Photo Credit: Nina of Nina Reads
For those of you who don't know what Armchair BEA is: it's for the sad bloggers who can't attend this wonderful event. As part of the introduction, we were asked to answer 5 questions. I have a feeling that I've answered most of them already on the blog, so I'm just going to tell you 5 things you might not know about me:
1. Before I started to blog (about 16 months ago) I hardly read YA. My main genres were adult fantasy, thrillers and fairytales. I'm not sure how this changed, but I really love YA and I don't think I will get tired of it soon. I still read adult books now and then.
2. I've always been a reader and reading was sometimes an escape for me. I don't have many happy thoughts about primary school when it comes to friends and reading taught me that it's okay to be different. There is nothing wrong with being yourself and even the coolest, most awesome characters in books can be bullied. It's not your fault. It's still amazing that books can tell you such a thing.
3. I love gaming. My boyfriend has his PS3 standing here in my room and I often play some war games. We also like to play games together. We've completed Harry Potter Lego year 1-4 and 5-7 and we are currently busy with Lego Lord of the rings. Those Lego games are awesome!
4. I dream about having a hidden reading spot. You can see some inspirational pictures here on my Pinterest board: Home is where the heart is. Isn't this the best thing in the world? Imagine coming home, hiding behind your library on a lounge bank?
5. I hate dogs. I'm a real cat person and I would love to have a cat when I have my own place.
(If you are new to the blog, hello there! A short introduction: I'm a 22 year old student and I live in The Netherlands in a city near the sea. We have stupid weather over here. This is the first day in weeks that we have sun and it's supposed to be Spring already! My review career started on Goodreads and I decided to try it out on blogspot - and I'm still happy I did. I'm a book geek, movie/TV show watcher, a Disney fan and a fairytale addict. I'd love to dinner with Juliet Marillier and J.K Rowling, so I can fangirl over their amazing books. To see a black/white picture of me with more information: about me.)
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It's also classic time today:
Fans of classics love them for their universal themes, their understanding of the human condition, the writing, and sometimes for reasons that can’t be explained. Why, reader, do you love classics?
I'm actually not a huge fan of classics, especially not the Dutch ones. I own some classic English books, but I still haven't read them. We talked a lot about Shakespeare's work during our English lessons (loved it! I like his work) and I know the background of the famous stories, so I hope to read them some day. What about you? Do you read many classics and if so, which one do you recommend?
Nice to see you being a part of Armchair BEA, Mel! I am a gamer myself. My boyfriend always lends me either his Xbox360 or his PS3. I like war games too, but I am not good with navigation sometimes lol. I love Gears of War! I am also a cat person too!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm already participating in a BEA read-a-thon, but this sounded like so much fun! *Games high five* I also love to do Just Dance on the WII. And yeeay for cat persons!
DeleteSince you seem to be interested in YA I would recommend Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webber. It's a young adult classic worth anyone's time, I think. :) I would also recommend anything by L M Montgomery and Louisa May Alcott....their works would definitely fall under YA for the most part!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the recommendations! I will check them on Goodreads.
DeleteDutch classics. Shows you how insular I am, I always tend to think of the great english classics when someone says classics. Like Risa above, I would recommend Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery to you. Sooo good.
ReplyDeleteHappy ArmchairBEA.
Tanya
I may be Dutch, but when I hear someone say classics, I automaticly think about the English classis as well. Our stories are less famous.
DeleteI would love a hidden reading spot! Somewhere with lots of cushions and a couple of nice blankets!
ReplyDeleteHope you enjoy Armchair BEA
There are a bunch of Netherlands bloggers out there that I'm just meeting now all at once lol. I was like you and only read Adult before blogging, but now I only read YA. It's crazy how our tastes can change. Hope you're enjoying bea so far.
ReplyDeleteYeay, I'm happy I'm not the only one who switched genre! :)
DeleteI love the Lego games. I haven't played any in ages though! I'm not quite a gamer though...my skills are rather lacking in that department haha! I haven't read that many classics, but one that I read and enjoyed was Wuthering Heights...despite its frustrating characters.
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy Armchair BEA :)
I like to think I'm a pretty good gamer. My boyfriend often needs my skills and he is a hardcore gamer, haha.
DeleteMe and my son LOVE the Lego video games! He's got a Wii and he plays them all the time! LEGO Batman 1 was beat in a month, he's got batman 2, HP 1-4, pirates of the carribean, some star wars one....there fun! (P.s he's 6)
ReplyDeleteI love your Pinterest board! Lots of great home ideas. Sometimes I wish I had an unlimited budget so I could build a house with rooms that look exactly like some of the stuff I put on my board!
I really like that the Lego games are suitable for every age! :)
DeleteI love reading, as it always feels like an escape or adventure for me, so I totally get where your coming from. Hope you have a great week!
ReplyDeleteI started out as more of an adult reader, but I planned to be a YA-only blogger if I ever started a blog. Everything became mixed in the end though.
