I kicked off my BEA week by going to Scooper Bowl at Bryant Park with Alexa of Alexa Loves Books and Tiff of Mostly YA Lit. Somehow I didn't hear about this ice cream eating event (I know, I know!) but luckily Tiff did. It was fun, mainly because of the company, plus the local vendors they did have, like CoolHaus and Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory were really good! But it was a tad underwhelming since I expected a lot more local vendors (why would you have Baskin Robbins there?!). Still, I can't complain when ice cream, good company and chatting books are involved.
Next up were two happy hours: the Big Honcho Media one and Macmillan's. Alexa invited me to the former, which was nice because I had never attended before and got to see a lot of familiar faces. And the latter I've attended in previous years and it continues to be a favorite of mine. Not only did I get to meet the lovely publicists I work with, I also got time to chat with bloggers and authors alike. The most memorable part of the night though was seeing Leigh Bardugo. I've met her numerous times before – it cracks me that every time she sees me, she exclaims "I know you!" – but she genuinely makes conversation with you. She asked me where I was from, about my job and my plans for BookCon. She's incredibly nice and just so, so funny. If she's ever at a bookstore near you for an event, I can't say enough how much you need to be there and listen to this woman speak.
Next up were two happy hours: the Big Honcho Media one and Macmillan's. Alexa invited me to the former, which was nice because I had never attended before and got to see a lot of familiar faces. And the latter I've attended in previous years and it continues to be a favorite of mine. Not only did I get to meet the lovely publicists I work with, I also got time to chat with bloggers and authors alike. The most memorable part of the night though was seeing Leigh Bardugo. I've met her numerous times before – it cracks me that every time she sees me, she exclaims "I know you!" – but she genuinely makes conversation with you. She asked me where I was from, about my job and my plans for BookCon. She's incredibly nice and just so, so funny. If she's ever at a bookstore near you for an event, I can't say enough how much you need to be there and listen to this woman speak.
On Saturday, before heading to BookCon, I had a 7:30am (!) Penguin Young Readers Breakfast to attend. Let me tell you, waking up at 5am on a weekend was 100% worth it to be there. First of all, Chelsea and team did a wonderful job setting up the breakfast. The food was great, the book swag was great, the tables were great. And we got time with each of the authors present. Each table got 10 minutes with Marie Lu, Kristin Cashore, Stephanie Perkins, Peter Bognanni and Julie Dao to learn about their books and ask questions. I internally fangirled over Marie, Stephanie and Kristin and loved getting to meet Julie for the first time. Not that I needed any convincing but I'm even more excited for their upcoming releases this year.
And finally, BookCon! I have to say it was more about hanging out with friends for me than getting the books, although I lucked out with some awesome galley drops. Still it was fun to explore, bump into people I know, get cute tote bags and see Chad Michael Murray seated 10 feet away from me. He was probably the one person I considered getting a ticket for (and the one thing that made me wish I had been at BookExpo!) but I settled for walking by his booth to take a photo. It's actually ridiculous just how cute he is in person and my Lucas Scott loving heart was so happy. I ended up not staying too long at the BookCon but I still went home with plenty of books and totes in tow and some very cute pictures to share.
With Kaz & Inez • Me & Alexa • I love you Lucas Scott
Photobooth fun! Two of my favorite worlds: Grishaverse + the Shadowhunters
Sneak peek of my bookswag! (Details to come in my next Stacking the Shelves.)
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Did you go to BookExpo or BookCon?
Which books/authors are YOU excited about?
I am glad you a great time at the publishers' events as well as BookCon! You definitely had great company!
ReplyDeleteYAY! So, so glad we got to meet up for ice cream and catch up time. I kinda wish I'd gotten to see Chad Michael Murray as well, because he's so adorable, but oh well. Can't have everything. Like you, I'm just so happy I got to have so much friend time! Thanks for making time for me! xo
ReplyDeleteYay for BookCon! I'm so happy to have caught you even briefly at the Macmillan party :) I'm glad you had a fun bookish week!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad that we got to spend time together at so many of the events you listed!!! We definitely need to plan that ice cream trip soon :-) I think the after BookExpo / BookCon sad feelings of not seeing friends every day hasn't hit yet since we were also lucky enough to go to Books of Wonder last night for an incredible event! <3
ReplyDeleteI'm honestly glad we got to hang out so much during BookExpo/BookCon! That's always my favorite thing about that week - just seeing all the friends and authors and spending time with everyone :) So glad we got to spend BookCon together too!
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