About Me

About Yours Truly!

Soooo, obviously I'm a bit of a bookworm.....  And clearly I'm a dancer..... Clearly I need to talk about it a little more.....

My Reading Life:

Reading has shaped my life ever since I was a little girl and was first able to open a page.  Going to the library was often the highlight of my childhood, where librarians knew me by name and frequently reminded me of the checkout limit on my card (which I would always forget to bring, but I had the number memorized anyway, so it didn't matter).  I was also the student who would almost always read (and enjoy) the assigned books for English class, and who would also have the longest list of completed summer reads.  I was a total book geek then, and I still am one today!

It's a source of pride for me that I can read about 80-100 books a year.  My favorite way of passing time is to hang out at Barnes & Noble with my husband and just read with a cup of coffee in hand.  Because I read so much, I had to keep track of my completed books in a book journal.  When that wasn't enough, I tried joining book groups, but couldn't find one where people actually wanted to spend the hour talking about the assigned book.  So I joined online groups: first Shelfari, and then eventually Goodreads.  It is extremely satisfying to be able to talk with other like-minded individuals about the stories I've read.

In 2014, these same individuals started recommending that I start blogging about my passion.  I took their advice and now here I am!

I'll admit, I'm not the best blogger ever.  I'm a slow writer, so I end up running out of time to write posts, and I'll go weeks without writing anything at all.  But I do love blogging.  I love sharing my passion for books (and dancing) with others and reading other people's opinions.  It's all I want to do with this site and that's good enough for me!

My Reading Preferences

Now when it comes to my enjoyment of books, I think I can safely say that I'm a bit of a diverse reader.  I like multiple genres, although I tend to choose books that fall in the fiction and fantasy category.  I also sometimes read mysteries and science fiction, and I find YA and children's novels to be as equally enjoyable as adult novels.  

The genre honestly doesn't matter too much; what does matter is the content.  I like heartwarming stories that'll make me cry, or awesome exciting tales with a strong female protagonist.  I like books that are very well written, or ones that have creative story-lines or world-building.  I also like emotionally-driven stories with well-developed characters.  

I absolutely hate sappy, lusty romances and love triangles.  I also hate whiny teenage (or adult) characters, and I have difficulty enjoying books with repetitive cheesy dialogue.

There are many books out there that I absolutely love, but I try to be a little critical when I rate a book.  A book that I have declared a favorite has been a book that I've read more than once and still loved.  

I don't have many books on my hate-it list because I try to avoid reading books that don't come highly recommended by someone I trust.  When looking for a new book to read, I check the reviews to see if it's the right book for me.  Even then, I might go against the majority and not like it quite so much.  

Here's my rating scale:

★★★★★

It was amazing!  I am in total awe and I seriously want to read it again (maybe more than once!)

★★★★1/2

It was almost perfect.  I still want to read it again.  Maybe my opinions will change with a re-read.

★★★★

The book had some excellent qualities.  I really respect the story, but I couldn't quite love it.  Maybe a re-read, maybe not.

★★★ 1/2

This book exceeded my expectations, or at least put a smile on my face.

★★★

The average, likeable read.  Not all that memorable.  Once was enough.

★★ 1/2

This book was almost likeable, but not quite.  I had some problems with the story.

★★

It fell flat.  I was not impressed.

★

Hated it.  There are sooo many problems with this story it's laughable.

My Review Policy

Now, for those of you who are looking at me and my blog as a way to promote a book, please don't.  I'm not that kind of blogger.  I don't read ARCs, and I don't do blog tours.  I feel uncomfortable when authors email me about their latest book and try to get me to read it or promote it in a blog post, because I don't like saying no and I don't like having a book thrust upon me by someone I don't know.  If I had the time, maybe I'd give all this a try, but I barely have time to write regular posts, much less blog promotions.  So thanks, but no thanks.

My Dance Life

So, why the "dancing bookworm"?  Well, clearly it's because I dance, specifically ballroom and social dance.  It's not only a hobby of mine, it's also my career and my way of life.  

Both of my parents were dancers.  My dad was a ballet dancer back in the day, and my mom is a ballroom dance teacher.  She's also a former international dance champion in the cabaret and theatre arts division.

When I was 5 years old, Mom started a kids dance team, which, naturally, I joined.  It was my introduction into the dancing world and I haven't left it since.  Once I was too old for the dance team, I took all of Mom's dance classes and became the person she would frequently use to demonstrate steps.  At home, I was also her guinea pig, with my homework frequently getting interrupted so that she could try a new step with me.  I guess you can safely say that I grew up dancing.

Dancing was also the reason that I met my husband, Dave.  When I was in my freshman year of college (2006), Dave was going to Mom's beginner lessons.  He wanted to go to a certain dance party, but this was an event where coming in with your own partner was pretty handy, and he didn't have one.  So Mom naturally volunteered me to go with him!  The rest, of course, is history.  We got married in 2013 and couldn't be happier.

It can only be assumed that if I grew up dancing, and met the love of my life through dancing, then it should also be a part of my professional career.  I admit, I did try to become something else.  I went to college to get a degree in anthropology, with a minor in archaeology.  I wanted to become an archaeologist.  But reality set in: archaeology doesn't pay well and requires more study, which meant more college and more money.  So I turned to following in my mother's footsteps and became a teacher.  I started working for her in 2010, along with my brother, and now we're family-run business!