Introductions!

[Elyse, Moderator]

We've had a few new members trickle in over the past few years and even when I joined in 2012 I didn't know anybody. So I thought it'd be nice to do some introductions about ourselves for new and even the old members. Because I don't know anything about the new members and not too much about the old members. :) So feel free to post as little or as much as you want us to know about yourself and let's get to know each other a little better.

[Elyse, Moderator]

I'll go first! :)

My name is Elyse, I'm 29 years old, and live in New Hampshire with my husband and our 2 cats and 1 dog. I work at a steel fabrication company as an administrative assistant. My husband works in IT for a nearby city. I've always been a bibliophile and my interests also extend to PC gaming with my husband and cooking/baking/getting creative in the kitchen. I love movies and TV as well, don't ask about favorite books/movies/TV shows because I can't choose! But I just love to read and I'm big on fantasy, sci fi, and YA. We're currently selling our house and hoping to buy a new, bigger one in roughly the same area we're in now before we go to Hawaii in April for our 5-year anniversary (in June). That's me in a nutshell! :)

**EDIT**
We went to Hawaii, we sold our house, we bought our dream house, we took in one of my mom's dogs (our dog's brother), our other dog passed away, we got a new puppy. This was my 2016. :)

[Stacie]

I'm Stacie, 42 (Ha! I guess I'm the answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything), and I live in California with my sister and her daughter (and a very spoiled dog). I'm a lifelong reader, though some years are more prolific than others. My main genres are Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and History with a smattering of other non-fiction and the occasional thriller or mystery thrown in, both text and audio (I love my audiobooks!). I will periodically become involved with (ok, obsessed with) various crafting projects and video games (mostly console). My biggest obstacle to reading is Facebook- I'm trying to wean myself off, but it's a lot harder than I'd expected, LOL! My board participation style tends to range from "chatty" to "fell off the face of the Earth", but I'm still lurking and reading everybody's posts even if I've gone quiet ;)

[Andrea, Moderator]

Hi Everyone! My name is Andrea; I am one of the moderators of this fabulous group. I have been a member since 2009. I’m the supervisor of 26 secretaries in a big multi-specialty healthcare group. It is a great place to work. We have over 500 employees including 100 providers. I love helping people and working in a faced paced environment. I started to go to school for nursing but I did not like it. I took a break to figure out what I wanted to do and 10 years later I realized I was already doing. I really like the business and administrative side of healthcare. So I went back to school and got a bachelors degree in Health Care Administration. I would eventually like to work on my masters.
I’ve been married for about 15 months, but we have been together for almost 11 years. We were just slow to the finish line. We live in historic Plymouth Massachusetts, just a few minutes from the beach and beautiful Cape Cod.
As long as I can remember I have loved to read. I tend to read in spurts though. What I mean by that is I’m either devouring multiple books at a time or I’m not reading anything for weeks. I read a little bit of everything, I’m not a huge fan of horror or science fiction.
In addition to reading I love scrapbooking, watching Youtube videos, shopping, decorating, taking photos, traveling, cooking, and being active.

[Charleen]

Great idea, Elyse!

I'm Charleen. Veteran members may remember me as one of the moderators here for a couple years, but then I got pregnant and took a HUGE step back from my various online obligations as I got used to the whole "being a mom" thing.

My baby boy will be one in April, and my husband and I will celebrate our 9th wedding anniversary a week later.

I don't have as much time for reading these days, so I've turned to audiobooks (mainly for re-reads) and comics, neither of which I'd given much of a chance before the little man came along. When I do get a chance to sit down with a book, I read mostly novels - thriller, horror, science fiction, fantasy, and anything else that looks good.

[Clint]

Hello everyone. :)
My name is Clint, I am brand new to the group and hail from Houston TX.
I am a married father of 5 bio children and one adopted girl. I work by day as a Director of Pre-construction for a high voltage company and by night as a owner of a publishing house. I have published two YA fantasy novels so far and just sent the third to the editors this morning.
Hobbies include; shooting, going to the gym, martial arts and spending time with the family. The kids always have something going on with three of them in martial arts and orchestra.
I read just about anything unless i'm writing and then I swear off everything but that cost me reading almost nothing last year so this year I want to get back into reading other's works and not just mine.

[Karol]

Clint wrote: "Hello everyone. :)
My name is Clint, I am brand new to the group and hail from Houston TX.
I am a married father of 5 bio children and one adopted girl. I work by day as a Director of Pre-construction..."

Hello, Clint! Welcome to our group. It's great to have you with us.

[Karol]

My name is Karol, and my nickname of longstanding is Kay. I answer to either!

I am married to a childhood friend whom I crossed paths with just 3 years ago. We just celebrated 22 months of marriage last week. I also have a wonderful son from a previous marriage who is a freshman in high school. He is into math, science, and music.

