armchair bea: keeping it real

my road of blogging, there's many more posts to come :)

Hello readers and visitors!
   I feel awful because I haven't been visiting as many blogs as I'd like to. I'll definitely put more of an effort today! And for those who haven't been lazy like I have and have found your way to this post: I admire you so much. Thanks for stopping by!

How do you not only grow an audience, but how do you keep them coming back for more?

I'd like to say I've only lost 1 follower since reaching over 650. And I keep saying that the only reason I seem to be able to keep this many is by being myself and being honest. I know that sounds absolutely over-said and sappy, but its true. Honesty is key in keeping an audience.

If you have been around for years, how do you keep your material fresh?

My material consists of reviews, and reviews are always fresh. They're just my analysis and opinion about a book: it varies for each book. There are some things that I repeat way too often, like how characters are key, how cheesy YA romances are, weak female heroines, unrealistically hot guys, how amazing The Shadow of the Wind is...all of these things I'm completely aware of. I haven't mentioned a few of them recently, except for The Shadow of the Wind (as you read earlier). I think all bloggers have similar experiences to mine. Those repeated things I listed above were only problems I reported when I read young adult fiction. Now, with classics, I don't have that problem, which is why I love classics and modern classics so much. I almost felt diseased when I kept reading pretty much the same things repeating over and over in different books, like a cacophony of bad literature (no offense) when I suddenly took this magic medicine that "cured" me. I'm diverting from the actual question: my apologies.

How do you continue to keep blogging fun?

Fun for me, or for my readers? I've kind of detached from the blogging world and my readers. I don't comment as often or visit blogs as often. I fear that it's what happened to me after reading too much young adult books: I became bored. I became over-critical and exhausted. I might still be, but I'm putting an effort into blogging again: thanks to Armchair BEA's schedule and topics given to me with deadlines. More than fun, I find blogging (more precisely, reviewing) crucial to me. The hiatuses I took...I completely forgot about blogging and didn't even think about it. But when I came back, I...enjoyed it. I enjoy formulating my thoughts into words and solidifying my opinions on a stable outlet. Why I need to keep blogging:

• I'm more aware of who I am (as weird as that sounds). My honest thoughts can no longer hide in my head once their online. Like I said before, blogging solidifies my opinions. Not only on books, but on occasion I'll type something up and be like "Wow, that's deep. Do I really think that way?" After all, my typing is loads faster than my writing, and always easier to read than my "fast-writing".
• I can keep track of books and my initial thoughts to them: My primary motive for blogging was to keep track of books. And of course, its interesting to see how my perspective changes later on when I look back at books I've read. This blog is like road of time: I can go back to certain dates and look at what I wrote, how I sounded like, who I was. Sadly, I wish I had kept another blog about my personal life. My diaries have been neglected for months, even years. My last entry before writing in it two days ago was last year.

I've never considered my blogging to be fun to others. I hope my readers enjoy what I write, and I'd like to think they stick around because they do. Another over-repeating motto I keep spewing out is "If you truly enjoy reading my blog, you're welcome to follow. If for any other reason you wish to follow my blog, I would reconsider". I don't want to make it seem like I'm some amazing blog that only exclusive people can read, no I just don't want to bother or waste other peoples time. Do something because you truly want to.

Ah, now that I have given you all my sagely, old-blogger wisdom (which totally went off-topic), what's your response? Leave a comment and I'll visit your post!

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armchair bea: literary fiction

This a genre I love so much, and I can't wait to discuss it! I'm not into reading recently published for many reasons. Mainly because its too expensive and because I'm focusing on classics. I feel like classics are the foundation to reading and I'm embarrassed that I don't know many classics. Granted, I have read many more than the average teenager, but its not enough for a bookaphile!

Are there any books I'm excited about (this year)?

I'm a massive Hosseini fan, and when I heard that this was coming out, I think a part of me died from excitement.

An unforgettable novel about finding a lost piece of yourself in someone else.

Khaled Hosseini, the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, has written a new novel about how we love, how we take care of one another, and how the choices we make resonate through generations. 

In this tale revolving around not just parents and children but brothers and sisters, cousins and caretakers, Hosseini explores the many ways in which families nurture, wound, betray, honor, and sacrifice for one another; and how often we are surprised by the actions of those closest to us, at the times that matter most. 

