Armchair BEA – Day 1: Introductions and Literature

INTRODUCTIONS

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

Melissa here, blogging from Pittsburgh, PA!  I joined Every Free Chance almost two years ago — not long after I decided to take a break from my career as a Behavior Analyst  to stay home with my son.  Turns out that silly undergraduate degree in English actually *did* help me get a job as a writer (see, Dad?).

Chrissy here, also blogging from Pittsburgh! I started Every Free Chance in October 2011. I love to read and I wanted to do something other than practice family law. Now, almost three years later, EFC is growing and I formed EFC Services, LLC–a freelance proofreading and editing service.

What genre do you read the most? I love to read because ___________________ .

Melissa: I’m a sucker for dystopian stuff – I can’t get enough of it!  I’m also a big, big fan of fantasy.  Hmm . . . I wonder if Dystopian Fantasy is a thing . . .  “Big Brother is watching you cast that spell!”  Oh, man.  That would be awesome!

There are so many reasons I love reading:  I love the patterns in language, the grammar, the way writers can twist and bend words to make them say what they want.  I love to analyze how writers interpret language, to discover their particular quirks, and to let them lead me through their stories they way THEY want them to be told.  Books are tangible proof that we are fighting entropy and we are winning:  writing is a beautiful way to organize the world.

Chrissy: I read chick lit the most. I love happy endings, romance, humor. But that is not all that I read; I also read a lot of YA and general fiction, MG and fantasy.

I love to read because it is an escape. Reading allows me to enter a new world. It amazes me that a book can make you feel so many different emotions. I love it when I am reading a book, and I get so caught up in it that I forget where I am and what I’m doing. I also love it when a book makes me react out loud regardless of where I’m at or what I’m doing.

What does your favorite/ideal reading space look like? (Pinterest encouraged!)

Melissa: No Pinterest necessary!  I love to snuggle into the corner of my couch with the wedding blanket my mom made, a cup of tea or a glass of wine, and my two-year-old snuggling next to me.  He isn’t much for sitting still, but I can’t help but take a break from my own book when he climbs into my lap and tosses a book at me: “Read it Momma, please please please?”

Chrissy: I’m with Melissa on this one, I love to read in my chair with a cup of coffee or glass of wine and have my kids snuggling with me. It’s a great way to enjoy a book and time with the kids. As for an ideal, awesome space, these would be pretty cool:

 

Share your favorite book or reading related quote.

Melissa: “I like things to be story shaped.”  -Neil Gaiman

What book would you love to see as a movie?

Melissa: I just finished a book called Fury: The Cure #1 by Charlotte McConaghy that would translate well; it’s got enough action and passion to keep watchers interested, and there’s just the right amount of plot for a killer Summer Blockbuster.

Chrissy: I’m not sure, but I would love it if they would re-film the final showdown between Harry and Voldemort and make it exactly as it appears in the book. I think it would be so much more powerful.

 

 

LITERATURE

 What do you think of when you think of literature? Classics, contemporary, genre, or something else entirely? We are leaving this one up to you to come up with and share the literature that you want to chat about the most. Feel free to share a list of your favorites, break down your favorite genre, feature your favorite authors, and be creative about all things literature in general. 

Literature is writing that uses words as an art form – not just a means of communication.  It’s using alliteration and rhythm and hyperbole and semicolons and turning them into a seamless, cohesive text.  It’s the label we use for that thing people create when they combine imagination and know-how using words.