What is Life without Books discussion

Please tell us about you!

My name is David Kummer, I'm a teenager and published author. I like reading (obviously) but also enjoy basketball, food, money, and all the teenage things that people do. I don't listen to rap though. If you were wondering.

I'm one of Aly's bestest friends (in my mind) and am very excited for this group! I like seeing new groups. It's like seeing a new baby. In the hospital. Except the group talks to you, and has lots of different voices. Alright, I'm done.

I'm Riley, and I'm an ex certified nurses assistant. I used to work in a psych ward, helping people to recover from mental illnesses. Now I write.

My name is Maria and I love reading. I read all genres of books and also I work in retail

Thanks David and Riley for coming to the group!

Nice to see you all!

Welcome Victoria!

Hi,
Sheryl from Alabama, Kansas & Missouri here. I love to read all types of books and all types of authors. Able to read quickly and like to read several books at once. Always interested in others opinions on a book . Currently reading Brilliance, Poisonwood Bible and One Thousand White Women.

Welcome Sheryl! I love to read more than one book at a time.

Hi,
I am Stjepan Varesevac Cobets from Croatia. I live and work in the small village of Kastel Sucurac near Split. I love reading since childhood and I love to read all genres. I have been writing poetry and science fiction. I just read The Rainbow Virus by Dennis Meredith, and now I'm reading The Rising (Supernaturals Book 1) by Ryan costs. Book reviews can be found on my author's page.

Welcome Stjepan!

I'm Charles Freedom Long. I live in a little village in Western New York where there are more cows than people. I read all kinds of books, and I write science/speculative fiction. I just finished Real Laplaine's Earth Escape, Sinclair Lewis's It Can't Happen Here andThe Case of the Barille Blood: The Adventures of Deacon Coombs.

Welcome Charles!

I'm helene i'm almost 14 i like to travel and math and music and my friends basically the normal teen stuff i guess but i also liketo read which kinda makes me stand out but i like being the different one

Welcome Helene! Great to have you!

Hi! I'm Aiya. I was born in Japan but have lived in the U.S. pretty much all my life since my parents immigrated here when I was just a few months old. I'm 22, just about to finish college and looking forward with both excitement and absolute dread toward medical school in the fall.

I'm a reading omnivore, and I like everything from chick lit to horror and biography to fantasy.

If you want to, go ahead and friend me. I'm the nosy sort and I like seeing what everyone else is reading! >_-

My name is Julia and I'm in St. Louis, Missouri. I am trying to read 100 books this year and I am well ahead of schedule so far. I've noticed a great increase in my mood and general well being when I take some time to read. (possibly just escapism but that's fun too right?)

I read basically any book, but I tend to stay away from pure romance novels and themes from the Victorian Era. If it's worth my time though I will go into any genre.

My favorite book I recently read was Harmless Like You. Feel free to add me to share recommendations.

Shout out to my library for making it possible for me to keep my reading habit up.

Welcome Aiya and Julia! Thanks for joining! Great to have you!

The Book Crusader wrote: "My name is Marcus Anderson, which I am sure you will forget (everyone always does).

I am the world's greatest (and currently only) book themed superhero, and i have a multitude of incredible supe..."

Awesome introduction.

* waves

Hi, I'm Karen. Formerly a Los Angeles girl transplanted into the wild Northern California amongst big trees and those that hug them. I'm a 51 year old single mother and an accountant. Besides reading I enjoy gaming. Don't be hating the gaming! Ilona Andrews and Jim Butcher also game!

Types of books I love to read: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Fantasy (Epic Fantasy), SciFi, some romance (especially dark), and suspense.

Glad to be here! Feel free to add me as a friend.

Welcome Marcus and Karen! Great to have you both!

Karen wrote: "* waves Hi, I'm Karen. Formerly a Los Angeles girl transplanted into the wild Northern California amongst big trees and those that hug them. I'm a 51 year old single mother and an accountant. Bes..."

