armchair BEA is non-fiction (also ethics, but to quote Lawrence Block, "I’m not sure there’s any good sense in imposing questions of ethics upon a profession which has muddled along for centuries without any." He was talking about writers, obvs, but bloggers are writers, right???)

I actually read a lot of non-fiction, even though this isn't necessarily reflected on my blog. That's because I don't react to non-fiction the way I do to fiction. With fiction, I pretty much always have something to say; but with non-fiction, I'm usually just reading it to garner specific information, so I only write about it on my blog when I think it's a book that would appeal to a broad range of people or when it's a book I really, really, REALLY think is a piece of caca. Mainly I read books about art and history, because that's my background, but there are so many non-fiction books out there. If you think fiction is overwhelming, look at non-fiction some time.

That being said, there is one--yes, ONE--non-fiction book I think everyone should read, and that's Killer Stuff and Tons of Money by Maureen Stanton. I thought this book wasn't just a portrait of antiques dealing, but of the American dream; and it's one of the VERY few non-fiction books I've read from cover to cover and been entranced all the way through.

For bloggers, I would highly recommend The Blogger Abides by Chris Higgins. Chris Higgins is a professional blogger at Mental Floss, but I think his advice on blogging is useful both for people who look at blogging as a hobby AND for those who want to go professional. Another book I'd recommend for anyone who's interested in writing is Telling Lies for Fun and Profit by Lawrence Block, because 1. it's hilarious; and 2. it gives some really good advice. It might be one be one of my favorite books on writing of all time.

I approach non-fiction books very differently from how I approach fiction books. With novels, I start at the beginning and go through to the end. I obey, aside from prologues (which I refuse to read) the order the author dictates. With non-fiction books, thanks in part to years in grad school, I jump around from introduction to conclusion to footnotes to different chapters. A non-fiction book that keeps me engaged from start to finish is very rare indeed. Nevertheless, I love nonfiction because sometimes it elevates information to an art form.




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THE RIVER OF NO RETURN by Bee Ridgway, Armchair BEA Giveaway

Nicholas is in the midst (literally) of fighting in the Napoleonic Wars when he's suddenly transported to the 21st century. He's immediately inducted into The Guild, and told only four things: there is no return, there is no return, tell no one, and uphold the rules. Then Nick finds out you CAN actually return to your own time and place. What else has The Guild been lying to him about?

The Washington Post said The River of No Return by Bee Ridgway has the feel of an instant classic, and while I might not agree with such lofty claims--the novel does have its issues--I will say it's an effing good story and unputdownable. I'm talking do-not-start-it-on-a-night-before-you-have-to-go-to-work unputdownable.

I already gave The River of No Return a "buy" vote on Book Riot, but if you need any more convincing: time travel, a lovely romance, and a lot to think about. One of the things I loved about this book was that there were Ideas behind it. Such as, how has the Enlightenment affected our world? Nick spends a lot of time in this novel trying to figure what he believes and how he will act, regardless of what society, religion and the government tells him he SHOULD do. Also, how has war and money shaped our civilization? Is it all worth it?

One last thing: I ADORED the romance in this book. It's actually a small part of the novel, but it's totally organic and compelling. Julia is a great character--as are all the other female characters, now that I think about it--and while the way her and Nick's relationship developed was a little anachronistic, it IS a time travel novel.

Anywhooooose, the publisher sent me two copies of The River of No Return for some reason, so I'm offering the copy I didn't read as part of Armchair BEA's blogger giveaways. Just fill out the form below or click here to enter. This is definitely a book you want to read!




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Armchair BEA Mystère et l'Amour!

Design credit: Emily of Emily's Reading Room

The bookish focus for today's Armchair BEA is our favorite genre fiction. First of all, before I get into the topic, I just want to say how pleased I am that Armchair BEA is addressing genre fiction this year specifically. I do feel like genre fiction is marginalized in the book blogging community, especially in big events like Armchair BEA, so I'm glad the organizers decided to focus on genre this year.

SO. My favorite genres are mystery and romance. My first love was actually mystery. When I was an itty bitty, I read TONS of mysteries of the MG variety. The first book I ever read on my own was Bunnicula by James Howe, and after that I was a big fan of Barbara Michaels, Mary Stewart, the ghost mystery books by Bruce Coville, and any other mystery I could get my hands on. I even wrote a mystery when I was in the 3rd grade!

Then, as a teen, I switched to romance. I admit before then I was a bit snooty about romance. But I was at my grandparents' house one day and I was super-bored and I'd just finished a book... So I decided to pick up Stranger in My Arms by Lisa Kleypas, which was lying on the table next to my grandfather's chair (my grandfather is a huge romance fan, by the way). I was immediately sucked into the story. At the end of the day, my grandfather was like, "Fine, you have this book, but I want it back," and after finishing that novel I was 100,000% a romance fan. I threw myself into the genre and read everything that sounded even vaguely interesting.