I work for The Dow Chemical Company in Midland, Michigan. Someday in the not-too-distant future I hope to retire and devote my time to hobbies and other pursuits including mentoring teens, reading, knitting, and travel.

[JanB]

Jan here from IN - I've been a life-long bookworm and my idea of heaven as a child was coming home from the library (that was one block away) with a stack of books.

I'm married to my soul mate and we'll celebrate our 33rd anniversary this year. We have 2 grown children and our son and daughter-in-law will make us first-time grandparents 2 weeks from today. A baby girl!!

I'm an RN, worked in ICU, surgery and PACU, but was a SAHM and never went back. I love yoga, swimming, knitting, and reading (of course). Health, wellness, and nutrition are my passions. I spend a lot of time with my elderly mother, I'm active in a philanthropic women's group and I volunteer with at-risk girls in a weekly after-school program. My 2 Havanese are both certified therapy dogs and we make weekly visits to hospice patients and nursing homes. I'm in 2 book clubs and a knit group.

My husband and I love the beach, wine, trying new food/restaurants, travel, and binge-watching tv programs :)

I'll read nearly anything but fantasy and romance aren't favorites. I love audiobooks too and always listen when walking the dogs, driving, cooking, folding laundry, knitting.....every chance I get.

So that's me. I'm enjoying reading everyone's "about me" posts. Good idea!

[Kenneth]

I'm Kenny. 34 years old from Pittsburgh, PA. I'm a Catholic high school religion teacher. I love reading theology, philosophy, history, literature, and children/young adults. My wife and I just got married 2 years ago, and we have an 8 month old daughter. She makes it hard to read as much as I would like. I read 120 books each of the last two years. With the baby, I think I should be more reasonable and put it down at 75.

[Lori]

Hi Everyone,

My name is Lori, I am from Canada but moved to Texas 20 yrs ago. I live in Texas City, right by the gulf coast.
I am an RN, ICU for 20 years and PACU for the past 4. I am a single parent to 2 adult children. My daughter and her GF just bought their first house, and my son will be graduating from University this spring (please GOD!!). I have 3 cats and 1 dog that all found and adopted me. I am also a 10 yr breast cancer survivor!!

I have always loved to read and the library is still my favorite place to go. I read mostly mystery but also a little of everything else. I usually have 3 books on the go at the same time, with 1 being an audiobook. I also like to knit, always have something on the needles and always have an improvement project in my house. I recently started scrapbooking, because I don't have enough to do with my days, lol.

[Clint]

Karol wrote: "My name is Karol, and my nickname of longstanding is Kay. I answer to either!

I am married to a childhood friend whom I crossed paths with just 3 years ago. We just celebrated 22 months of marriag..."

Thank you Kay and it looks like we are just down the street from each other!

[Karol]

Clint wrote: "Thank you Kay and it looks like we are just down the street from each other!"

Wow! That's cool . . . it is always fun to find people nearby.

[Carol]

My name is Carol and live in the land of ice and snow (MN). Brrrrrrrr. I am a stay at home mom and a read-a-holic... Any time I have free time, I read. In the car with audio books, playing mindless games on the computer with audio books, and actual book - books. I used to be stricktly sci fi and fantasy, but I joined a book group and now read mostly big girl books. I love reading and talking to people who love to read.

[Elyse, Moderator]

I have officially moved to the next town over! ;) Closer to my husband's work. Further from my work. More audiobook time! hehe. I've been off of Goodreads for a little bit because of all the moving and such. Nooooow, I'm leaving for Hawaii tomorrow!! So I'll still be out of touch for a couple more weeks. By May I'll be back and super involved again! We should do a Readathon soon!

[Andrea, Moderator]

That's a great idea! Now that I work on Saturday it's hard to so the readathons. Maybe we should do one for a week so more people can participate around their scheduled.

I love my audio books, I don't know what I would do without them!

[Lori]

I work shifts, so any day is good for me.

[LauraBee]

Decided to unlurk. I am an early retiree, closing my psychotherapy practice around the time my husband retired from a large aerospace company. He quickly found fiction writing as a new passion and now, 3 years later, a thriving cottage business. I get to edit, proof, argue about plot and characters, you name it.

I also wrote three first drafts of a family saga series - but I fizzled a bit.

Now I wonder exactly what it is that I want to do in this chapter of my life. One bright spot has been my life long love of reading - now I have more time to indulge it and that is a very good thing. Reading a good book always makes me happy!

The rest of my time is taken up as a caregiver to my frail, aging parents (one on each coast), traveling in our motorhome (hence the necessity of the kindle), knitting, and being a domestic engineer. And wondering what I am going to be when I finally grow up.

