ArmchairBEA Day 1: Intro & Diversity

Today kicks off Armchair BEA. I enjoy this event because going to BEA hasn't been possible for me over the years, On to Today's topics:

Introduction & Diversity

Intro Questions 

1.  What is the name you prefer to use?

Kai or Yogikai

2.  How long have you been a book blogger?

Over 6 years

3.  Have you participated in ABEA before?

Yes! I think at least 3

2.  What is your favorite genre and why?

I'd say it's a tie between Historical Fiction and Zombie Fiction. I love History and I've loved the zombie genre since seeing the orginial Night of The Living Dead.

3.  If you could recommend one other book blogger, who would it be and why?

Michelle at True Book Addict I enjoy all the readathons she hosts and we like the same genre of books.

4.  Which day of ABEA are you looking forward to the most?

Saturday! I cant wait for all the book fest posts.

7.  What book are you most excited for on your TBR? What are you most intimidated by?

I'm excited to read the John Carter of Mars books that I recently brought as an e-bundle.

8.  What is the most interesting thing that you have learned through your reading this year so far?

There is a lot of popculture books coming to the forefront and lso great diverse characters.

Diversity In Books & Publishing

I think there has been definite improvements in Diversity in books, but it appears a bit harder on the publishing end. I try really hard to not look through the lens of racism but there is a definite block some where and I don't have any easy answers for the hard questions .

For Example, Fierce Reads:

I really love the Fierce reads line of books but every year when the tour is annouced I always notice the authors are mostly white. This is not a slight,just a reflection of the state of YA. I was happy to see that one of the spotlighted book of this years tour has a cover with an obviously racially divers character.

As a blogger I feel that the best way to change this situration is to support racially diverse characters. I do diversity spotlight posts where I review books from all genres with racially diverse chararacters. I also make sure to put my book budget dollars towards diverse books. The publishing industry really reacts to monetary success. Look a all the Hunger Games like books that came out after the trilogy proved successful. Imagine how that would have effected the publishing world if Katniss was Black or Asian or Hispanic. Monetary scuccess is the key to changing the face of the genres you love.