Armchair BEA: Introduction

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. Where in the world are you blogging from? Tell a random fact or something special about your current location. Feel free to share pictures. 
3. 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? 
4. What are you currently reading, or what is your favorite book you have read so far in 2013? 
5. Tell us one non-book-related thing that everyone reading your blog may not know about you. 
6. Name your favorite blog(s) and explain why they are your favorite(s). 
7. Which is your favorite post that you have written that you want everyone to read? 
8. If you could eat dinner with any author or character, who would it be and why? 
9. What literary location would you most like to visit? Why? 
10. What is your favorite part about the book blogging community? 
11. Is there anything that you would like to see change in the coming years?

Hi, Freda here. I am the one behind all the stuff here at Freda's Voice. Pardon the photo, it is currently the only shot of myself I have on my new pc. I'm not really a Vulcan, I am human and hail from Ontario, Canada. I have been blogging for over 3 years, actually closer to 4, and I initially started blogging for books. Yup, I said it. I'm a book junkie and have been addicted for some time now. Rehab is not an option.

This is where I live. Home of CFL's Hamilton Tiger Cats. If I liked football it would give me options, but I don't care for anything other than hockey, so books it is!

This is not my first year on the Armchair BEA side of things. I participated last year too. I was drawn into the event after watching it unfold in 2011. I saw how much fun it was to hangout on the sidelines and entered the next year and again this year. It really is a great way to connect with bloggers, authors and books. 

I'm currently reading this in print. I love reading books by Canadian authors. 

This book is a bit of an emotional read, and I'm about halfway through. Watch for a review and giveaway coming soon.

This is what I'm reading digitally. I am preparing to tour the book in July. So be sure to come back and check out the review then. It is book 2 in a series, that I really do enjoy.

I've recently discovered sushi, and it has quickly become one of my favorite things. Best one for me is the Spicy California Sushi Roll. MMM MMM Good!

Hard to believe it has only been less than a year that I have had sushi in my life. Can't for the life of me figure out why I didn't try it sooner. It is DA BOMB!

A couple of blogs I love are Simply Stacie, Guiltless Reading and VVB32 Reads. Each for different reasons. Simply Stacie is one of the first blogs I ever read. There is always great reviews on products, services and more, plus great giveaways. She is my mentor and doesn't even know it... well, maybe she will now... :-)  

Guiltless Reading is a great blog for book and book related things. Aloi has a classic nature to her blog and I love her Bookmark Mondays post.

Lastly, VVB32 Reads blog. This is a gem of a blog written by a gem of a lady! She has the coolest events from Jane Austen to Zombies!! I really love all the cool and fun things to do there!

Of course those are not the only blogs I love, they're just to show the variance of taste I like. I could list awesome blogs all day long, but then the other questions would go to waste. Just know, if I visit you, I love you. It's really that simple.

I can't say I have a favorite post, but have loved working with Staples this past year. I have done two posts for them now. One was a Tassimo T55 Home Brewing Machine and the other post was for the Big Chair Event. I really enjoy working with Staples and love the products they carry. With the convenience of their location in my city, they are a store suited to me. I know it's not book-related but they are my favorite posts overall. My favorite book-related post would definitely be my review for Always Watching by Chevy Stevens. She is definitely my favorite Canadian author. I have read all of her books and plan to keep it that way. She is awesome! Totes.

If I could dine with, and pick the brain of anyone it would be Maya Angelou. OMG how I love her. I read her books, and I Know Why A Caged Bird Sings, has always stuck with me. When you learn of her story, and how those poems came to be, well, a woman like me will always be sold. I shared a background similar to hers, and will always feel connected to that book. If given the opportunity I have a whole list of questions I'd ask, from one woman to another.

I'd most like to visit the Anne of Green Gables site in P.E.I. Hard to believe I have been to P.E.I, geez, I even lived in Nova Scotia for almost 3 years, and haven't seen it. It was one of the series I read as a kid, that always stuck with me. Oh, how I love spunky Anne Shirley. And yet, did not make the trip to see where it all happened, so-to-speak.  

My favorite part of the book-blogging community is all the resources. Whether you're looking for a review on a certain book, a highlight of something new, a giveaway, an interview, whatever it is you are looking for, the best resource is in blogland. Real people with real opinions. That's how you learn what might interest you, and what might not. Maybe you discover a new author, or one from your hometown. That's what book-blogging is to me. A sharing community for something we love. Books. What can be better than that??

In the future, I hope people will be more laid back on their blogs. Personalize it to you, don't just try to fit in for the sake of it. I also hope people will lay up on the "lynchings". Seems we've had too much drama over the internet in blogland. This person says this or does this and the whole world pounces. Maybe leave things between the two parties involved, step back and zip it. if I've learned anything over the years blogging it is that it only takes one comment to be misinterpreted and start a war. So if you have nothing nice to say, don't comment at all. Better for everyone. Your comments are visible and may hurt you later on. You just never know who sees what you had to say.

With that said, I look forward to Armchair BEA. I can live vicariously through the lucky bloggers that are attending, and still feel part of it from my nice new comfy Staples office chair.  :-)

Happy BEA everyone! Play safe and happy reading!

DISCLOSURE: Freda's Voice received no compensation for posting. Opinions are 100% owned by this blog.