Pre BEA and BEA Day One Recap

You most likely saw all the excitement coming out of BEA via Twitter, and other social media. I am back from New York totally exhausted but filled with bookish love. I saw so many amazing bloggers express excitement for books and the industry. I saw bloggers helping out bloggers while in lines. I saw friendships being formed. Oh, and obviously I got to meet a whole bunch of amazing authors.

This post is going to focus on any pre-BEA stuff I did, and the first day of BEA itself. I arrived into the city after a long overnight bus ride. I had plans to attend two different events that night and am proud of myself that I made it to both, even while exhausted.

Pre-BEA I attended Teen Author Carnival and also joined up with a group of bloggers at a hotel to mix and mingle.

Here is my pre-BEA haul from the events I attended before the big event.

Never Never by Brianna Shrum (goodreads)

Hello? by Liza Wiemer (goodreads)

A Whole New World by Liz Braswell (goodreads)

Tonight The Streets Are Ours by Leila Sales (goodreads)

Charlie, Presumed Dead by Anne Heltzel (goodreads)

This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp (goodreads)

Never Always Sometimes by Adi Alsaid (goodreads)

Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella (goodreads)

A Million Miles Away by Lara Avery (goodreads)

First and Then by Emma Mills (goodreads)

Sometimes It Happens by Lauren Barnholdt (goodreads)

Never Never is a Peter Pan re-telling that has been on my radar for awhile and I am BEYOND excited to read it. The Disney fanatic in me is excited to check out A Whole New World which twists the Disney version of the Aladdin tale. Leila Sales' Tonight The Streets Are Ours is one that has me dying to ignore my reading schedule and devour it immediately.

Thanks to the panels I attended at Teen Author Carnival I am very much looking forward to This Is Where It Ends. It sounds like a harrowing, taunt read and I am hoping to sneak it in soon.

The panels I got to experience at Teen Author Carnival were both interesting and fun. The Rebecca Serle moderated panel was my favourite as it was quite insightful. I even managed to stump the authors when I asked them to pair up characters from different books in terms of friendships. I got to talk to Rebecca Serle prior to the event and she's incredibly sweet. All the success with her TV show and everything is so deserved and I cannot wait to see where her career goes from here.

The second panel featured Alexandra Bracken and Susan Dennard. The panel was packed as both ladies had highly anticipated titles being featured at BEA. While the panel was packed, it ended up being a rather organized event and I enjoyed listening to all the authors discuss their current works.

If you've never taken part in Teen Author Carnival before it really is a can't miss event and the sheer number of amazing authors that attend every year is reason enough for a book nerd to want to attend.

The first day of BEA is always exciting. There is an excitement that is never quite as high after that first day. Part of it is the anticipation, and part is the exhaustion that gets a little worse each day. It's all the anticipation about the show floor, and experiencing everything for the first time that makes everything a little more exciting. It's a rush and experiencing it with other book nerds is something I will never forget.

This year the excitement was even higher because everyone wanted to get their hands on Truthwitch by Susan Dennard. There was a palpable buzz in the crowd. I was fortunate to obtain a golden ticket in the morning order to secure my copy later that day.

Here are the books that I was interested in enough to snag a copy of during the first day.

The Copper Gauntlet (Magisterium #2) by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare (goodreads)

The White Rose by Amy Ewing (goodreads)

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews (goodreads)

Edgewater by Courtney Sheinmel (goodreads)

Truthwitch by Susan Dennard (goodreads)

Walk On Earth A Stranger by Rae Carson (goodreads)

These Shallow Graves by Jennifer Donnelly (goodreads)

I loved the twists that were in The Iron Trial, and the sequel (The Copper Gauntlet) was therefore a must read. I am looking forward to see what Holly and Cassandra have in store for this series. Rae Carson's newest sounds AMAZING and there was plenty of excitement on the floor regarding this one. Of course one of the biggest titles at BEA was Truthwitch. It was one of the must talked about, most sought title of the conference. I predict it'll be a big hit for Susan and her publisher.

After the first day I was invited to join Epic Reads (Harper Collins) at a roof top party. We got to mingle with some Harper authors. I got to say hello to Patrick Ness, and fangirl over Heather Demetrios! She's lovely and getting to see her again was a highlight of the trip. They had a photo booth set up at the party which was SO MUCH FUN! They also gifted us with a bag of goodies before leaving and literally the best swag item I have ever received was inside it - a portable charger with the Epic Reads logo!