I gotta' ask if you are a gamer.....Do have a Oculus Rift???? I do!!! :)

NO! I'm so jelly! One of my son's friends brought over a VR. Man those things are so much fun!! They were trying to get me to play Resident Evil demo. No frickin way!! I would have had a heart attack.

Karen wrote: "NO! I'm so jelly! One of my son's friends brought over a VR. Man those things are so much fun!! They were trying to get me to play Resident Evil demo. No frickin way!! I would have had a heart attack."

I tried that thing! There's a guy on my floor who has the whole Oculus setup -- he's bought pretty much everything you can think of for it. I was terrified playing it!!!

Aiya wrote: "I tried that thing! There's a guy on my floor who has the whole Oculus setup -- he's bought pretty much everything you can think of for it. I was terrified playing it!!!
"

Oh hell to the no, girl! You are braver than me. I freak when I hear Big Daddy. HEY! Do they have Bioshock in VR? That would totally damage me. Might be cool!

Karen wrote: "Aiya wrote: "I tried that thing! There's a guy on my floor who has the whole Oculus setup -- he's bought pretty much everything you can think of for it. I was terrified playing it!!!
"

Oh hell to..."

You guys crack me up! I play horror games on my Oculus Rift and I have the whole setup as well. We are going to set it up soon in its own room on its own computer that we will use only for the Rift....it will save having to set up your game space every time you play. I played Edge of Nowhere and standing on high mountains in snow over looking cliffs!!!!! way cool!!!! Yet worth peeing your pants!!! I can't wait until they make the headset wireless on the Rift though. I think that should be the next step. New games come out quite a bit and I love to try the new ones even scuba diving in the ocean!

Karen wrote: "Oh hell to the no, girl! You are braver than me. I freak when I hear Big Daddy. HEY! Do they have Bioshock in VR? That would totally damage me. Might be cool!"

Not much braver! Funny story -- I was turning and twisting back and forth all the time playing it, scared to death something was going to sneak up behind me. Apparently, I'd slowly moved over until I was right next to the window. So instead of, you know, saying anything about it, Travis put his hands on me to move me back toward the center of the room.

I let out a scream I'm actually surprised didn't shatter glass and without even thinking about it starting kicking and flailing my hands. I got him in the knee and in the eye. I felt a little bad about it, but at the same time I think he kinda deserved it!

And after that everyone on the floor was teasing him about being beaten up by a tiny Japanese girl! LOL!!!

I've actually played it a few more times since then. I'm getting better!!!

Aly -- I've read about Edge of Nowhere. I'd love to try that one too!!!

Hi everyone! My name is Melissa. I live in a small town in Wisconsin. I have loved to read for as long as I can remember. I read a lot of different genres, and love being on goodreads, to see what everyone else is reading and get recommendations. For a long time I read the same type of book and the same authors, but now I have many to choose from! I am on a couple of different groups on here.

I am not a big fan of reading more than one book at a time. I have a hard time remembering what was going on in one, when I go back to it.

Welcome Melissa!

Hi guys. My name's Erin and I'm a 38 year old single mom. I love reading a variety of genres to include horror, dystopian, some sci-fi, classics, and historical fiction. I've always loved to read but have been more serious about making time to read in the past year or so. I look forward to chatting about books with you guys.

*waves at Melissa and Erin

Welcome !

Welcome Erin!

Hi, I'm Alysia. I love books - mainly fantasy and magical realism. But I really enjoy many genres and non-fiction as well. I'm an author and I love creating stories. Glad to be part of this group of fellow book lovers!

Welcome Alysia!

*high five*

Hi All! I'm Luna, and my debut novel is The Sleeping Serpent. A darker, and more deeply etched Big Little Lies, The Sleeping Serpent is the debut psychological thriller that dips into the dark seedy side of yoga. The story centers on a woman’s struggle to break an obsessive bond with her Hollywood guru—a Kundalini Yoga master and Andean shamanic healer who uses his gifts for personal gain. Essentially a Roman a Clef, this autobiographical novel was inspired by my unwitting entanglement with an abusive narcissist, and is a gripping account of the seductive manipulations of a sociopath.

