Armchair BEA - Introductions

It's that time of year again, the time of year when bloggers who aren't going to NYC to visit with publishers, meet authors, and get a sneak peek at all of the upcoming books (not to mention, shipping home boxes of them) are just a bit jealous. Fear not, the folks in charge of Armchair BEA have a way to keep those of us unable to attend feeling happier about being at home. First up, it's time for introductions. The organizers have ask we answer five questions about ourselves from a list. Here are the questions I picked and my answers:

1. Who are you?  I played around with this answer for a bit, trying to come up with something clever and different. I've been blogging for four years and after that long, it kind of feels like you all already know everything there is to know about me! For those that don't, I'm Lisa (you'll also see me as Mama Shepp); I'm a wife (30 years with my college sweetheart) and a mother to three young adults I'm very proud of.

2. Tell us one non-book-related thing that everyone reading your blog may not know about you. When I was growing up, my family used to take three-week vacations all over the country and into Canada...camping. We've seen oceans, waterfalls, mountains, great lakes, cities, battlefields, museums and national monuments. Looking back, I'm astonished by my parents' willingness to put up with three kids fighting in the backseat, long days of driving, stormy nights in a camper, and all of that planning.

TD Ameritrade Ball Park - Home of the College World Series

3. Where in the world are you blogging from? Tell a random fact or something special about your current location. I'm blogging from Omaha, Nebraska, home of the College World Series,  Henry Doorly Zoo (ranked the #2 zoo in the country), and the most restaurants per capita in the U.S. You want it, we've got it!

4. What is your favorite book you have read so far in 2013? My favorite book so far this year is City of Women by David Gillham, which I highly recommend on audio. It's very dark and very graphic so I don't necessarily recommend it for everyone.

Jane Austen

5. If you could eat dinner with any author or character, who would it be and why? Assuming said author could come back from the dead, I would pick Jane Austen. I'd love to learn more about what inspired her stories and bask in her amazing wit. If I have to stick to a living author, that would be Thrity Umrigar. My lunch "with" Ms.Umrigar just piqued my interest in her. I'd love to learn more about how she blends what she's learned from living with the United States with her upbringing in India.

How about you - where are you reading from? What's your favorite book so far this year?