Armchair BEA: Interview of Me for Me

I am work, work, working so hard this time of year to finish off the school year in a productive fashion that I cannot realistically give as much attention to the Armchair BEA assignments that I would like. So, rather than seek another blogger to interview, I'm going to interview myself. This will be much more time-effective for me and maybe some of you will stop by and leave off your blog addresses. I am giving final exams soon and would love to explore your writings about your readings!


Question 1: Why are you blogging, anyway?


Well. I've actually been blogging for about ten or eleven years in some capacity. I started an official blog for my classroom/ teaching a little over two years ago and have loved it. But, I outgrew my classroom blog because I did not want to clutter it up with all of the book reviews, thoughts, observations, and activities that I was participating in. So, DeRaps Reads was born and I love it!

Question 2: How much do you read?

I read daily. I guess my total time reading depends on the day, the weather, my mood, and how distracted I am. I have a touch of ADD, so that keeps me from getting as much done as I could. I probably read at least one hour a day. Most days I probably average 2 hours.

Question 3: What do you read?

In short--EVERYTHING! I love to read and always carry a book or magazine with me. Always. I belong to 5 book clubs and read tons of YA for my classroom. I also teach English (9-12th grade) and read all day in school. It's a pretty awesome gig. My loves are vast and wide. I'm not too picky about genres, though Westerns and romance novels are probably my least favorite.

Question 4: What else do you do?

I am involved in a lot of clubs and volunteer my time a lot. I love to garden, to cook, to run, kayak, bike, and to spend time with my uber-handsome husband and dog. I live on a mountain in the middle of the woods, so there are no fancy shopping adventures or city lights to distract me from lots of simple pleasures.

Question 5: Any random facts that you'd like to share?

I am weird. I have lots of crazy allergies, but tend to test the limits (like, I am allergic to shellfish, but eat clams every year to make sure that I still am. And, turns out every year that I am. Lots of grossness follows.) I have a favorite number and believe in astrology. My biggest pet peeve is people who chew on/ bite their nails. Drives me insane!