Book Expo America Week! Day One.

But for those of us - bookbloggers extraordinaire - who can't attend the ACTUAL Book Expo America at the Javits Center in NYC this week, we have the next best thing: Armchair Book Expo! This week BEA is the place for book people to meet and greet, but if you can't attend in actual person, then thanks to the gals at Armchair BEA, we can hang out at a virtual convention - from the comfort of our own armchairs. Check out the website link to see what cool things the gals at Armchair BEA have in store for us this week. Books rule!

Each day this week there will be different fun things going on. Book discussions. Questions to ponder. News to absorb. Giveaways. Etc, etc, etc.

Today's exercise is to introduce ourselves (as if you didn't already know enough about me already) by responding to the following question:

Who are you and how do you Armchair?

My name is Yvette and I am a woman of a certain age. (Better than saying I'm an old biddy.) I am a proud mother and grandmother. (My beautiful granddaughter has her first birthday today!) I am an illustrator currently taking a break from the working life for various and sundry reasons. But I am gearing up towards possibly opening an etsy shop sometime next year. I am bilingual - English and Spanish, but I only read and write in English and I admit my Spanish is getting more and more rickety with age. I was lucky enough to grow up in NYC in the 50's when Manhattan was nothing but a huge playground. 

I love to read, primarily mysteries, but I'll read anything that's well-written and engages my imagination. I admit I am very opinionated about what I read, but that's who I am. I love to laugh and if we disagree on a book, I'm hoping we can agree to disagree and laugh about it at the same time. Sometimes I feel as if I've read just about everything, especially when it comes to mysteries, but then I find myself being surprised by something new - that's life.

I've been blogging since last July (no matter what google-blogger says) and being, in general, a hapless techno-phobe, I am the most surprised person in the world to find myself with a blog. Who knew the internet could be this much fun?

BLOGGING HABIT: 
As much as is humanly possible, I try to post something every day. I blog about books, movies (mostly vintage), art (and design) and really, just about anything else that catches my peripatetic eye. Eclectic is my middle name. (Or so I like to think.)

GENRES I READ:  
I love mysteries, thrillers, suspense and once in a while a good spy drama. Occasionally I read romance, science-fiction, fantasy and even so-called 'serious literature'. I've been known to read  steampunk, cyber-punk and the category-defying books of Christopher Moore and Jasper Fforde.  I also read non-fiction, especially history, biography and travel. I am very fond of books set before and/or during WWII. I'm also fond of childrens' picture books and I have a nice little collection.

GENRES I'M NOT FOND OF: 
In general (unless I have a very good reason) I don't read YA (Young Adult) novels, although lately I've read a few I've liked so that may be changing. In general, I avoid books filled with teenage angst. I don't read horror, I don't read 'happy hitman' books. I don't read blood thirsty serial killer books. I dislike over-the-top violence unless the author convinces me that it's necessary and writes it in a way that doesn't make me cringe. I also have little if any interest in vampires, zombies or other variety/combos of  the undead. I'm not crazy about books written from a hundred (I exagerate) multiple viewpoints unless it is very, VERY well done. I don't read e- books unless ABSOLUTELY necessary.

And another thing: I rarely read books written in the present tense.. Don't like it at all. Don't understand why it's suddenly all the rage. Exception to the rule: I've just read THE HUNGER GAMES which is, more or less, written in the first person. (Review coming up later.) But only because a good friend insisted I do so. Sometimes, as you know, you just have to please your friends.

FAVORITE BOOKS:
If you check out my blog's left hand sidebar, you'll see a listing of some of my favorite books beginning with my numero uno of all time: Jane Austen's PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. After that, it's an eclectic mix.

I am a big fan of the Golden Age of Mysteries - authors like: Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh and Rex Stout -  and you'll generally find a review of one or two of them mixed in with all the regular stuff I like to post about. Saturday morning, I post A Favorite Painting but I'm always ready to talk artwork and artists and I take any opportunity I can to post vintage mystery book covers simply because I love the graphic look of them. I'm also always ready to dish old movies, especially those from the 40's, 50's and 60's.

Okay, enough about me. What about you? I'm off to get acquainted with the other Armchair BEA bloggers and see what they're up to this week.

Thanks again to the gals at Armchair Book Expo for making all this come together in such a friendly and useful way.

illustration by Edward Gorey. To read about and see more Gorey work, please go here.