Hello there, fellow book lovers!

Today begins Armchair BEA. I think this is my third year to participate in Armchair BEA, so you may be familiar with it. If not, click here to learn all about it. I love the concept of joining a book conference without traveling to New York (although at some point I’d love to do that, too).

The folks at ABEA have asked participants to answer five questions as a sort of introduction. Here are my five questions and answers plus Library Love.

What is one book everyone should read?

Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White.

I love the spare, intelligent writing in this book. The themes are universal but still relevant 60+ years after publication–themes of friendship, loyalty, tolerance, and diversity. In addition, how can you not love his first and last lines? First: “Where’s Papa going with that ax?” Talk about a hook! And the last: “It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both.” Ah, fantastic!

What is your favorite genre?

I’m going to cheat a little. My go-to fiction is ghostlit, which is probably more of a category than a genre as you can find ghost tales in literary, romance, mystery, women’s fiction, historical, YA. Plus, as far as I know, I made up the term ghostlit.

What are you reading right now?

Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie. This is a ghost romance. Quite fun, so far.

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. I didn’t want to read this and kept pulling out other books ahead of it because I thought it would be depressing. Finally, I succumbed, and I’m glad I did. It’s a joyous novel of friendship and personal growth.

No Witnesses by Ridley Pearson. A mystery-suspense that takes place in Seattle, a city I love, perhaps because this city is home to my elder daughter and her husband.

What book are you looking forward to reading this summer?

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin. My book group chose this novel. The blurb sounds very interesting. I didn’t even know Gabrielle Zevin wrote for adults. I loved her YA novel Elsewhere. It had a ghost. Naturally.

What blog post are you proudest of?

I don’t get angry too often (though more as I grow older), but I wrote this one in a fit of pique. Maybe I like it because I was angry. Plus, attacking Jane Austen? I mean, who does that? Aside from Mark Twain, of course. Here’s the post: V.S. Naipaul vs. The World, or Why I Vacuum.

Library Love

I love the Pleasanton Library because of its open windows and friendly librarians and books for sale. I recently picked up The Perfect Ghost by Linda Barnes for $1.00. I’d never heard of this author and picked the book up because of the title. It turns out, there’s no ghost, but it’s still a great read. Now I have a new author to follow. Cool!