Armchair BEA 2013: Intro!

Happy Tuesday, lovely readers!  I hope you all (or at least the US followers) had a great Memorial Day weekend.  I went kind of MIA around here, as we were busy traveling to my parent's house in CT, playing outside with Small Fry, and eating way too much food.

BUT, I am back this morning with my Armchair BEA intro post.  For my non-blogger readers, Armchair BEA coincides with the Book Expo America convention in NYC--a convention that I DESPERATELY wanted to attend this year, but due to finances and such minutae, was unable to do so.  So, the next best thing is Armchair BEA--an online "convention" for all the book bloggers that couldn't make it to NYC this week.  :)

Today is the Armchair BEA kickoff, and all participants are doing intro posts...so here are five quick questions/answers to tell you a little about me and the bloggy blog:

1. Please tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? How long have you been blogging? Why did you get into blogging? 

Many of you already know this, but: I'm Kelly.  I'm almost-not-quite-30.  I live in Upstate New York with my husband, my almost-2-year-old son (referred to here as Small Fry), and a very hairy dog.  I've been book blogging since August 2012.  I got into it because I already had a pretty long history with personal blogging, BUT I honestly found my personal life to be rather boring fodder for blog posts.  I've been a psychotically devoted reader for as long as I can remember, so I decided that books would be way more fun to write about than the home-buying process, or the trials and tribulations of breastfeeding.  (You're welcome.)

Me, Small Fry, and some actual fries.

2. What are you currently reading, or what is your favorite book you have read so far in 2013?

Currently I'm in the midst of two print books (Mama's Child by Joan Steinau Lester, and Cooked by Michael Pollan) and one audiobook (The Round House by Louise Erdrich).  So far I'm loving Cooked the most, CANNOT put it down.
Best of 2013 so far?  Hard to choose, but it might be Indiscretion by Charles Dubow.

3. Tell us one non-book-related thing that everyone reading your blog may not know about you. 

My first year in college, I was a Pathobiology major (which is a fancy way of saying Animal Microbiology, basically).  For one of the intro animal science courses, I had to train a sheep.  Do you know how impossible it is to train a sheep?  I spent weeks just trying to get a leash on my freaking sheep (who I named Eddie, after my younger brother, because it was so stubborn...I know, I'm a jerk).  Then I had to train it to walk in a straight line for an agriculture show.  Not to mention all the hours I spent shearing it beforehand.  Needless to say, by sophomore year I was a Family Studies major.

4. If you could eat dinner with any author or character, who would it be and why? 

I have a lot of authors that I would love to meet, but they would probably make me so nervous that I'd be a terrible dinner date (I'm looking at you, Stephen King).  However, I am a fanatic for Michael Pollan's books, and he does not seem too intimidating, so I think I'd go with him.  Especially because his books are based on food--so who better to share a meal with?
As for fictional characters, I'd love to meet Lisbeth Salander, even though I'm quite sure she'd want nothing to do with me.

5. What literary location would you most like to visit? Why?  

I wish that Derry, Maine was a real place.  I'd like to visit...for about 10 seconds.

Happy Armchair BEA, peeps!