Armchair BEA ~ introductions first

Armchair BEA takes place June 4-8, 2012.  I posted the schedule of daily events earlier, and you can sign up here to participate.  Today is the day for Introductions First, where we read interviews about each other.  Here are my answers to five of the ten questions (shown below).  Only five, because we are expected to read as many interviews of other bloggers as possible.

1.  Please tell us a little bit about yourself:  Who are you?  How long have you been blogging?  Why did you get into blogging?

Bonnie and Cady

I'm Bonnie Jacobs from Chattanooga, Tennessee, and I've been blogging about books and life since January 2007.  I write about books for all ages, both fiction and nonfiction, having gotten into blogging to keep track of books I've read.  As I say in my profile, "I read to explore ideas."  Here I am with my granddaughter Cady.

2.  What are you currently reading, or what is your favorite book you have read so far in 2012?

I'm reading and discussing books with two different online groups:

(1)  Traveling with Pomegranates by Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor, a memoir, with several friends at Book Buddies.

(2)  Living Buddha, Living Christ by Thích Nhất Hạnh with two other friends at Notes, Quotes, and Questions.

You are welcome to check out our discussions and comment there (or here) about them.

3.  If you could eat dinner with any author or character, who would it be and why?

Bonnie and Jeffrey Small

I'll choose someone I could discuss ideas with, like Jeffrey Small.  This photo was taken in April, when he signed my new copy of his thriller, The Breath of God.

4.  What literary location would you most like to visit?  Why?

Shakespeare and Company

The manager of my apartment complex has just returned from Paris.  Knowing I'm a booklover, she told me about visiting Shakespeare and Company, an eccentric bookstore.  Young writers are allowed to live and work in the shop.  Wikipedia says of it, "The bookstore includes sleeping facilities, with 13 beds, and Whitman claims as many as 40,000 people have slept in the shop over the years."  Doesn't that sound intriguing?

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?

Dewey was my favorite creator of community among her readers.  She had us doing things like Weekly Geeks, Bookworm Carnival, and her 24-Hour Read-a-Thon, which continues to this day in her memory.  Her book blog, The Hidden Side of a Leaf, was taken down after she died in 2008, but her blog Snippets remains up, with "snippets" of Dewey's writing and some of her photographs.  Dewey influenced a lot of us.  And did you know Dewey's cat was a reader?

Dewey's cat

Armchair BEA has a Mr. Linky for Day 1 interviews, so go find other bloggers you want to know better and read their interview answers.  Here are the questions we were to choose from:

1. Please tell us a little bit about yourself:  Who are you?  How long have you been blogging?  Why did you get into blogging?
2. What are you currently reading, or what is your favorite book you have read so far in 2012?
3. Tell us one non-book-related thing that everyone reading your blog may not know about you.
4. What is your favorite feature on your blog (i.e. author interviews, memes, something specific to your blog)?
5. Where do you see your blog in five years?
6. Which is your favorite post that you have written that you want everyone to read?
7. If you could eat dinner with any author or character, who would it be and why?
8. What literary location would you most like to visit?  Why?
9. What is your favorite part about the book blogging community?  Is there anything that you would like to see change in the coming years?
10. Have your reading tastes changed since you started blogging?  How?