[Elyse, Moderator]

Laura wrote: "Decided to unlurk. I am an early retiree, closing my psychotherapy practice around the time my husband retired from a large aerospace company. He quickly found fiction writing as a new passion and ..."

Welcome back from the woodworks, Laura! :) That's fabulous that your husband is an author and you his star editor! ;) Has he published anything?

[Andrea, Moderator]

So happy to have you as part of our group, Laura! Sounds like you have a lot on your plate, but mostly fun stuff.

[Shelby]

Hey everyone!
I've been looking for a challenge group for a while, which led me here. I read a wide variety of genres and age groups. Looking forward to sharing new favourites with everyone!

[Carol]

Shelby wrote: "Hey everyone!
I've been looking for a challenge group for a while, which led me here. I read a wide variety of genres and age groups. Looking forward to sharing new favourites with everyone!"

Welcome Shelby! This is a fun group with exceptional taste in books.

[Andrea, Moderator]

Hi Shelby! We are so happy to have you as part of our group. Please let me know if you need any help :)

[Elyse, Moderator]

Shelby wrote: "Hey everyone!
I've been looking for a challenge group for a while, which led me here. I read a wide variety of genres and age groups. Looking forward to sharing new favourites with everyone!"

Welcome to the group, Shelby! We have varied tastes in books an our TBR lists just keep getting longer! :)

[Shelby]

Thanks everyone! Here's to another great reading year of making some slight headway in our TBRs

[Karina]

Hi, everybody! My name is Karina and I am 29 years old hailing from Connecticut. I'm an accountant working for the health insurance industry. I love to read (obviously :) ) and my hobbies include yoga and running on top of reading when I can! I love animals and have recently begun fostering for a rescue group that takes dogs from the city pound. Our first foster was adopted in a week and I can't wait to do it again! I will also begin volunteering with Big Brother / Big Sister so I can't wait to have a little to share books with! I'm getting married in May so I will be working extra hard to get my 75 books in!

[Elyse, Moderator]

Welcome, Karina! You sound like a busy person! Congrats on your upcoming wedding!

[Andrea, Moderator]

Hi Katrina! We are so glad to have you. I agree with Elyse, you sound like you must hit the ground running. So exciting that in a couple of days you will be able to say 'I'm getting married this year!"

[Drew]

Hi all,
I'm Drew from MA, married and father of one, who is now in her first year of college. I'm proud to say that she is as avid a reader as I am, which a product of starting young. Personally, I grew up in a house full of books and weekly visits to the library, and although I own 2 Kindles, I still make regular trips to the library.
I work in higher education as a student life administrator and in addition to reading I enjoy good television, outdoor activities and following my hometown sports teams.
Reading is an escape for me, so my preferences lean towards best seller mysteries and some supernatural (King, Connolly, Straub).
If Lawrence Block published his grocery list, I'd read it, and I can't walk by a Patricia Highsmith without picking it up.
Lastly, I was going to set a goal of 50 books this year, but when I saw the title of this group, I thought why not join and jump up the goal.
Thanks for putting this together, I'm looking forward to it.

[Elyse, Moderator]

Welcome to the group, Drew! Libraries are still wonderful things! I know a lot of us here still use our local libraries. Who doesn't love a good Stephen King book? I'm hoping to get to the Dark Tower series in 2017, before the movie comes out!

[Andrea, Moderator]

Welcome Drew! Nice to see another local member :) We are sure lucky with out hometown sports teams!!

[Drew]

Elyse wrote: "Welcome to the group, Drew! Libraries are still wonderful things! I know a lot of us here still use our local libraries. Who doesn't love a good Stephen King book? I'm hoping to get to the Dark Tow..."

Thank you for the welcome, and I envy you getting to read the Dark Tower for the first time. I love that series.

[Drew]

Andrea wrote: "Welcome Drew! Nice to see another local member :) We are sure lucky with out hometown sports teams!!"

Thank you!

[Elyse, Moderator]

Drew wrote: "Elyse wrote: "Welcome to the group, Drew! Libraries are still wonderful things! I know a lot of us here still use our local libraries. Who doesn't love a good Stephen King book? I'm hoping to get t..."

My husband has read it and raved about it for years and I will finally get to it, I swear! lol

[Shelby]

I'm now halfway through The Dark Tower right now! I'm hoping to get to The Stand before I continue though.

[Elyse, Moderator]

Shelby wrote: "I'm now halfway through The Dark Tower right now! I'm hoping to get to The Stand before I continue though."

Oh my, The Stand is a mammoth! Good luck!

[Andrea, Moderator]

Shelby wrote: "I'm now halfway through The Dark Tower right now! I'm hoping to get to The Stand before I continue though."

I loved the Stand!!