Following its characters and the ramifications of their lives and choices and loves around the globe—from Kabul to Paris to San Francisco to the Greek island of Tinos—the story expands gradually outward, becoming more emotionally complex and powerful with each turning page.

What authors/novels would you recommend to someone new to the genre?

1. Carlos Ruiz Zafon
2. Khaled Hosseini
3. Markus Zusak
4. John Green

Honourable Mentions:

1. The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
2. Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma
3. A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park

Are there any misconceptions or things that you'd like to clear up for people unfamiliar with literary fiction?

I don't think there are any misconceptions about literary fiction, not so much as other genres like horror ("Oh no, I don't have the stomach for it") or mystery ("I always flip to the end! Haha, I can't stand not knowing!") or fantasy ("Just a bunch of dragons and voodoo magic, bah. It's not realistic!"). Literary fiction just is. While searching for titles, I tried not to tread into "classic" or "modern classic" territory because there's a thin, wavering border between them.

What got you started into this kind of book?

There was never a definitive moment where I just delved into literary fiction. I unknowingly started to read books that fit into the genre because I classified everything as "young adult fiction" and "adult fiction".

Name a novel that hasn't received a lot of buzz that definitely deserves it.

The Caliph's House by Tahir Shah

In the tradition of A Year in Provence and Under the Tuscan Sun, acclaimed English travel writer Tahir Shah shares a highly entertaining account of making an exotic dream come true. By turns hilarious and harrowing, here is the story of his family’s move from the gray skies of London to the sun-drenched city of Casablanca, where Islamic tradition and African folklore converge–and nothing is as easy as it seems….

Inspired by the Moroccan vacations of his childhood, Tahir Shah dreamed of making a home in that astonishing country. At age thirty-six he got his chance. Investing what money he and his wife, Rachana, had, Tahir packed up his growing family and bought Dar Khalifa, a crumbling ruin of a mansion by the sea in Casablanca that once belonged to the city’s caliph, or spiritual leader.

With its lush grounds, cool, secluded courtyards, and relaxed pace, life at Dar Khalifa seems sure to fulfill Tahir’s fantasy–until he discovers that in many ways he is farther from home than he imagined. For in Morocco an empty house is thought to attract jinns, invisible spirits unique to the Islamic world. The ardent belief in their presence greatly hampers sleep and renovation plans, but that is just the beginning. From elaborate exorcism rituals involving sacrificial goats to dealing with gangster neighbors intent on stealing their property, the Shahs must cope with a new culture and all that comes with it. 

Thank you all very much for stopping by! Leave a comment and a link to your own post so I can visit :D (psst: if you like my blog, I recommend following. A bit of shameless advertising, I know ^_^)

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armchair bea: blogger development and genres

Hello everyone!
   Today's discussion for Armchair BEA is Paths to Becoming a Better Blogger. I'd like to say I have experience as a blogger with almost five years, but I'm still growing.

Blogger Development

 Have I branched out in the community?

 No, I have not. I'm a closet-blogger and sometimes I feel that I should go out there and talk to people about Pages. But the opportunity hasn't struck.

Do I partner with other bloggers?

 Ah, the affiliate-craze of 2010. I was affiliates with Cate from Sparrow Review (she left), Liz from Cleverly Inked (also left), Brent from Naughty Book Kitties (stopped being affiliates) and my last, surviving afffiliate, Precious from Fragments of Life (we haven't done any big stuff of late!). On my writing blog, I hosted competitions with other bloggers and I'm planning another one now. As for Pages, I've been going solo.

How has my online personality developed over the years?

When I first started out as an almost-thirteen year old blogger, I was quite naive and immature. You can totally check out my old book reviews and such: HOW embarrassing. I wrote literally a sentence or two as a "review" and wrote comments on other blogs with excessive exclamation marks and emoticons. I can definitely say I've matured. My online personality has always reflected my actual personality: so its not as if I have a double identity: my real and my online one. They're two of the same and I believe its better that way. Keeping it real and being honest are two important aspects of my life. Besides, I don't want to show someone this website and have them say "Wow, doesn't sound like you at all". Blogs are an extension of the writer (like wands are to wizards).

Of course, I'm more formal and sophisticated when I blog than when I speak. I have the time to find the right words and being a writer, I can put my thoughts into words better than I can put my thoughts into verbal speech, if that makes sense?

