---
title: "Reading Everywhere: Armchair BEA: getting personal"
url: https://readingeverywhere.com/2011/05/armchair-bea-getting-personal
description: "What a fun week this has been! I've found some great new blogs to follow, met some awesome bloggers, and feel really energized and motivated..."
---

# Reading Everywhere: Armchair BEA: getting personal

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## Friday, May 27, 2011

### Armchair BEA: getting personal

What a fun week this has been! I've found some great new blogs to follow, met some awesome bloggers, and feel really energized and motivated about my own blog.

[Armchair BEA](http://www.armchairbea.com/)

is almost over for this year, and today's topic is

blogging about blogging

.

In yesterday's #armchairBEA twitter chat, Suey of

[It's All About Books](http://sueysbooks.blogspot.com/)

mentioned that she prefers blogs that include a personal touch. I completely agree-- I'm more likely to get invested in a blog that balances information about the blogger's day-to-day life and thoughts along with their book reviews. I want to feel like I know that blogger as a person. Blogs that solely focus on book reviews are useful to me as a librarian to refer to when making purchasing decisions for my library's collection, but the ones I really get hooked on always have a little personal stuff mixed in.

I know this. Yet I have a hard time doing it myself.

So! Let's chat.

Right now, I'm seriously wanting to go to

[ALA Annual](http://www.alaannual.org/)

in New Orleans. My baby will be 8 months old next month, and probably not yet able to walk (though she's crawling!) so theoretically, this would be a good time for travel. But then I hear horror stories of babies who get their sleep thrown out of whack by taking a trip and they NEVER GO BACK to their former good sleep habits. And my baby girl, she's a pretty decent sleeper these days. So. Since I don't have an "official" reason for attending ALA New Orleans (other than: "I wannnnna!"), I guess I should count myself out this year.

But even though I may not be able to get to ALA this time, I'm SUPER excited about next year, because ALA coming to me! The Annual conference will be in Anaheim, and I've been appointed chair of

[YALSA's Local Arrangements Committee](http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/aboutyalsab/localarrangements.cfm)

. I served on

[ALSC](http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alsc/index.cfm)

's Local Arrangements Committee last time ALA Annual was in Anaheim, and I had a blast. ALA is a pretty huge conference, but serving on that committee gave me a way to feel connected and feel a part of things. I met all sorts of cool librarians and got to help out with some amazing events, like the Newbery-Caldecott banquet. It was an incredible experience, and I can't wait to get started on the tasks for YALSA's Local Arrangements Committee. I'll be working with an excellent team of librarians- my husband says I should call it a LIBRARIAN STRIKE FORCE- and I am really looking forward to doing some cool things for YALSA.

That's what's going on with me right now!

So, blogosphere: yay or nay on the addition of personal chitchat on a book blog?

Posted by

[Allison](https://www.blogger.com/profile/06628530227439660832)

at

[8:00 AM](https://readingeverywhere.com/2011/05/armchair-bea-getting-personal.html)

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