Book Blogger Appreciation Week :: Interview Swap with Aaron from "Coffee for the Brain"

BBAW 2010

.: Meet Aaron from the blog, Coffee for the Brain :.

1. How long have you been blogging? What was the reason you began blogging?

a.  I began blogging full time at the beginning of the school year, last year. I tested things out 2 years ago when I taught social studies and we were blogging back and forth with a school in Australia. I then took on a new job as a talented and gifted teacher and used the blog to stay in contact with the students in my building. I used to do book talks for sixth grade all the time and the blog has been my way to continue to review books for kids when I don’t have time in my schedule to book talk.



2. What do enjoy most about blogging? Least?

a.  I love having an outlet to express my nerdiness. I have let my guard down and have made a fool of myself in several of my videos that I make for the students. Many teachers use my videos as an activity during homeroom. I present challenges and different opportunities for people to try out. I have formed some good relationships with some fellow bloggers as well as students in my building that I would never have a chance to meet without the blog.

b.  My least favorite thing is keeping up on the blog. I try to post every day and there are times when that is next to impossible or there just is not anything worthy to post. I also hate it when I think I have some brilliant idea and it flat lines on the blog and nothing comes out it.


3. Your blog title, "Coffee for the Brain," is so cool! How did you come up with it?

a.  Well, to be honest I don’t remember. I am known as Coffeechug at school. I was given that name back when I taught sixth grade by some students. I used that as my Roman Emperor name for a simulation and it has stuck and spread throughout my building. I drink coffee all day and am known for my massive thermos of Starbucks coffee. I tried to come up with a clever name implementing coffee and somehow, someway the title came to me. I wish I had a cool story to share, but I don’t.


4. What is your favorite book? How did this become your favorite book?

a.  Of all time I would have to say, “Catcher in the Rye”. That is one of the few books that I have read multiple times. I don’t usually read books more than once as I feel there is so much great literature out there that I don’t have to time to read books again. However, I usually read this one every year. I think this book is my favorite because I remember buying it at a bookstore in high school during one of those pivotal adolescent moments we all go through. I was really trying to find myself as is Caulden in the novel. I was able to relate to him on so many levels back then. I don’t find it as engaging of a read anymore as I don’t connect quite the same way, but the nostalgia of the book for me always brings me back to reading it every fall. Some of my most recent favorite reads have to be Countdown by Deborah Wiles, Compound by S.A. Bodeen, Unwind by Neal Shusterman, and anything by John Green and Kurt Vonnegut. These books have yet to leave my top reading lists of all time no matter how many books I read each year.


5. Tell us a bit about your "offline" self - something we might not know just from your blog. (This can be a hobby, something about family life, etc...)

a.  Great question! I should have used this myself. I played college basketball where I met my wife and how I ended up living in Iowa. I am from Indiana so I love Notre Dame football and Indiana basketball. I am training for several races to run this fall. I help run a Lego Robotics team that hopefully will make it to state this year. I have two children, 5 year old boy and 3 year old girl so being a parent of a kindergartner I have realizing is a lot of work. I am never satisfied with my current self so I am always setting new goals and challenges to tackle (competitive nature owns me!). I cannot read books that are creased or torn. When I buy a book it has to be in perfect shape. If a page gets crinkled I am not able to read it anymore. I am also a huge Dave Matthews Band fan. I have seen them in concert over 14 times and own literally thousands of bootleg concerts and own every single album released by them. I attend music concerts like no other usually getting in around 12 shows or more every year.


6.  Describe yourself using seven adjectives or less!

a.  Nerdy, tech-savvy, laid back, determined, caffeinated, zany.

Thanks, Aaron! Don't forget to visit his blog - it's full of all kinds of fun ... and caffeine for your brain, of course!

Father's Day Special Feature :: Interview with My Hubby, Jeremy!!!

In honor of Father's Day 2010 this coming Sunday, I have been devoting this week's blog posts to all things fatherly!!! Why?? Because FATHERS ROCK!!!

I wanted to showcase the most important man in my life ... my wonderful husband, Jeremy - the father of our four little blessings - Elijah, Callan, Aedan, and Naomi. 

Enjoy getting to know him - he is truly incredible!

THIS IS JEREMY!

(Isn't he cute handsome gorgeous???)

I had so much fun interviewing my own husband about his experiences with literature!! He enjoyed it, too!!

Q.  What was your favorite children's picture book as a child ... and why?

My favorite picture book was (and still is) How Droofus the Dragon Lost His Head by Bill Peet.  I felt that it was very innocent, kind, and showed understanding.  I appreciated the fact that the book demonstrated the value of life in animals.


Q.  What was your favorite children's chapter book as a child ... and why?

It was definitely The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis.  I liked the Christian values exhibited in the books, specifically, respect for the reader's own manner of worship. 


Q.  How has being a father affected your attitude towards reading and/or literacy?

It has refocused the importance of literacy to me.  Since my wife [that's me, Mary Elizabeth!] was a teacher before staying home with our children, she has always communicated the importance of literature to me in regards to learning, self-esteem, and future potential in our children.  The free-thinking and creative ideas that only books can introduce to our children is invaluable!


Q.  As an adult, do you have any new favorite children's books?

The Fablehaven Series by Brandon Mull
The Spiderwick Chronicles by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi
The Tunnels Series by Brian Williams and Roderick Gordon
Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling





Q.  When did you develop a love for reading?

I developed a love for reading in college, when I began taking courses related to my areas of study, specifically history.  World history, religious history, and religion most interested me in my reading endeavours. I also developed an interest in children's literature through my wife as she studied Elementary Education.


