Armchair BEA: Day 1: Hi, there! Pull up a chair!

Welcome to A Sea of Books.  My name is gwendolyn b. a/k/a geebee.  And this is Armchair BEA.

Armchair BEA has been organized by a fabulous group of booklovers/bloggers for those of us who are unable to attend the publishing world's big event in New York City.  You can check out the agenda they have established for this week here.

Today's topic:  Who are you, and how do you Armchair?

We've already established who I am, so let's move on . . . First of all, let me make one thing clear -- there are no armchairs involved! None! Not a one!  Most of my reading is done in or on my bed (nestled under a window accented with a pleasant sea breeze in the summer and horrifying gale force winds in the winter.).  My blogging takes place in our home office on a second-hand office chair that was old when I got it 14 years ago. This spot is nestled nicely between the litter box and the washer and dryer. However, above the desk is a lovely large window so that I have a nice view of the sky and treetops in the neighbors' yards. We have no trees. None! Not a one! I've also been known to spend my lunch break hurriedly composing a post and sometimes I stay late at the office because my work computer is pretty nice.

I live in Rhode Island in something of a winterized beach house with my recently divorced sister and her kids - at least, the kids are with us half the time. We have a crazy routine that isn't routine at all, and that has made it difficult for me to keep up with blogging. I love blogging and would be happy to spend my days alternating between reading and blogging. Alas, I have to work for a living, and also keep up with the laundry and the litter box! Maybe someday . . .

My favorite books tend to be historical in some respect -- stories of the British monarchy; the period from WWI though WWII; American historicals, especially set in the West or the Southern states; and I've completely fallen in love with books set in Southeast Asia and China or Japan. But I do enjoy books from a much wider range as well: detective fiction and police procedurals(especially British!); science fiction and fantasy (including an occasional vampire); classic coming-of-age stories; memoirs; and real life "disaster" stories such as THE PERFECT STORM by Sebastian Junger. I'm also crazy for audio books, which I listen to almost exclusively during my daily commute. (I LOVE being stuck in traffic!)

My armchairing for this week mainly includes visiting blogs because I've been out of the loop for a while and I really miss connecting with my book-loving friends. I'll also be posting on the daily topic suggested by the Armchair BEA organizers. And I really want to explore the website they've established because they've pulled together some wonderful resources. For instance, check out this link to publisher's catalogs.

Between keeping up with this online event, catching up on my own posting, and helping with homework, I think I'll be so busy I won't have much time to regret not being in New York!

Thanks for stopping by - hope I'll soon be finding my way to visit you, too!