Armchair BEA 2016 Day 3 | Beyond The Books And Beyond The Blog

Here on Day 3, we are moving our focus beyond the traditional format of the media we consume and create! 

Beyond the traditional form of the novel, what are your favorite alternative forms (graphic novels, audiobooks, webcomics, etc)? Do you have any favorite works within these alternate forms? How do you think the changing format affects the reading experience? 

Our secondary topic, beyond the blog could focus on the ways you engage in talking about books outside of your blog. Do you participate in book clubs, take classes, meticulously maintain your goodreads profile? Let the world know!

HELLO AND WELCOME TO ABEA DAY 3!!! Today's topic is really cool! As you can see from the above blurb, it's "beyond the books & beyond the blog"! On the book related side of things, we're going to be taking a closer look at our favorite formats of books beyond the traditional, physical format! On the blog related side of things, we're going to be talking about how we share and spread our love of books offline! So let's dive in

Topic 1: Beyond The Books

As y'all now know, I "read" and review primarily audiobooks. I always feel odd, because so many book bloggers I know either don't like audiobooks or are really, really hesitant to give them a try, but I love them like no other! I even recently made a post about the joys of audiobooks (psst! you should really check it out!).

A lot of people are hesitant to try out audiobooks because they're afraid the narration will affect their reading experience. And I won't deny that that's true, it does. The pacing, tone, emotionality, and voice of a narrator can absolutely affect how you percieve the book you're listening to. But I've found that most voice actors know what they're doing. There are a lot of narrators who have narrated hundreds of books to the point that I recognize their names and know they're good narrators. So I don't worry too much. Worst comes to worst, I can always actually read a snippet of the book and see if I like it.

A lot of times I also see people looking for a place to start with audiobooks. My all time favorite audiobook series is definitely J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter, narrated by Jim Dale. But if you've already read Harry Potter and want something new, I cannot recommend the audiobook of Libba Bray's The Diviners enough! It's just...heavenly! The narration is AMAZING!!! It feels like you're listening to an old radio show! Some great narrators are Julia Whelan, Jennifer Ikeda, Ariana Delawari, and Elizabeth Evans, to name a few.

Another "non-traditional" format of books I've recently gotten into is graphic novels. I LOVE them! I have no idea why on earth it took me so long to get into them. I guess I thought they might be too overwhelming to read, having to pay attention to both art and text. But honestly, they're really easy to read for me, even easier than a novel. I can't pinpoint exactly why this is, but whatever it is, I'm glad!

Topic 2: Beyond The Blog

Honestly? It's kinda sad but online is my main place for fangirling about books. I do however have one real life friend, Claire, who co-blogs at Book Conversion with me, who is just as passionate about books and stories as I am. And when we get together it's a bubbery, melting mess of fangirling, lol! But other than that, I don't have many outlets for my bookish obsession. I'm a science major in college, so I haven't taken any English or creative writing courses about anything other than academic essay writing (bleh!). I did try out booktube once and failed miserably! It was laughable. I just felt like I was standing in a room talking to myself...which I was...I've also tried and failed at being in book clubs. My ADHD/ADD makes it hard to really dig in and commit to stuff, so that's why book clubs are hard for me.

But I'm happy with my blog. I've connected with a lot of people and made so many good friends! It would be a dream come true if one day we could all meet in person, though!

So that's all there is for today! I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you on the flip side!