Character driven with lush prose, The Sleeping Serpent combines Hollywood glamour, a thrilling spiritual journey and the dark side of narcissistic personality disorder. Readers and reviewers are welcome!

Welcome Luna!

Hi everyone,
It's great to read all these introductions. Everyone is so interesting and different. I live in San Francisco but I was born in Cleveland, and I write historical novels with Ohio settings (mostly). I'm a hybrid author, which means I've both self-published and traditionally published. My next novel, The Underground River, is coming out next June from Simon & Schuster. Right now I'm reading The Red Car, Outlander (book 2) and I'm listening to Harry Potter as I derive around town. I know, I'm late to the party on that one!

Nice to meet you all.

Welcome Martha

Thanks Aly.

Martha wrote: "Thanks Aly."

Glad to have you!

Hi all! Thanks for the invite. This group has piqued my interest as I read other people introductions.

I lived the first seventeen years of my life in Columbus, MS. Slowly, over the following years, I made my way to the Land of Enchantment, a.k.a. New Mexico, where I have lived since 2000. I am a quote addict. Recently, I have started reading poetry again, particularly Poe, Angelou, and Keats.

When it comes to books, I enjoy a wide range of genres of both fiction and nonfiction. I have started keeping a journal again in the hopes of reigniting the spark within. I love to discover new authors and aspire to be one myself.

Have a cup of joe or tea, sit with a book, and immerse yourself in a new perspective and lets chat about it! Happy reading!

Welcome Persephone's Choice!

Hello everyone, it is nice to meet you all :)

I'm Ellie and I live in New Zealand, at times I feel shut out from the world mostly due to the difference in time, I'm a damn time-traveler being ahead of other countries by a full day ha ha

I'm a horror lover and a mum to four horror's of my own LOL no they aren't, but they certainly inspire me to write, keeping me on my toes.

Reading is a huge passion of mine, almost as much as writing. I do tend to fall into the 'horror genre' for reading and writing more than I do another genre.

I'm in the middle of writing two more books, to add to the four I already have published. I just can't stop, I have ideas in my head that have to get out, the monster must be unleashed! lol

OK Before I chew everyone's ears off and bore you all to death I'll do a stage exit and have a look around the group :)

Welcome Ellie

Hi everyone! I'm Romarin and I am so happy to be invited to this group by Aly! I like writing urban fantasy and have outlined or written 16 books and have published 3! Happy to be here!

Hey everyone, I'm Phyllis. I have written and published 9 novels, women's fiction and middle grade and young adult. I love to read and write. All of my characters have pets. I didn't realize that until I had written seven novels. My latest novel, And the Day Came is historical fiction and I would have sworn there were no pets, but yes, there are two. It's great to be here.

Hello everyone. Wow there are so many talented people here... my name is Ashley and I LOVE books. They are seriously a major part of who I am. I am a recent cancer survivor and during my illness, treatment, and recovery, books were always there for me. I turned to them in my darkest hours and they were always there to help me and guide me through the sadness. And they helped me fight for survival because I wanted to continue my battle so I could continue to read books.

The books still hold a special place in my heart obviously. I eventually plan to write a book about my battle with cancer to help others know what to expect, and hopefully they can find strength in my book.

Hi there! I'm Cindy from Finland. I have always loved reading but sometimes I haven't been able to read because of my illness. I try to read much but I am really slow at reading. Depending on the book. I have two native tongues. Swedish and Finnish. I have studied English at the University of Stockholm in Sweden. I lived in Stockholm for 11 years. I have two cats. I have a blog about books, I write in English. I am on early retirement but the blog is the only job I have.

Welcome Romarin, Phyllis, Ashley and Cindy! Great to have you!
Thanks for joining!

Hi. . This is Sifat from Indian subcontinent. I am a big fan of Agatha Christie, James hadley chase, sydney sheldon and many more. I inhale crime fiction books.