Romance is still my favorite genre, but right now I'm not feeling a lot of romance novels. I think my tastes have just changed. Not that I don't still love romance! I do, but I'm not a fan of series or urban fantasy, and most of the contemporary and historical romances I read these days seem too same-y. Look, I know people read books for different reasons: some read for beautiful writing, some for great characters, some for deep meaning, and that's all fine. But I read mainly for a great story. That's what attracted me to romance in the first place, but nowadays I feel like story is last is on the long list of Important Things to Put in Romance Novels. And that gives me the Rage and the Sadness.

Right now, I love books that combine my two favorite genres: mystery and romance. Honestly, I feel like these two genres are related because they're both about questions: Who will I fall in love in with? Who committed the murder? Is that guy who he seems (probably not)? Questions are what drive novels narratives, and I feel as though these two genres do their best at telling stories and focusing on questions we all care about.

So what's your favorite genre?

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Armchair BEA: Classics

Design credit: Sarah of Puss Reboots

This year for Armchair BEA we're being asked to write about genre fiction for our daily topics, and today we're addressing the issue of classics.

I used to avoid classics, especially after high school, because I was forced to read a lot of classics I didn't like and I thought they were hoity-toity and boring (except for the few I LOVED, of course, like Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, and The Great Gatsby). Nowadays, I read so many classics I started a my own classics blog, The Project Gutenburg Project! So what changed? Basically, thanks in large part to Project Gutenberg, Librivox, and Redeeming Qualities, I realized that there were all these entertaining, fun classic novels out there, waiting to be rediscovered.

If you have a favorite genre, chances are you can find that genre as a classic. I've been exploring classic mysteries from Edgar Allan Poe's Inspector Dupin stories (considered the first mysteries), to Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie, and it's been soooo much fun. Or romance! Ivanhoe, Vera, or an Emilie Loring novel will hit the spot. How about adventure? You can't go wrong with Rafael Sabatini, The Three Musketeers, or The Thirty-Nine Steps. Sci-fi fan? Try Robert E. Howard or Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Second of all, classics are curious. There are a lot of similarities to modern literature and some differences that are just bizarre. And I LOVE the bizarre books most of all. A few years ago I couldn't stop reading romances, and now I can't stop reading classics. It's like a sickness.

Anyway, if you want some recommendations for classics, just ask me in the comments and I'll try my best to think of something. Or check out the recommendation flow chart I made up (and need to update).

And if you have a favorite classic you think I'd like please let me know!


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Armchair BEA: Introductions

Design credit: Emily of Emily's Reading Room

It's that time of year again, time for Armchair BEA. While some go to Book Expo Amurika in NYC, others stay at home and join Armchair BEA! I've never been to the RL BEA, but I always have fun during Armchair BEA.

Since today is the first day, we're asked to introduce ourselves with a series of questions. Voila:

1. Where in the world are you blogging from? Tell a random fact or something special about your current location. Feel free to share pictures.
I live in Colorado. My hometown is called the Home of Heroes because more people have won the Congressional Medal of Honor per capita here than anywhere else in the US. Once, when I was high school, one Medal of Honor recipient spoke at each high school in town on Memorial Day. It was actually pretty awesome--it almost made up for the fact that we didn't have the day off. :p

2. Have you previously participated in Armchair BEA? What brought you back for another year? If you have not previously participated, what drew you to the event?
I have! I was on the commenting committee last year and it was sooo much fun. I didn't join the commenting committee this year because I wasn't sure I would have time, but I still wanted to join in. I'm trying to answer different questions this year from last year.

3. Which is your favorite post that you have written that you want everyone to read?
Hm, I think my favorite post is on Snape and his relationship to Harry Potter, but I also really like the post I wrote on New Moon because I hear a lot of criticism about the Twilight series being anti-feminist, and I think that post does a good job of explaining why I don't agree.

3. If you could eat dinner with any author or character, who would it be and why?
I would really love to have dinner with Barbara Michaels/Elizabeth Peters because she is SUCH a big part of my childhood. One of my earliest memories is of studying her books on my mom's bookshelf and wondering what stories they contained (this was before I could read, obviously). I would ask her so many questions about her books and what it's like to be a writer and why she decided not to go into Egyptology after getting her PhD!

4. What is your favorite part about the book blogging community?
I think just the people and how I'm always surprised and inspired by them. I love discussing books and book bloggers certainly aren't afraid to express their opinion--which is a good thing.

5. Is there anything that you would like to see change in the coming years?
In Armchair BEA or the world in general, or...? Having local or state blogging chapters during Armchair BEA might be interesting.

And that's it! Are you participating in Armchair BEA or going to BEA this year?


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Armchair BEA: Introduction

Armchair BEA has managed to drag me back from my unofficial blogging break and got to me to start posting again. Today we're being asked to interview ourselves.

1. Please tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? How long have you been blogging? Why did you get into blogging? Who am I? I would ask SIRI but I don't have an iPhone. I've been blogging since 2005. My first blog was on Xanga--one of my friends from middle school told me I should start blogging because I would love it! After a few years on Xanga I decided I wanted to focus on book reviews, which is when I started this blog in 2009-ish. I also started two other blogs just this year: Liquid Persuasion and Project Gutenberg Project.
   
