5/27/11

On the way home from Book Blogger Convention and Book Expo America

I am writing from my sister's house in Queens...more than a tad shattered by the giddy whirl of the last two days. The best thing about yesterday was meeting up for lunch with kidlit peeps, the best part of today was the joy of seeing people in real life for the first time! I wish there had been more time to talk--I was so happy to meet Lenore, for instance, but didn't get to say more than a glad Hi! Next time..........

The Book Blogger Convention was great--many kudos and many, many thanks to the organizers, and thanks to the speakers and the publishers who brought us swag!

And I had an added bonus. I found a super secret display that had been left up in a room that us bloggers weren't using....and it still had piles of ARCs....and one of those was the ARC I was most counting on getting but hadn't managed too--the Jewel of the Kalderash, by Marie Rutkowski. The room was being cleaned up, and the cleaners were moving closer to the display, and so I saved all the arcs and put them in neat piles in the hallway. They were all taken, and I feel almost as if I had found a good home for an abandoned puppy.

Another ARC that pleased me lots to get was one for Julianna Baggot's new book, Pure, coming out next winter. That one was lying forlornly on a table in the main foyer display area, and I asked the people manning the display if it were one of theirs, and they said no, and to take it, so I did! If I go to BEA again and feel I need more books to take home, I have decided that I will simply go lurk around the shipping area and pick up what gets abandoned (which is apparently lots). So much less stressful than having to talk to strangers and ask, although I do of course realize that Making Contacts is important, and I actually did do a lot of this, and bravely gave people my card, even though it turned out hideously Christmasy due to Staples making the crimson boarder much broader than nature intended. (Note to self--use extra business cards for present labels next December).

But anyway. There were three copies of Jewel--one for me, and one for Anamaria of Books Together, who was also sad not to have gotten one, and one to give away here. And I have two more books I have two copies of (one saved from neglect and one extra swag, that I checked first if it was ok for me to take). So I will putting that give away up when I get home....

And here is my pile from Thursday and today, which is quite enough books, thanks. The book whose title you can't see because of glare is Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor (yay!)

14 comments:

  1. Sounds like you had a fun-packed, busy two days. You racked up on books. Yay! Have a safe trip back home. And can't wait to read what about what else happened at the BEA.

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  2. That sounds like such a fun experience!! I am heading down to ALA in June, and I hope to make some good contacts and grab some great ARCs! The books in that pile that are the most tantalizing to me are The Unwanteds and The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer! SQUEEE! Happy reading!

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  3. I think it's funny that you found books that were going to be abandoned. It IS a bit like finding a home for a puppy.

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  4. So, don't you feel that by finding those abandoned ARCs of Jewel of the Kalderash, that you have in fact, FOUND the JEWEL of the Kalderash? ;) Quest completed!!

    I am super excited for that book to publish, so I am of course highly envious of your find. =P

    I didn't think I would be as bummed about not being able to make it to NYC this year as I was. I hope that if BEA is in NYC again next year that I'll be able to come down for it.

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  5. Delightful to meet you, Charlotte! I'm so bummed that I was so exhausted from Day #1 that I had to leave halfway through the BBC itself. Oh, well. Today will be spent recuperating on the couch. :)

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  6. Ooooooh, sounds like a fun, exciting, overwhelming time. :-D And I'm totally jealous about you snagging and ARC of Daughter of Smoke and Bone. I hope it's as good as I'm expecting it to be!

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  7. Thanks, all of you, for taking the time to comment!

    My thoughts on ALA vs BEA-- ALA is a lot more cozy; there were more ARCs out on tables, and less pressure to Get Them Before They Go! And there was more time to actually visit with people, which was nice. I'm not quite sure I want to go to BEA again, but that could be just because I am pooped.

    But I think that Kidlit con is the best of all, because it almost all visiting!

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  8. Happy you were able to get the new Rutkowski.

    It's so nice of you to find good homes for the forgotten ARC's.

    The movie rights to Pure have already been sold.

    I need to make some business cards.

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  9. Thank you, Charlotte! You are a jewel (of the Northeast?) yourself--I have been so looking forward to that book. And that is a very respectable pile of books--can't wait to hear more about them!
    Ps. Maile Meloy's The Apothecary--so. good.

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  10. I like Lenore too, she's cool. It was nice to meet you, although we didn't spend much time together, other than sitting together for that "grey areas" panel. Thanks for showing me the secret stash!

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  11. It was great meeting you too, Janicu! My one regret about my whole NY experience was that there wasn't enough time just to talk to people! I would have liked to visit with you more.

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  12. Thanks for being my BEA/BBC buddy! It was a fun time, and lots of great books, right? My box came today and I keep sorting through them gleefully. I don't even know where to start my reading this weekend.

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  13. I love that you gave a home to all those poor, abandoned books. I would have felt the same way! And I must say, that is a very pretty pile of books. I must stare at them a bit longer...

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  14. Was so good to meet you - if only for a few minutes at a time. And I am so envious that you snagged PURE. Enjoy!

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