This past weekend I went to my first ALA Midwinter in Boston, MA with Alexa and it was great. Even though I have fond memories of BEA, I have to say that ALA was hands down much, much better. The whole atmosphere was way more chill. Plenty of amazing ARCs and the publishers were super happy and willing to hand them out. The convention center had more places to sit and relax. No long lines. And lots of my favorite bloggers to run into. I had a really fun time overall and not just because of the books! Alexa slept over the night before and the picture to the left is our obligatory, we're about to hit the road picture. (Which we took after we got coffee and breakfast from Dunkin Donuts). It was four hour drive each way but we filled it easily with music (we made a playlist for the occasion) and chatter. And while we were in Boston, we made a point to get in some sightseeing, ice cream, good food and getting lots of much-needed rest and relaxation. (I wish I could've brought home the hotel's mattress and pillows!)
Here are some pictures from our trip (and if you keep scrolling, a picture of my entire haul):
walking around our hotel / lunch from Parish Cafe and Bar
at Boston Public Garden
the bridge where you can usually find the Swan Boats / their famous "Make Way for Ducklings" statue
on Newbury St. we checked out Trident Booksellers and got ice cream at Amorino Gelato / first and only day at ALA!
us taking a short break after an extremely successful first couple of hours / with our favorite!
Dinner at Alden & Harlow which is a must-eat if you're in Boston! / Maple lattes from Crema Cafe
A coworker told me about this renowned bakeshop called Mike's Pastry and we had to pick up their chocolate chip cannolis. So good!
And now for the haul!
I'm genuinely excited for all of these books! Most of these were on my radar, while a couple others piqued my interest when I read the back. I can't wait to share my thoughts on them. And as always, I'll pass them on in giveaways as I finish reading. (Shameless plug to follow me on Twitter!) I've included the full list below with links to Goodreads if you want to learn more about them.
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If you were at ALA, what did you think?
And to everyone, which books are you excited about?
So glad you had so much fun! It was my first ALA, and I've never been to BEA, so it was my first bookish event with publishers and things.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you hit up mike's pastry! It's definitely a must, whenever out of town friends come up, I force them to go :P
Oh my goodness how did I miss the new Karma Brown book!? DRAT. It was nice to meet you for about two seconds at ALA! Glad to see you had fun :)
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy we decided to do ALA Midwinter this year! It was really fun to go on a road trip together (as always), and visiting Boston with you was fantastic. Plus, the overall vibe of ALA is pretty damn great! Wouldn't mind going again in the future ;)
ReplyDeleteI've always wanted to go to ALA! Good thing you ladies had a car since you both acquired so many books! I'm REALLY looking forward to Summer of Sloane (which Andi has so graciously offered to send me!), Reader, The Love that Split the World and Up to this Pointe!
ReplyDeleteSuper jealous that you got to go to ALA MW. Those books! THAT FOOD.
ReplyDeleteThis looked so fun! I would love to make it to midwinter one day. Maple lattes sound amazing and those cannolis look delicious.
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