2. What are you currently reading, or what is your favorite book you have read so far in 2012? As I write this I'm reading Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld; but by the time Monday rolls around I'll have finished it. And I have no idea what I'll be reading then. So my favorite book of the year... probably The Man in Lower Ten by Mary Roberts Rinehart. But I also really enjoyed rereading Because You're Mine by Lisa Kleypas. And both of those books are pretty old.
   
3. Tell us one non-book-related thing that everyone reading your blog may not know about you. I have a doppelgänger. Not the nasty spirit kind (as far as I know...), just someone who looks like me. All through high school people would mistake me for her. We also have similar names, so it was very confusing. People would walk up to me and start random conversations, then be like, "Oh, wait, are you...?" The weird thing is, I've personally never seen her. I know you're thinking I probably just use this story to explain why I don't recognize people from high school, but I don't because no one would believe me.
4. What literary location would you most like to visit? Why? Hm, that's a tricky one. If we're sticking to strictly the real world, I'd love to visit Tintagel Castle because it's part of the Arthurian legends--actually, I'd like to visit all the Arthurian sites, but for some reason I latched onto Tintagel when I was a kid.
   
5. What is your favorite part about the book blogging community? Is there anything that you would like to see change in the coming years? I love knowing there are people out there who enjoy reading and obsess over books as much as I do! As for changes, I'd like to see more cooperation between blogs that specialize in different genres (i.e., romance and classic, literary fiction and mystery, etc.).

Armchair BEA Interview with AnimeGirl!

For Armchair BEA, I'm lucky to have Alex (aka AnimeGirl) from A Girl, Books, and Other Things as my interview partner! I hadn't visited Alex's blog before, so I was excited to learn more about it.

Welcome, Alex!

Tasha: I've noticed you've been reading a lot of Sarah Dessen books lately (for Sarah Dessen Week). If you could have a picnic with Dessen and one other author, who would it be?

Alex: I think it would probably be Meg Cabot since I adore her and I've been such a fan girl of her for ages!

Tasha: What is your favorite animé series?

Alex: Well, this is going to be long. Of My childhood: Magic Knight Rayearth - my first and biggest anime crush ever is in there!. Of my teens: Card Captor Sakura. Of my college years: tie between UltraManiac and Ouran High School Host Club.

Tasha: Do you usually read a manga before or after (or at all) you watch an animé series?

Alex: I actually don't read Manga all that much unless is an author I love like CLAMP or Wataru Yoshizumi. Otherwise, it's usually the anime first manga second.

   
Tasha: You read a lot of different genres. Is there a single theme running through all of the books you read that attracts you--i.e., romance, friendship, etc.?

Alex: Definitely romance. I know a lot of people say they don't need romance to love a book, but I do. Humor too, save for very few exceptions, I stay clear from trauma porn (you know, sad, sad books), so funny is always a plus.
   

Tasha: Is there a genre that you refuse to read?

Alex: In general terms, vampires. Also, I'm not really big into Sci Fi and Fantasy (though I've been known to read fantasy when it comes well recommended). I don't usually do Epic, or thrillers/mysteries because I'm not a very patient person.

   
Tasha: If you could travel to just one place in your lifetime that you haven't been before, where would you go?

Alex: London, probably. I think it's part of my obsession with historical romance, most of which is set in London/somewhere in England.

   
Tasha: What's one book you've always wanted to read but haven't gotten around to?

Alex: I tend to be very single minded when I want to read something and don't stop till I read it, and I used to read a lot of classics as a kid, but I would say Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad if I had to name one.

   
Tasha: What was your favorite book when you were 10 years old?

Alex: Oscar Wilde's Complete Works (see, classics). I read it for the first time when I was 9, and I remained obsessed with it for years. Particularly, Canterville's Ghost, and Lady Windemere's Fan.

   
Tasha: What do you think is the best book-to-movie adaptation ever?

Alex: The Secret Garden, and Cuaron's version of The Little Princess. For mini-series: the newest BBC Sense and Sensibility, and, of course, Pride and Prejudice.

   
Tasha: What in your opinion is the most over-used trope in YA novels?

Alex: Trope as in shtick? Love triangle. And I bloody hate me some love triangles... lol, it has be exceptionally well done for me to stomach it, usually I just can't. Plus, I tend to pick the other guy ALWAYS (Hell, I picked Bois Gilbert over Ivanhoe in IVANHOE!)

Thanks so much, Alex! I never could understand why Rebecca chose Ivanhoe over Sir Brian, either.

To check out Alex interviewing me, go to her blog, A Girl, Books, and Other Things!

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Armchair BEA Hello

'Allo, 'allo, bloggy nation. BEA and BBC are all about meeting your fellow bloggers face-to-face. Since we can't do that because we're not there, I thought the second-best thing would be to do a vlog where I tell you about my blog and bit about myself as well:


Watch it on YouTube

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