Q.  What is your favorite thing about reading to your children?

I love their enthusiasm for reading! I especially love hearing them say, "Daddy, read me a book!" and having them bring it [the book] to me.


Q.  And just for fun...please describe yourself in six words!

::Confident::

::Loving::

::Arrogant::

::Compassionate::

::Forgiving::

::Irish::

**Thank you so much, Jeremy, for sharing a part of yourself with my readers!!! I love you!!**

Clue #2 for Mystery Friend Friday:  The mystery author / illustrator can be found in this interview!!

Come back tomorrow for a special Father's Day Giveaway!!!

Armchair BEA Interview - Meet Marg from Melbourne, Australia!

The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader

Today's Armchair BEA mission was to interview another book blogger, and I was lucky enough to interview Marg, who resides in Melbourne, Australia! How cool is that??

Q.  Your header is beautiful! I noticed you have Amelia Earhart on it. I was born in Atchison, Kansas, her hometown; in fact, my grandparents' house was right next door to hers! What made you choose her for your header?

A.  Wow! How cool that your grandparent's lived next door to Amelia Earhart!

I wish I could take credit for the idea that put Amelia Earhart on my header, but I really can't! The lovely Alex who recently did my blog redesign came up with it. When I first started blogging my blog name was Reading Adventures, so when it came time to talk about what I wanted my brief was "Way back when I first started blogging I thought I would like something that was a play on the blog title - you know something about books being an adventure, but I don't want anything too cutesy" and she came back with the idea of a 1920s explorer, (because I like to explore different genres). As soon as I saw it I was blown away and just loved it! Even got a little emotional because it wasn't something I had even thought of at all!

Q.  What are your top three favorite books of all time?

A.  You are asking the tough questions early! Favourite books ever. The first one would be either Outlander or Voyager from Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. I have a serious crush on Jamie Fraser that has lasted a number of years now. This is the book that I credit with really getting me back to reading after a long absence.

Second, I am going with The Bronze Horseman trilogy by Paullina Simons. The first book is The Bronze Horseman and it is set during WWII in Leningrad, and it just a really lovely book.
Third, I have a whole heap of books that I could put on the list, from Sharon Kay Penman, Elizabeth Chadwick and others, but I think I am going to go with Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. It's set in Barcelona and is kind of gothic and moody, and I loved it!

Q. What do you and Australians in general think of the Twilight series of books / movies? What about the Harry Potter series? Are they as hugely popular there as they are in the United States?

A.  Books like Twilight and Harry Potter are definitely global phenomena, and yes, they are hugely popular here too! It's funny because there are times when you can see the book trends very clearly when you are on public transport. For along while it was very common to see lots of people reading Harry, and then the same thing with the Twilight books. The books of the moment seem to be the Millenium trilogy by Stieg Larsson. It is everywhere!
When I read the first Twilight book I really enjoyed it, and the same for the second book. I wasn't as enamoured of the third, and as for the fourth book, well, I wanted to throw it against the wall several times. I do know quite a few families where the Twilight books have got mum and kids reading, so while I know that there are plenty of people who don't like the books, there have been some good outcomes from them. To be honest, my absolutely favourite Stephenie Meyer book is actually The Host. I am not usually a sci-fi reader, but oh my goodness, I loved that book! I really hope the movie gets made, and that there is a sequel some day. Please.

Q.  How long have you been blogging? What made you begin blogging?

A.  I have been blogging for what feels like forever! In actually fact, it is around 4 and a half years. I started blogging because I loved to talk about the books that I was reading, and I wanted a kind of online reading journal. Originally my blog was really only book reviews, but these days that is probably the least part of my content. I started the blog because there was one book that I read that I just HAD to talk about with someone, anyone, and there was no one in real life who was really a reader. That one book was The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. Now I look back at the review of that and think that I could do so much better, but it is there for posterity in the form that I wrote it at the time.


Q. What do you enjoy most about blogging?

A.  I really still enjoy talking about books. Even after all this time I can’t get enough of it. I love seeing a book on someone’s blog that I think I might enjoy, and then discovering a new favourite author when I read it! This happened to me last year with a couple of authors last year, most notably Susanna Kearsley and Susan Holloway Scott and this year I would have to say that Kathryn Stockett and Patrick Rothfuss have been great finds.
I also enjoy making new friends and maintain existing friendships through blogging and Twitter. Some of these people I may never meet in real life, but they are amongst the people who I count as true friends and some of them probably know me better than people I see every day! I figure if I ever get to go travelling again at least I will find some friendly faces in Canada, the US, Britain, Portugal, France….all over the place. I think I should start planning a blogging world tour!

I also enjoy the process of thinking about a post and putting it together. I often find myself thinking about posts I could write. Often I don’t end up actually writing them all, but I do enjoy the mental, or perhaps a better word could be creative, side of the blogging process. I don’t consider myself to be overly creative, but just enough to get by.

Q.  Describe yourself in three words.

A.  Oh….don’t like this question because sometimes it depends on what you are doing and how you feel. I could start with the obvious...
Mum, reader, blogger
Or
Reading/blogging addict
Or less obvious attributes of
Dedicated, hard working, social
Or perhaps I should just go with

Indecisive, wordy, cheeky!

Thank you, Marg! Please visit Marg's blog at The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader.