Late to the game - Joining Armchair BEA! Here's my introduction post.

Port MacDonnell Pier, Southern Ocean
Courtesy Port MacDonnell website

Please tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? How long have you been blogging? Why did you get into blogging? 
I'm A.B. Shepherd - Abie will do. I've been blogging for somewhere between a year and half - two years. I got into blogging because of some friends I met on Goodreads. I was joking about wanting to be a professional book reviewer - which I am not. But my friends were bloggers and I decided, why not? 

Blue Lake, Mount Gambier
Courtesy Mount Gambier website
Where in the world are you blogging from? Tell a random fact or something special about your current location. Feel free to share pictures. 
I'm in rural South Australia, near the Southern Ocean. Our little town is noted for it's crater lake which turns an amazing color blue in summer for no known reason.  
Have you previously participated in Armchair BEA? What brought you back for another year? If you have not previously participated, what drew you to the event? 
I have never before participated in Armchair BEA but am participating this year due to peer pressure! Hahaha. Not really. Some good blogger friends are participating and they have inspired me to join in. Hence my late entry.  What are you currently reading, or what is your favorite book you have read so far in 2013? 
I cannot pick favorites very well when it comes to books - there are far too many. I will say a few highlights from this year have been Hugh Howey's Wool series and my good friend Rhiannon Douglas's Running.  

Coast, Southern Ocean
Courtesy Port MacDonnell website

Tell us one non-book-related thing that everyone reading your blog may not know about you. 
I'll tell you one thing that most people don't know about me, including some of my real life friends. I am completely deaf in my right ear due to excessive bouts of ear infection as an infant/toddler. 

What is your favorite part about the book blogging community? 
That is is a community, as much as any real life community is. The bloggers I have met are the absolute best. They are so supportive and helpful and just truly fabulous people.  

Is there anything that you would like to see change in the coming years?
This is such a general question, and I'm not sure if you are referring to the blogging community or to the world in general. There is so much I'd like to see change. I'd like to see wars end, the hungry fed, illnesses cured and eradicated, violence abolished, and everyone trying harder to be kind in every interaction every day. 


Please stop by to visit and leave a comment. I'd love to hear what you think. Have YOU done Armchair BEA before?