ReplyDeleteI miss playing on a playstation. I had to sell mine years ago and none of my friends are gamers so... The Lego games were pretty awesome.
I'm a huge cat person too! I love video games too, but I barely play anymore.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog!
I just followed you, :)
Dee @ Dee's Reads Classic Post
Thanks for the follow!
DeleteHi! I haven't changed the genres I read in thanks to blogging, but am I reading way more historical fiction than ever before thanks to it.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a gamer myself, although I was once quite addicted to Sid Meier's Civilization :-)
I'm looking forward to reading your BEA posts.
That hidden reading spot looks awesomee! But is obviously pricey.. maybe I'll start saving up from now on! haha! AND HOW CAN YOU HATE DOGS? I honestly love ALL animals <3 Great post!
ReplyDelete- Farah @ MajiBookshelf
I'm sorry :( I just don't like them!
DeleteBook blogging also turned me on to YA! I love how much this community has broadened my reading tastes!
ReplyDeleteHidden reading spots are the absolute best :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for stop[ing by Swept Away By Books!
Hate dogs?? I'm abashed by the harshness.
ReplyDeleteFreda's intro
It might be your age has something to do with your lack of knowledge in classics?!
Freda's classics
Yup. I find them scary and smelly. I don't get tge appeal of them.
DeleteI don't thibk my age has any to so with it. Like I said.. I'm not without knowledge of the classics. I've read some English ones + I talked a lot about them and I've read many Dutch classics in school. I do like to watch the classics. Jane Eyre is my favorite one!
We've got so much in common! I love gaming, too, though I don't get to play often because of school and time restraints, bleh. I think it's sweet how you and your boyfriend game together. <3 I used to hate cats and love dogs, but now I think I'm leaning toward the cat side, too. Cats are just so... fluffy. And quiet. And easy to take care of, you know? AND YES. Classics + me = me weeping tears of blood. Never liked them, except for the more "recent" ones, like To Kill a Mockingbird or Roll of Thunder, those kinds.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing, Mel! Too bad I'm not participating in this, but it was nice getting to know more about you. :)
I also wish I had more time! I'm trying to divide all my time between all the things I like and there are just too little hours in a day :p
DeleteIsn't YA the best?! I wish I had known about YA when I was in high school. I probably would have read a lot more! Thanks for stopping by my post!
ReplyDeleteHi Melanie! Thanks for visiting my intro post. :) My family is actually from The Netherlands! I was just there visiting last Spring. You might not have the mountains I have in Utah, but you have the water and the windmills and the tulips, not to mention the architecture! I just loved it there. :) I'm also not a classics kind of girl... I'm classy (haha), but not a classical lit type. :) Nice to meet you!
ReplyDelete- Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl
Haha, that's awesome! :D
DeleteI LOVE those Lego Harry Potter games! They're so addictive, and I love the level of detail in them! I've also played Lego Star Wars, and I've been considering getting Lego Lord of the Rings because it looks like so much fun.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by!
Ohhh, definitely buy LOTR. It's amazing! :)
DeleteI'm also participating this year! I'd link, but I'm lazy (shhhhh....) hehe. Anywho, I love hearing about how others began to read and all that. I'm rather surprised that you didn't read YA until a year ago. Hmm...
ReplyDeleteI'm no big fan of classics either.
Thanks for sharing, Mel. Love it! <33
It surprised me too! I used to be: Adult with some YA and now I completely switched :D
DeleteYou and I have similar feelings about cats and dogs. We have 2 dogs but...I could totally live without them. (We also have 3 cats, hooray!) I feel like a jerk saying that, but it's true!
ReplyDeleteI hope you're enjoying the ABEA! Have a great week ;)
Yay for being able to follow you on Pinerest too! I'm more a cat person than a dog person too but the opposite used to be true. We have a bob tail cat named Coco that my BFF gave me when ours ran away and we couldn't find him. And you know how I am with classics, not as much as I should!
ReplyDeleteI've also read much more YA than I have in years since I've started this blog. I think the YA book blogging community is just so large and accessible that it's hard not to get drawn right into it! And ahh I need Lego LotR in my life! My little sister and I play Lego HP 1 and 2, as well as Lego Indiana Jones, but Lego LotR would be the best ever. I need to look into getting that now. :)
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I'm not sure I know of any classics authors from the Netherlands, although I can name some painters from there. I do love Shakespeare's works. I do love reading classics, but especially now with a blog to maintain I sometimes have difficulty doing so!
The LotR lego game is awesome! Walking through Middle Earth is great :D There are many Dutch classics: http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canon_van_de_Nederlandse_letterkunde and I've read some, but most of them are kind of boring :p
DeleteAw, I loved reading this. <3 Thank you for sharing sweetie! Happy you love playing the Lego games ;) I have all of those three for my Nintendo Wii. Haven't really started playing them yet, though (A) but I did try the first Harry Potter one for a short time, and I did love it :)
ReplyDelete