Genres

As defined by Wikipedia:

Genre fiction, also known as popular fiction, is plot-driven fictional works written with the intent of fitting into a specific literary genre, in order to appeal to readers and fans already familiar with that genre.[1] Genre fiction is generally distinguished from literary fiction. Screenwriting teacher Robert McKee defines genre conventions as the "specific settings, roles, events, and values that define individual genres and their subgenres."[2] These conventions, always fluid, are usually implicit, but sometimes are made into explicit requirements by publishers of fiction as a guide to authors seeking publication. There is no consensus as to exactly what the conventions of any genre are, or even what the genres themselves are; assigning of works to genres is to some extent arbitrary and subjective.
Genre fiction is often dismissed by literary critics as being pure escapism, cliched, and of poor quality prose.


I enjoy reading genre fiction and I hope to expand my tastes by exploring horror and thrillers. I enjoy escapism, and that's not something that should be criticised. Everyone wants escape. I don't know what else to discuss on this matter, so leave comments or links to your posts so I can visit them!

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armchair bea: introduction

Hello everyone!
 I am back from my hiatus! I've actually been working on a review of Brave New World by Aldous Huxley these past few days to break the ice, but I'm procrastinating on that. Instead, I thought I'd do something more fun and interesting and current: like Armchair BEA!

 I've to chose from a list of questions, some that are such typical "interview" questions that I think I'll just link to posts where I've answered them in the full :) I hope you all don't get bored or anything, I'm not all that interesting!

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

Good question. Who am I? I don't know myself, and I don't want labels to define me. But it's the only way to put myself in words, so: reader, writer, student, friend, blogger. I have been blogging for 4 complete years and I'm going on my fifth (I started in October of 2008). I initially started blogging with a friend in elementary school about global warming issues, but decided I wanted a blog that I could run by myself on something else that I felt passionately about: reading.

2. Have you previously participated in Armchair BEA? What brought you back for another year? 

I have. I participated in 2012 (here) and I remember having fun and wanted to do it again! Honestly, I forgot until I saw another blogger's interview post and remembered. Don't look at me like that! I've been on hiatus, I had no idea!

3. What are you currently reading, or what is your favourite book you have read so far in 2013?

I haven't been keeping up with modern YA novels and in fact, I've been reading the classics, like Dracula and The Stranger. I'm currently reading Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre. It's absolutely amazing!

Winner of the 1964 Nobel Prize for Literature, Jean-Paul Sartre, French philosopher, critic, novelist, and dramatist, holds a position of singular eminence in the world of letters. Among readers and critics familiar with the whole of Sartre's work, it is generally recognized that his earliest novel, La Nausée (first published in 1938), is his finest and most significant. It is unquestionably a key novel of the twentieth century and a landmark in Existentialist fiction.

Nausea is the story of Antoine Roquentin, a French writer who is horrified at his own existence. In impressionistic, diary form he ruthlessly catalogues his every feeling and sensation. His thoughts culminate in a pervasive, overpowering feeling of nausea which "spreads at the bottom of the viscous puddle, at the bottom of our time—the time of purple suspenders and broken chair seats; it is made of wide, soft instants, spreading at the edge, like an oil stain." Roquentin's efforts to come to terms with life, his philosophical and psychological struggles, give Sartre the opportunity to dramatize the tenets of his Existentialist creed.

4. If you could eat dinner with any author or character, who would it be and why?

Last year, I said J.K. Rowling. This year, I'll say...Albert Camus (The Stranger). First of all, he's pretty hot. He's my latest literary crush, and I think my first. He's got that suave, classy French feel about him.
Second of all, he's a French Existentialist (not the German sort) and I'd love to hear him "lecture" with me over a cup of cafe. Existentialism is a complicated subject matter and what I read tends to differ from other existential writings. I'd love to learn from Camus!

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

If you all have read The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (its my writing-bible), then you'll know about the Cemetery of Forgotten Books. It's a secret library in Barcelona that safe-guards books. If one is introduced to it, then that person must chose a book to protect and is allowed to put a book inside. The setting of the novel is when the main character, Daniel, chooses a book called The Shadow of the Wind and learns that its the only surviving copy at that someone has been systematically destroying all copies of the works of Julian Carax (author of The Shadow of the Wind). It's such a romantic idea, and it sounds like a book lovers' paradise and hell all in one. That magical gothic feel I got for it while reading attracts me to it. If you haven't already read The Shadow of the Wind, I highly recommend it!

So there are my five questions! Thank you so much for stopping by, and have fun travelling to other blogs :)

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