They had DELICIOUS rice krispies treats too! They were sparkly which sadly the picture couldn't capture.

Whomever included the charger is brilliant, and the treats were a lovely touch. A huge thank you to Harper Collins for an incredible event and a night to remember.

Tomorrow will focus on day two and three of BEA. Thursday will recap one day of Book Con, and other events that I attended before leaving the city (including a fun blogger dinner and a book release party).

If you attended BEA let me know what your favourite part was! If you haven't, what title at BEA are you most looking forward to?

Blogger Conference and Book Expo America Day One

BEA is done. All that is left is the recapping. I am going to break this down into two posts. First up I will discuss the Blogger Conference and day one of BEA. The next post will have days two and three of BEA recapped.

BLOGGER CONFERENCE

This was my first year attending BEA's Blogger Conference. I wasn't really sure what to expect. Sadly, I don't feel I got much out of it and hope they look at revamping it in the future. There were some elements I did like (namely the blogger involvement that was pretty evident) but I can't say I would attend again (unless it really changed). The keynote speech by Maureen Johnson was funny, on point, and really uplifting. I wanted to shout my love of books from the rooftops and help make sure children always have access to all types of reading material.

The party afterwards was also an excellent chance to mix and mingle and meet a few bloggers.

During the party we got to pick up a few ARCs and things while mingling.

This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner (goodreads)
Stone Cold Touch by Jennifer Armentrout (goodreads)
The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken (goodreads)
Zodiac by Romina Russell (goodreads)
In the After Light by Alexandra Bracken (sampler) (goodreads)
Killer Instinct by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (goodreads)
Stitching Snow by R.C. Lewis (goodreads)
The Secret Diamond Sisters by Michelle Madow (goodreads)

I got to say hello to Michelle Madow during the party. I enjoyed The Secret Diamond Sisters a lot and was happy to gush a bit in person.

The Alexandra Bracken book and sampler were part of a panel and were given out to attendees. It came with a cute tote bag of the series as well.

BEA DAY ONE

A relaxed, much more reserved day at the Javits Center on day one. It was rather nice. Of course, I didn't know this until I actually experienced the other days, but I am thankful for this lull before the crazy started.

Atlantia by Ally Condie (sampler) (goodreads)
The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon (sampler) (goodreads)
Breaking Butterflies by M. Anjelais (goodreads)
Ghost House by Alexandra Adornetto (goodreads)
Talon by Julie Kagawa (goodreads)
Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater (goodreads)
Dead To Me by Mary McCoy (goodreads)
Famous Last Words by Katie Alender (goodreads)
Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick (goodreads)
Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley (goodreads)
Famous In Love by Rebecca Serle (goodreads)
Trial by Fire by Josephine Angelini (goodreads)
The Jewel by Amy Ewing (goodreads)
You by Caroline Kepnes (goodreads)
I'll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson (goodreads)
Before I Go by Colleen Oakley (goodreads)
Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld (goodreads)

This was the day I got to meet Josephine Angelini! That was pretty awesome! I also got to fangirl over Rebecca Serle as Famous In Love was my most anticipated title of BEA. Rebecca is super pretty, and very fashionable (even her arm sling was cute). I have already read Famous In Love, and it's fantastic. It was EVERYTHING I wanted and more. I have lots planned to celebrate/promote this release so stay tuned.

Everything else was picked up at the publishers booths. The line for Sinner was just as intense as you would expect, but the Scholastic people are amazing and it went really smoothly. I was pleasantly surprised to see Breaking Butterflies there. It had caught my attention a little while ago, and while I have reservations about how the subject matter will be handled, my curiosity won out.

I kept hearing about The Jewel almost everywhere I went. The Epic Reads party offered me the chance to chat with Amy Ewing a bit, and she was lovely. I am excited to read it.

This day also gave me the two adult books I picked up. You by and Before I Go by Colleen Oakley. Both sounded rather interesting (for very different reasons) so I had to give them a try. Before I Go sounds similar to a movie I saw a few years ago, so I am curious to see how it compares.

I braved the Harlequin signing to get Talon, Ghost House, and Lies We Tell Ourselves. It didn't feel as overwhelming as previous years. It was definitely not as crazy as I was expecting.

The buzz on the floor was loud around I'll Give You The Sun. It seemed to be a title everyone was looking forward to picking up a copy of. I was lucky to snag a copy first thing in the morning while checking out the publisher booths.

