Armchair BEA: Introductions & Library Love!

INTROS

Blahhhh so last year when I said I would make my mom go, I guess I spoke too soon. She ended up being able to go but I couldn't. I got in a car accident and had to get a new vehicle (which insurance didn't help with) but enough of my sob story. Looks like I'll just bring BEA to me!!! I'm gonna try and not answer the same questions I did last year. Which works fine because I think they're some of the same lol 

1. Tell us a bit about yourself: How long have you been blogging? Where are you from? How did you get into blogging?
     My name is Nikki and I have been blogging for about 4 years. I went on a break after the first year because school, work, and blogging was just too much. (Especially as an English major. I had ENOUGH reading for school and it took me forever to read a pleasure book...) I got into blogging because I wanted to do something cool for an English project I had. We had to get creative and do a non-traditional book report on the books we read. (Thinking about it now, the project can actually be more closely associated with my feature Beyond the Book.) But anyways, I wanted to do something cooler than just a paper, so I created a blog. Butttt considering she didn't have a blogger account and she didn't want to take my password and blah, blah, blah I couldn't keep it. So I ended up keeping it for my own leisure and making it a MG/YA/NA book blog instead. Now four years later I'm so happy about deciding to keep it up. I'm from the USA in Texas. I would say where, but I'm from all over. From Galveston, to Houston, to Huntsville, I'm all over the place!

2. Why do you love reading and blogging?
     Let's break this question into two parts.... I love reading because it can take me anywhere I want to go. Which is why I named my blog this. For example, I've never been to NYC or BEA, but soon I want to start on City Love by Susane Colasanti just to get the experience! I love blogging because I can share my thoughts on books with everyone. I also love that with my blog I found so many different people in the world that love books. It serves as a great way to meet more BOOKISH people. 

3. What does diversity mean to you?
     Being diverse means to have a large variety of things. In the bookish world it can mean so many different things. Such as the authors who wrote the book, the characters in the book, and what's on the cover. This can range from the characters being anything other than Caucasian, anything other than straight, and having a mental illness or disability. Being diverse is something that means a lot to me personally because I am a minority as an African American. Add on to the fact that I geek out over YA, comic books, and the fact that I'm in school to become a librarian, people look at me like O_o. I just hate the looks. I'd just like to see more of the "real" world reflected in books. Diverse books I'm really looking forward to are: 
Dumplin'What You Left BehindThe Summer of Chasing Mermaids

     Dumplin' by Julie Murphy is about a "non-twiggy" female that enters a beauty pageant. What You Left Behind by Jessica Verdi is from a dude's POV but what makes him different.... is the fact that he's raising his infant daughter. And last but not least,  there's The Summer of Chasing Mermaids by Sarah Ockler. This one is a loose re-telling of The Little Mermaid, and it has a gorgeous POC (person of color) on the cover. This is only a FRACTION of the diverse books releasing this year, and I can't wait to read them ALL. 

4. What is the top book in your TBR pile?
     Right now it's actually the one I'm currently reading: Nowhere but Here by Katie McGarry. I've been waiting on this one for FOREVER. I love her writing and she always has the best book boys. I'm so glad I'm finally reading it! 

5. What is one book everyone should read? 
     Easy peasy. Well kind of... I'm gonna cheat and say a series. Harry Potter. Most peoplehave read the series or seen the movies. Which proves my point, regardless of how you experienced it, HP is loved by so many people. This obviously means if you haven't read it, YOU NEED TO NOW! lol 

LIBRARY LOVE

Reasons why I love the Library

     Not gonna lie, I LOVE this topic. I'm gonna try and keep all my feelings in check because I could go on for days about the love I have for libraries. I already have so many things I want to feature smh So, here goes.....
     Ever since I was a little girl I knew what I wanted to do. At four I told my mom I wanted to either be an author or work in a library. AT FOUR. And now that I'm on the path to achieve that dream, I need to give credit to the program that is making it possible, University of North Texas' Library Science program. Their program is one of 4 in the state that are ALA accredited and their classes are amazing. There's such a wide variety of classes and I've enjoyed everyone I've had so far. It won't be long (2017) before I get my Masters and I can finally achieve my dream! Thank you UNT!!!!
     Another thing I'd like to give a shout out to is the Houston Public Library system. They are AMAZING. I haven't even finished my degree yet, and they have helped me in every way they could. It hasn't mattered what my assignment has been so far, but they've been there to help me. I also love how HUGE they are. There are 31 different locations in the city of Houston and they are all wonderful. Because they are so big they have an amazing collection and use inter-library loans to help get books they may not have at the location closest to you to you and it make the collections so much BIGGER. Houston Public Library is a joy to be surrounded by, I really hope to work for them in the future!
     As for the reason I want to be a librarian? I have so many of them. I hate seeing kids and teens that hate to read. My plan is to make reading fun for them. I want them to love reading as much as I do. If that means reading challenges, praising them profusely for reading, what the case may be, I want to make sure they know that reading is not bad or nerdy, but fun and nerdy and that it's ok to like it. I also feel that with having a diverse person that works in the library will help others that are diverse to come to the library a little more. It could make them a little more comfortable. I also want to be a librarian because I feel at peace in the library. When I was in college I went in to the library to volunteer when I didn't have a job. Why? Because I loved the quiet and wanted to surround myself with all the books. Last but not least, I want to become a librarian to ensure that where I work for the rest of my life won't feel like work, but home. I want to make sure that I love what I do since I will be doing it for so long, and I can tell you this, I don't love anything more than books. And just knowing that they'll let me borrow them for free makes me even more happy. The library system is such an amazing concept! 

What are your feelings about libraries?!

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