Welcome to Armchair BEA. Introducing…Me!

Today marks the start of Armchair BEA 2014, and I’m happy to be participating for the first time! I actually think I signed up for it last year, but for some reason I never got it off the ground. Of course, in a perfect world, I would be at the actual BEA (Book Expo America), but I think this is the next best thing. Over the course of this week, the good folks who run Armchair BEA have lots of interesting topics lined up for bloggers to talk about, as well as Twitter parties and giveaways, and much more. To find out more about Armchair BEA, click on the link above.

To get things started, all participants are introducing themselves, so for those of you who don’t know me very well, here you go…

1. Please tell us a little bit about yourself. My name is Tammy, and I have been blogging since July 2011, which means almost three years! My blog is one of my favorite things, and it seems I never have as much time as I like to work on it. I started blogging after finding out that one of my friends had a book review blog, and I figured it would be fun to start my own. Little did I know what an obsession it would become, and I certainly had no idea I’d still be blogging three years later. I know you’re wondering, “What’s up with that crazy blog name?” Well, I decided to call this blog “Books, Bones & Buffy” after three of my favorite things, “Bones” after the TV show, which I started watching because, duh, David Boreanaz! And “Buffy” after the TV show, because, duh, David Boreanaz again! (And because the character of Buffy is the most kick-ass character ever.) I’ll admit, I had regrets about the name soon after I started blogging, and of course I came up with many other (and better!) names for a book blog. But after so much time as BB&B, it’s just become part of me, and I won’t ever change the name.

               Books.                               Bones.                                 Buffy.

I’ve been a book collector for many years, and I have well over 3,000 books in my house, many of them limited editions from horror and fantasy authors. I don’t spend nearly the money on books that I used to (I have kids now, and boy do they suck up money!) but I love my library dearly and I add to it whenever I can. I live in sunny southern California, right in the heart of the entertainment industry, where you can find just about every major studio: Warner Bros., Disney, Sony and Universal, to name a few.

2. Describe your blog in just one sentence. What??? OK, here is one sentence. “Books, Bones & Buffy is a book blog dedicated to seeking out amazing genre fiction and sharing it with the world.” Of course, there’s a lot more to my blog. I love reviewing great books, interacting with authors and publishers, hosting giveaways, and connecting with the blogging community. You can find me on Twitter as @tammy_sparks and on Facebook as Books, Bones & Buffy.

3. What genre do you read the most? I love most horror, science fiction and fantasy, or anything quirky and offbeat. I read both adult and young adult, although I confess I’m sort of getting tired of young adult and I feel as if the quality of YA books being published, in general, is starting to wane. I tend to stay away from contemporary fiction, because, well, my tag line on Twitter says it best: “Who needs the real world?”

4. What was your favorite book last year? What is your favorite book so far this year?  Always a tough question, to narrow it down to one choice. But the one book I read last year that I would pick up and read again is also my favorite: Vicious by V.E. Schwab. My favorite book so far this year? Absolutely no question: Red Rising by Pierce Brown. I suspect it may end up being my favorite of the entire year as well.

5. What does your favorite/ideal reading space look like? In reality, my favorite place to read is in bed, snuggled up with my dogs. But what kind of reading spaces do I dream of? Someplace quiet, cool, and sunny. Or someplace old and dark and cozy. Any of these places will do:

Now that you know a little bit about me, I hope you’ll visit again soon. I’d love to check out your Armchair BEA posts, so feel free to leave a link in the comments!