I'm still recovering from my last trip to BEA, so this year I decided to try something different: Armchair BEA. That sounds about right.

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? 

I have an About page which needs updating, but in the meantime, Hello! My name is Anamaria. I'm a museum educator, a researcher and writer, and, for as long as I can remember, a reader. I've been blogging at books together since 2007 (also a long time in blog years). Before that I had a blog about making things, which I still like to do. I'm married to a college professor (handsome and smart) and have two children (13 and 10). And I'm blogging from Arlington (VA), a near suburb of Washington, DC.

What genre do you read the most?

I read mostly novels of the middle grade and YA variety, and especially like fantasy and historical fiction--sometimes both at once. I also read (and review) a lot of picture books. Within those genres, I look for multicultural and international children's books. I'm interested in the whole book: writing, illustration, and design.

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

Thank goodness for Goodreads, without which I might not remember what I read last year (or even what I've read so far this year). It's not a perfect record--I don't keep track of picture books there, and often forget to add books I don't blog about--but it's a start. Narrowing the question down just a bit, my favorite middle grade or YA book published in 2013 which I also read in 2013 might have been Picture Me Gone by Meg Rosoff (Putnam Juvenile). My favorite middle grade or YA book published in 2014 which I've read in 2014 is probably the The Children of the King by Sonya Hartnett (Candlewick). Although that one was first published in 2012 in Australia, so maybe it doesn't count? Then I can say The Story of Owen: Dragon Slayer of Trondheim by E.K. Johnston (Carolrhoda).

I should also mention Marcus Sedgwick: I read Midwinterblood (Roaring Brook, 2013) in January of this year (after it won the Printz), and am reading She Is Not Invisible now, and like them both lots.

What does your favorite/ideal reading space look like?

Anywhere (outside of a moving vehicle) will do--I'm more concerned about being caught somewhere without a book than I am about having an ideal place to read one. At home I like to read curled up on the couch in the front room, or lately in the hammock. 

Spread the love by naming your favorite blogs/bloggers. 

Three favorites are Charlotte at Charlotte's Library, Karen at Ms. Yingling Reads, and Zoe at Playing by the Book.

Share your favorite book or reading related quote. 

That would have to be Cicero, from Letters to friends 9.4: If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need. Charlotte might agree, Karen could confirm that the sense of the translation is correct, and Zoe is probably already planting the garden.

Thank you for visiting!