Armchair BEA Introductions

Now this is going to sound so random and so last minute, but I didn't decide to participate in Armchair BEA this year until a few hours ago.  I got signed up and registered, then forgot I signed up.  Needless to say, I'm not the most attentive person lately.  So when I saw the first blogger I follow post their introduction, Colette at A Buckeye Girl Reads, I figured I better get on the ball.  I'm really looking forward to the going ons this year.  So with no further ado, here are the questions they wanted us to answer (well at least five of them.)

Please tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? How long have you been blogging? Why did you get into blogging?

I always feel like it's the first day of school when I start to answer a question like this.  I really feel as if we should all be wearing name tag right about now.  My name is Ryan.  I'm a 35 year old retail manager, single father, Eeyore admirer, tea drinker, Scrabble player, and I'm  a Leo.  I started the blog back in July of 2009 because I was inspired by a good friend from the Barnes & Noble book club site.  So I have Deb of Book Magic to thank for the last few years.  It's been an amazing adventure, one I hope continues for a long time to come.

What are you currently reading, or what is your favorite book you have read so far in 2012?

Right now I'm reading An American Family by Peter Lefcourt, but my favorite book of the year has to be Gillespie and I by Jane Harris.  I don't think I'll ever be able to not recommend it to everyone and their French poodle.

What is your favorite feature on your blog (i.e. author interviews, memes, something specific to your blog)?

Gee, I get to brag about myself a bit.  Not sure that's a good thing, but here it goes.  I love the fact that I feature one of my Favorite Fictional Characters every Wednesday.  Over the years I have featured some character that everyone knows; Nancy Drew, Yogi Bear, Samantha Stevens, Eeyore, Buffy Summers, and the list could go one.  But what I really enjoy doing is featuring characters that not everyone is so familiar with.  I have been able to talk about Vanyel Ashkevron, who is the hero of The Last Herald Mage trilogy by Mercedes Lackey.  He was one of those characters that allowed me to deal with personal issues as a young adult.  I have able to highlight my favorite characters form books, movies, cartoons, comic books, TV shows, and even a poem.  It's something that I love to do and I'm pretty positive I'll never run out of characters to praise and heap adoration on.

Which is your favorite post that you have written that you want everyone to read?

It Gets Better...It Gets So Much Better would have to be the post that meant that most to me and the one I put a lot of myself into.  I posted it back in October of 2010 when it seemed as if there was an epidemic of gay teen suicide in this country.  I heard about the It Gets Better Project and I felt as if I want to partake in it, even it it was just through a blog post.  It's one of those issues, that as a gay man, I feel partially responsible for.  I have guilt over the idea that our community has not done enough to help these kids understand that life is waiting for them and that as bad as it is now, they have to much to live for.

Where do you see your blog in five years?

Hopefully right where it is, still going strong.  Wow, I just realized that would mean I will have been doing this for 8 years.  Not something I even had in the back of my brain when I put out my first post.  It's been an amazing experience and while I know it could end at any time, that life can get in the way, I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts.