The One Where I Introduce Myself For ARMCHAIR BEA

    It's that time of year again. The time when book bloggers, authors and all bookish fans get together in the NYC for the great meet and greet known as BEA. For those of us not lucky enough (read: poor college student) to attend the real life version of BEA, there is the great internet version known as Armchair BEA so that we unlucky folk can get a taste of the great big BEA in our own little corner of the internet. 

   Here is the Armchair BEA's Mission Statement:

Armchair BEA is the experience for book bloggers to participate in Book Expo America (BEA) from the comfort of their homes. This experience is created lovingly by book bloggers specifically for our peers who for whatever reason are not able to participate in the main conference in New York each year. We bring publishers, authors, and bloggers together in celebrating our love for all things literary by hosting celebrations such as sneak peeks, daily discussion topics, and sponsored giveaways.

Sounds fun right? Sure it may not be face to face, but it's a great way to meet other book bloggers and publishers to discuss all things bookish! Each day there will be a new post up with new discussions on all things books! Want more info? Here is the FAQ page for Armchair BEA.  

Now, without further ado, an introductory post about yours truly.


1. 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? 

      Woohoo! My narcism, ahem, I mean high self-confidence, can come out without judgement! ;) Well, for those of you who don't know, my name is Mackenzie and I've been blogging since January of 2012. Well, it really only feels like a year and a half instead of two and a half because I took a year long hiatus. I'm an Army brat, so I'm not really "from" anywhere, but "from" everywhere. I took up blogging after finding out about book blogs. I accidentally came across one while looking for a book recommendation online and just kept finding more and more. I thought it seemed like a lot of fun, the community is great, and I just like to spread my opinion, so I created it on a whim. I was once the one looking for opinions on books, now I'm helping give them. 

A little bit about myself:

   I'm currently blogging from SC, but will be moving to the great state of GA until I head back to school in the fall in VA (see? I'm from all over!). I'm a HUGE movie lover. Some of my favorites? Gladiator, LOTR, Harry Potter, any war movie, superhero movies (a la avengers), Lion King, Mulan, Aladdin, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, the Princess Bride, Major Payne, and my absolute favorite comedy - MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL! And don't get me started on TV. I also love all things shopping and fashion. Too bad I have so few funds and that my love of clothes competes with my love of books. And traveling! Oh how I love to explore the world! I've visited and lived all over and can't choose favorites. Each place holds a special place in my heart. I also absolutely love animals. I wanted to be a zoologist until I learned it was pretty useless unless I had a PhD. Too much money. Also, too much science. But I have 3 wonderful, adorable, and annoying pugs. Gotta love em. I also may or may not have an obsession with all things Pinterest and Netflix. And interior decorating. And DIY. And DIY natural makeup and beauty. I also get bored quite easily and love taking up new crafts and skills. Thank you YouTube. 

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

Ohhhhhh a toughy, but definitely fantasy. Especially a medieval-like fantasy. I just love to escape to a new world and get lost in it. The imagination and creativity behind fantasies are like no other. I'm always a sucker for magical realms, magical powers and creatures, warring countries, action-packed fighting scenes, assassins and all sorts of weaponry. Give me a high fantasy any day of the weak. 

        

3. What was your favorite book read last year? What’s your favorite book so far this year? 

      Another hard one! Favorite book from last year is....Gah! Who am I kidding, I can't choose! Instead, here's a list (and a small one at that):

1. Falling Kingdoms (Falling Kindoms #1) by Morgan Rhodes - high fantasy = awesome
2. Eternity Cure (Blood of Eden #2) by Julie Kagawa - the FEELINGS! ALI! KANAN! JACKAL! ZOMBIES! KATANAS!!
3. Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices #3) by Cassandra Clare - JEM!!!
4. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass #2) by Sarah J. Maas - WOEIFJSLDFWELSKDFJLIW!!! So good I couldn't write a coherent review and had to use GIFs to accurately depict my feelings. Even that didn't do it justice. 
5. Defiance (Defiance #1) by C.J. Redwine - Rachel and Logan forever!!!
6. The Mark of Athena (Blood of Olympus #3) by Rick Riordan - PERCABETH!!! HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO ME RIORDAN! HOW?!?!!