Dead To Me was another delightful surprise. The Disney booth had an advertisement in the Blogger Conference booklet that told us to stop by and mention the ad for a surprise book. I happen to be handed Dead To Me and promptly fangirled (much to the delight of the lady working the Disney booth at the time). I have had this one on my radar for what feels like FOREVER now so I am excited to read it.

Day one left me excited to read some of these amazing titles, and eager for day two where I would get to meet even more amazing authors.

Next (and last)  recap post will go up on Thursday!

Book Expo America Day One

Day one of Book Expo America started early. Previous experience let me know that people started arriving at the Javits Center around 7:00 or so. Our group arrived and got a place in line to wait for the exhibit hall to open.

A trend that I enjoyed last year was the morning 'entertainment'. Becca Fitzpatrick had something for the Hush, Hush series in 2012. This year was Veronica Roth's turn as cute tote bags were handed out by members of the different factions of Divergent. 

One of the factions of Divergent handing out tote bags

I also loved the Mortal Instruments banner that was above the exhibit hall doors....

Since day one tends to be the busiest, it also tends to be the day I get the most books. This year was no different.

Emilie and Jess waiting to be let into the exhibit hall

I met Kendare Blake and talked about her book being set in the town of Thunder Bay, Ontario. It's a town I am familiar with and was quite excited to see it used in a story. Kendare is really nice, and I was beyond happy to get a copy of Antigoddess. 

I also met Marisha Pessl who is releasing her second novel, Night Film, at the end of the summer. I've heard nothing but amazing things about this thrilling sounding read. In fact, it may have been the book I was most looking forward to getting my hands on during the event.

Random House's booth was a popular one for me that day, as I also queued up for Lauren Kate's signing. I love all these Atlantis inspired novels that seem to be popping up. Side note regarding Random House - their in booth signings are run amazingly well. They have strict policies about when you can line up, and they had out tickets to ensure they don't have more people than books. It made for a much more pleasant experience.

I wasn't expecting to make the Kami Garcia signing, but as luck would have it I was able to catch the tail end of it. She included a fantastic Unbreakable bookmark as well. Super excited to have a copy of this.

The other books I snagged were drops done at the publisher's booths. The most popular by far was the Scholastic drop for The Dream Thieves. I was impressed at the sheer number of people lined up to get a copy of this coveted sequel. The Raven Boys was fantastic, so I have high hopes for this one.

Teardrop by Lauren Kate (Goodreads)

Splintered/Unhinged by AG Howard (Goodreads)

Wild Cards by Simone Elkeles (Goodreads)

Antigoodess by Kendare Blake (Goodreads)

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater (Goodreads)

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J Maas (Goodreads)

Jessica Darling's It List #1 by Megan McCafferty (Goodreads)

The 100 by Kass Morgan (Goodreads)

Mrs Poe by Lynn Cullen (Goodreads)

Covet by Tracey Garvis Graves (Goodreads)

Night Film by Marisha Pessl (Goodreads)

All The Truth That's In Me by Julie Berry (Goodreads)

Marie Antoinette Serial Killer by Katie Alender (Goodreads)

The Returned by Jason Mott (Goodreads)

Burial Rights by Hannah Kent (Goodreads)

Frozen by Melissa De La Cruz and Michael Johnston (Goodreads)

Unbreakable by Kami Garcia (Goodreads)

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black (Goodreads)

Certain books seem to have a bigger presence than others. Bloomsbury is certainly promoting The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon. I was familiar with the title before BEA (as I am an advocate) and was thrilled to see all the attention it was getting. Another big Bloomsbury title was Crown of Midnight by Sarah J Maas.

Harlequin's big title was The Returned by Jason Mott. If you're not already aware a TV show based on the novel will be debuting on the ABC network this Fall. Resurrection looks amazing, and if you haven't already be sure to check out the teaser trailer for it.

Other big titles of the convention were All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill, Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein, and everyone seemed to want to get their hands on the new Jessica Darling.

The longest line I waited in for a signing was Victoria Schwab's for Vicious (more on that tomorrow). I also hear that the Holly Black signing line was long as well. 

I left the first day feeling insanely lucky, tired, and excited about the titles coming out in the second half of the year. It made me feel that my favourite read has yet to be discovered, and that is an incredible feeling.

My other two days were not nearly as busy so I am going to recap them together. Be sure to come back tomorrow for the rest of my Book Expo America experience.