Armchair BEA – Day 1: Introductions

Armchair BEA is for those people who cannot visit Book Expo America but still want to join in the fun. This week, June 4th to June 8th, there are celebrations for those who stay at home rather than make it to New York. Look out for a new post every day from me!

Today, Monday, is about getting to know each other. Armchair BEA has made some interview questions that I’ll answer below.

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

Although I call myself Leeswammes, I’m not Lee, as some people think: I’m Judith. Leeswammes is a word I made up from two Dutch words and means something like “lazy person reading”.

Yes, I’m Dutch, from the Netherlands. I read books both in English and Dutch and I also have a Dutch book blog, De Boekblogger (“The Book Blogger”).

I have been blogging for two years. I was already reviewing books on Shelfari (it’s a reading community like Goodreads) but I wanted a place of my own to keep track of the books I read and share with others.

What are you currently reading?

At this moment, I’m reading a book a day! Yes, starting yesterday (when I read The Cottage at Glass Beach by Heather Barbieri), I’m reading a book per day (and won’t go to bed until it’s finished!). Am I crazy? Possibly! But also, I like to challenge myself.

Today I’m reading The Sisters Brothers, a relatively short book, in Dutch. I should manage that, I’m sure.

Tell us one non-book-related thing that everyone reading your blog may not know about you.

Although I live in the Netherlands, I spent 15 years in England after my university degree. These days, I have a slight preference for reading English books. But when it comes to it, I can read a little faster in my native language, Dutch.

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

I would love to visit Alaska, the setting of several books that I’ve loved: The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey, Caribou Island by David Vann, Away by Amy Bloom, Robopocalypse by Daniel Wilson, Into the Wild by John Krakauer, Raven Stole the Moon by Garth Stein.

I like the idea of a beautiful, rugged place, with unspoiled nature, sparsely populated, and quite different from what I’m used to.

Have your reading tastes changed since you started blogging? How?

Since I started blogging, I’ve become much more aware of the variety of books that is around. How? Because I visit other people’s blogs and discover all kinds of books that  might not have heard about otherwise. Because of that, I sometimes get books from the library that are not in my standard genres, or I win them in giveaways. For instance, Horns by Joe Hill is a book I won. I was curious about it but it’s not at all in my genre. I read and enjoyed it very much. The same is true for the Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger.

My reading tastes have not exactly changed, but are extended to books that I would not have read before I started blogging.

What about you?

Let me know your answer to one of these questions! 

I’m curious! 🙂