    Yes, if you can't tell, I adored those books. Go read them. Now. Now onto my list of books I love so far this year:

1. Cress (Lunar Chronicles #3) by Marissa Meyer - CRESS AND THORNE!!!! Also, just all around super galactic fairytale awesomeness. 
2. The Falconer (The Falconer #1) by Elizabeth May - KIARAN!!! Also, Scotland. And evil "faeries". And Aileana is a tough, no-nonsense, vengeful, witty and awesome character who hides her emotions. Gotta love her. 
3. The Winner's Curse (The Winner's Trilogy #1) by Marie Rutkoski - Not what I expected but I loved it anyways. There was something just soooo....beautiful. It was heartbreaking and wonderful and imaginative and thought provoking. Definitely recommended. 

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

Ohhhhh PINTEREST?!?! I'm so game. Okay, picture time. 

A Harry Potter reading nook. A HARRY POTTER THEMED READING NOOK!!!!

      And there are SOOO many more. Really, in short, I like a nice chair or couch by a window with lots of natural light. My go-to reading nooks in my house are on my couch right below some fantastically big windows or my comfy, vintage chair in my room next to another fantastically big window. I also really enjoy being outside in the shade. Also, how AMAZING is that HP reading nook. I found that and about had a heart attack. I WILL buy a house eventually and it WILL have a cabinet under the stairs and I WILL convert it into an HP reading nook. Challenge accepted.

5. Describe your blog in just one sentence. Then, list your social details -- Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. -- so we can connect more online. 

A fun, sassy, and unique (hopefully) little corner of the internet where I can talk all things bookish with fellow bookish people. 

You can find me on Twitter, Goodreads, Bloglovin, and Booklikes. 

And, I can't end without saying something on this day - For my non-US friends, today is Memorial Day. It's a day to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our great country. For those US friends of mine, please remember that today isn't just a day for BBQ and hanging with friends, but a day to pay tribute to these soldiers and their families. 

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Life of a Blogger: Introvert or Extrovert

I've been a huge fan of Jessi over at Novel Heartbeat (what used to be Aunti Spinelli Reads) for a while now so when I saw that she started this new post I just had to join in! What a novel idea (hehehe). Okay, that was corny, but I'm proud of it. This weeks topic?

Are you an Introvert or Extrovert?

     Huh. It's actually really funny that this happened to be the topic this week because this has been the obsessive topic between me and my roommate as of late. See, we found a LOTR Meyer's-Briggs personality comparison and with us both loving LOTR (that's how our friendship started), we were obsessed. And part of this obsession had to do with the introvert/extrovert topic. 

     See, when most people see my roommate, they think she's an introvert because she's shy, quiet, timid and just has an all-around genteel nature. I, on the other hand, am loud, friendly, outgoing, a people-person, and sarcastic (how we became friends I'll never understand). But then my roommate was talking to someone and they said that we had a misconception of what an introvert and extrovert actually were. Here's what it means according to Carol Brainbridge:

Basically, an extrovert is a person who is energized by being around other people. This is the opposite of an introvert who is energized by being alone.

     Hm.....well that's interesting because according to this, I'm an introvert and my roommate is an extrovert. Seriously? 

     Seriously. 

     We like to say that she is an introverted extrovert and I'm an extroverted introvert. While my roommate may have the qualities of an introvert, she likes being around people. She actually feels really sad when she's alone. She doesn't necessarily like big groups, but she likes to do homework with people or at least be in the same vicinity as them. People energize her. 

     On the other hand, while I may have the qualities of an extrovert, I can only take people for so long. I like to be by myself to recharge. I don't mind being alone and I've alway preferred small get togethers over large parties. Quite frankly, people are tiring. I'd much rather be with a book or Netflix and my dog rather than people. Don't get me wrong, I love hanging out with people, especially my family, but I need a break. I've hung out with people all day and what's weird is I get a little grumpy. I feel like people are all up in my business and I can't get even a second of privacy! So I actually gain energy from being alone.

     Weird how most people have had such misconceptions about this, me included. So, now that you know what an introvert and extrovert truly are, which one are you? Let me know in the comments below! And if you know what you're LOTR Meyers-briggs personality character is, let me know! 

All the best ♥︎

Mackenzie 

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