ON BOOKS ~ Where Else Can You Hear About Nietzsche & Gere..?

Today in the virtual Book Expo. of America experience, aka Armchair BEA, we are tasked with interviewing other Armchair BEA bloggers. I like to think of it as a good old fashioned Meet & Greet. Now, mind you, if I was at the actual BEA conference in NYC and bumped into Stephanie of Laughing Stars for the first time at a face to face networking event, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to research her blog and come up with all of these questions. It would have gone more like....where are you from, what's your niche, why do you blog. But since Armchair BEA lets me poke around and discover what she's all about first, you end up with a networking conversation that covers everything from Nietzsche to Richard Gere:

Hi Molly! Thank you for having me as a guest on your blog.

Welcome Stephanie!  Lets start with a bookish question and one that I am curious about for all book bloggers.  Do you find that ARC's dictate your reading schedule or do you have a way of mixing them into your existing TBR pile?

I am not one of those bloggers who has a steady stream of ARCs coming into the house, but it's amazing how quickly the books I DO get for review are taking over my reading time. Lately I've found that books I accept for review, or that I borrow from traveling ARC tours, dictate most of my reading time. Although I love reviewing ARCs, and I am honored when I'm given a book for review, it's time to rethink my priorities. Are other book bloggers struggling with this?

I noticed that you reference you have worked in journalism.  What is your journalism background and how has it translated to your blog?

My journalism background is limited to a brief stint as a reporter and staff writer for a small town newspaper. I was right out of college -- it was the year George Bush was elected (the dad, not the son) -- so that reveals my age. :-) I quickly found I was not detail oriented enough to be a good reporter; I left after six months.

While I was there, I spent a lot of time in court, covering a local murder trial and other assorted cases. Watching all these people come before the judge and seeing the mess they'd made of their lives, I found I didn't want to just sit there and take notes. I wanted to try to help -- to be part of the solution. So I went to graduate school to become a counselor.

I don't think my journalism background is reflected in my blog, but it did make me a better writer. I learned to be more focused and concise in my writing, an area in which I am continually trying to improve.

Motherhood is a big inspirational point for you. What ways do you use that to inspire others?

Motherhood is definitely the ruling passion in my life. I don't know that I am an inspiration to others, but I do enjoy blogging about literature and other educational resources for kids, homeschooling, and how children learn. I'm kind of an evangelist for delayed academics -- not pushing formal learning too early -- and teaching and guiding children in a way that honors each child's learning style. Sometimes I meet parents with similar philosophies who tell me they've found some of my blog posts inspiring. Similarly, I glean a lot of inspiration and encouragement from other blogging parents and teachers.

You have experience working with the disadvantaged.  Do you believe that pain and struggle are empowering?

That's a tough question. It's tempting to believe that, as Friedrich Nietzsche famously said, "That which does not kill us makes us stronger." I suspect all of us have had to suffer things that seemed too horrible to endure, and we want to believe that pain wasn't for naught. But honestly, I don't know.

I do believe that many people have gleaned strength from their suffering, drawing on what it most essential in the core of themselves. I've been inspired by Viktor Frankl, a psychotherapist whose philosophy was largely formed from having lived in a Nazi concentration camp. He saw that often the people who survived were those who had an intense sense of purpose for their lives. “Those who have a 'why' to live, can bear with almost any 'how.'” He went on to help others with their search for meaning.

Your blog isn't just about books - it covers movies too.  Are you willing to admit which movie is your guiltiest pleasure?

Hmmm ... for some reason I'm stuck on that question. When I was in high school, my best friend and I went to see An Officer and a Gentleman many times in the theater. We thought Richard Gere was insanely gorgeous, and that movie had the hottest cinematic sex scene we'd seen to date. (Keep in mind, we'd been reared in an era before VCRs and Cable T.V., so we were easily impressed :-P) Then we discovered Body Heat, which was even hotter and dirtier. Nirvana!

Recently, though I've never found gratuitous violence in movies entertaining, I watched both Pulp Fiction and Burn After Reading multiple times, laughing out loud even as I was cringing at the blood splatter. It's amazing the things you discover about yourself in midlife!

Thanks for taking the time to share so much about yourself Stephanie!  I too was impacted strongly by Mr. Gere's performance in that movie.  So much so that I played "Up Where We Belong" ad nauseum on the piano instead of my assigned lessons.  Thanks to Armchair BEA, I have found another blogger out there with plenty to talk about.  Visit Stephanie's blog to read her interview with another Armchair BEA participant.  And if you want to read an interview with moi, visit Kate's blog, The Neverending Shelf, to see what kinds of things she got me to share.