[Drew]

I read The Stand a year or so after it came out. Within a month of finishing, King announced he was releasing the unabridged version with something like 400 more pages. Loved the book, but couldn't read it twice that quickly. Maybe one summer...

[Shelby]

I just finished It (his other mammoth) so I'm not going to get to it for a while The Stand is one of his classics I haven't gotten to yet, but the antagonist of The Stand is also the antagonist of The Dark Tower series and I want to know more about his first appearance before I continue (he shows up in #4)

[Jocelin]

Hello, my name is Jocelin and I have been a member of 75 Books for a few years now. Last year was the only time that I didn't reach my goal of 75 books. I am from GA and I love books(naturally). I have more books on my shelf than I have read. It's hard for me not to pick up a good book, I live but a few miles from a Barnes & Noble and I am surrounded by at least 4 libraries. I am also a huge movie fan! Every year it is a personal joy of mine to reach my goal of 75 books and watching others months group do so, as well.

[Elyse, Moderator]

Shelby wrote: "I just finished It (his other mammoth) so I'm not going to get to it for a while The Stand is one of his classics I haven't gotten to yet, but the antagonist of The Stand is also the antagonist of ..."

Huh, I didn't know that!

[Elyse, Moderator]

Jocelin wrote: "Hello, my name is Jocelin and I have been a member of 75 Books for a few years now. Last year was the only time that I didn't reach my goal of 75 books. I am from GA and I love books(naturally). I ..."

Living so close to a B&N is dangerous! I lived close to a Borders before they closed and every month I was in trouble. lol. And this is part of why I have so many unread books, like you!

[Shelby]

Elyse wrote: "Shelby wrote: "I just finished It (his other mammoth) so I'm not going to get to it for a while The Stand is one of his classics I haven't gotten to yet, but the antagonist of The Stand is also the..."

There's tons of crossover in Stephen King's books, and the more you read the more you can appreciate. I think there's a book somewhere that tells you all the connections but I'm not sure which one it is. I do know Randall Flag is his biggest big bad.

[Elyse, Moderator]

Shelby wrote: "Elyse wrote: "Shelby wrote: "I just finished It (his other mammoth) so I'm not going to get to it for a while The Stand is one of his classics I haven't gotten to yet, but the antagonist of The Sta..."

I found this. Stephen King Flow Chart Holy cow. lol

[Carol]

Hi. My name is Carol. I have been a member in this group for 11 months. Time flies... Being a member and using Goodreads has really help me focus and increase my reading. So many books, so little time.

I live in Minnesota (Brrrrrrrr-r-r!) Am from Richmond, Virginia. Am married to my college sweetheart and have 3 children: 25, 23, and 10 1/2. Am proud to say, I have raised 3 readers.

My favorite book genre is mystery. 2nd is fantasy, 3rd is sci-fi and 4th favorite is historical fiction. Am in a book group at my library so I read a lot of book club books, too.

I love, love, love audiobooks.

[Elyse, Moderator]

I discovered audiobooks almost 2 years ago and have never looked back! I didn't think I would like them but it really depends on storyline and narrator.

[Stacie]

Carol wrote: "I love, love, love audiobooks."

Me too! I discovered Audible a while back and went a little nuts ;) I tend to do a lot of their Great Courses and Modern Scholar series. They make my daily commutes bearable.

[Stacie]

Hello, I'm Stacie. I live in California with my sister. My posting goes in fits and spurts, but I check through the groups almost daily... So I'm here, even when I'm "quiet". I listen to a lot of audiobooks because I spend about three hours a day commuting (by bus, and if I read I tend to get so engrossed that I miss my stops, LOL!). My preferred genres are nonfiction, sci-fi, and fantasy... with the occasional thriller or mystery thrown in. I also don't tend to differentiate between young adult and adult fiction- if it sounds interesting, I'll read it. When not reading, or doing all of those terribly boring things that are involved in adulting, I'm usually playing some form of video game and fulfilling my function as a dog pillow ;)

[Carol]

Stacie wrote: "Me too! I discovered Audible a while back and went a little nuts ;) I tend to do a lot of their Great Courses and Modern Scholar series. They make my ..."

Some narrators really breathe life into Audiobooks.

[Joy]

Hi, I'm Joy, and my good friend Dawn Michelle has been pesking me for weeks to join this group. She assures me that it is ok, even though I doubt I can read 75 books this year. I did last year, but there was an extenuating circumstance (i.e. surgery complications), that had me bedridden for weeks.

I'm married, have two grown children, a very needy dog, and 24 chickens. This is my 27th year as an instructor-now-Professor of English at our local community college in Pennsylvania. I currently teach remedial writing, college writing, research writing, and World Lit. I'm hoping to swap out the research writing for American Lit. in the fall.

I look forward to getting to know everybody and enjoying some great book talk.