Armchair BEA 2015: Introductions

I am so excited that Armchair BEA has started again! Last year was my first time and I just can't wait to get back into the fun of it. We're all starting with Introductions, hop over to Armchair BEA to check out the questions. And remember, only pick five questions to answer!

Tell us a bit about yourself: How long have you been blogging? Where are you from? How did you get into blogging?

I have been blogging for close to five years now, I think. I haven't been blogging full-time since I have also been going to school and just finished my Bacherlor's Degree (yaay me) so I haven't been able to focus completely on my blog. I started because my English teacher suggested we start a blog to write about our thoughts on the books we were reading, etc. I took her advice and went completely overboard with it and ended up with a proper book blog. I am originally from the Netherlands and Germany, but I lived in London when I started my blog. I have been in  Nottingham for the last three years at University and will move up to St. Andrews for my Masters in September!

Why do you love reading and blogging?

Reading is something I feel like I have always done. When I was too young to read my father used to read to me and since then books have always been a major part of my life. Blogging only came into it relatively late, considering, but I have absolutely grown to love it. It is amazing to have such a platform and community with which you can share your passion. Everyone in this blogosphere shares their communal passion for reading and that just makes it a very pleasant environment to be in. I feel like I can be as enthousiastic as I want to be without being judged.

What is your theme song?

Aah see, this is a difficult question. If my life was a movie it would be the strangest one ever because it moves from comedy to tragedy to road-movie to drama and back to comedy relatively quickly. So I'm going to pick a song which has been very important to me.

Yup, this song was pretty much a life-saver at times. I don't even care if it's a little bit cliche or not, I love this song and this woman. 

What does diversity mean to you?

Diversity is very important to me. Although I am about as white and European as you can get, I've always been friends with people from different cultures and countries and therefore hope that I am quite aware of how important diversity is. Within literature I think there should be space for everyone because books are such a good way for people to learn about things. Last week I read Girl at War which was about the Yugoslav War. Although I knew about it, it was amazing to learn about this time from someone from Bosnia who has a lot more knowledge about it than I do. That is what literature is for, to learn from others and to really sink into someone else's life experience. And that is why diversity is important as well because literature should be representative, not privileged. 

Take a picture of your bookshelf and share it with us! :) #ABEAShelfie

I haven't done a shelfie in aagees. I'm currently at university which means that many of my books aren't actually with me atm. I have decided to make a composite shelfie, i.e. take a picture of all my deposit spots and put them together.

Ok, so I get that the quality here is rather crap, but I hope you get the gist. As you can see I have two shelves up on the wall, a small bookcase on the floor and of course rows of books on my desk.

So, that was my introduction! Have you got your ABEA Introductions post up? Leave a link below so we can come round and visit :)