I t's been about a month since BEA and to make my Reader a bit more manageable I will be deleting the BEA 2011 Blog Feed on Friday (6.24.10). If you subscribed to the Feed please make sure to officially follow or subscribe to any of the individual blogs you may have discovered or enjoyed via the Feed as to not lose any great blogs and their awesome content. This will be something that I need to do as well. Thanks to everyone who subscribed and participated — I am extremely happy with how it turned out and will continue the tradition next year with a BEA 2012 Blog Feed so look for it early next Spring!
Tuesday was super busy in the Expo. I got some great books but stuck to my plan of being selective. Tuesday night I went to the Bookrageous Bash at the Lolita Bar with Heather and Megan and ended up meeting with Kim, Ash, Cass, and Amy and had a great time! It was nice to relax and talk to other bloggers.
Wednesday I spent most of my morning in lines. I stood in line for Rick Riordan for two hours and Ally Condie's "Crossed" for about an hour. Rick's book was personalized for my best friend Button as a "thank you for being in my wedding" gift as it's her favorite author. I spent the rest of Wednesday walking around, talking to people, and taking in all of the sights of the Expo. After the Expo Sheila and I returned to the hotel and to relax before going to the Harper Collins reception and dinner with Heather (and others).
Thursday morning we hit the Expo early again because at 10:30 we left to go on a walking tour of Greenwich Village with Adriana Trigiani. I spent the morning finishing up talking to publishers and other people I had promised a meeting with. We left for Greenwich at about 10:40 and had a great time walking with our tour guide Nikki. Many of the stops on the tour were from Adriana's novel. I'll post pictures next week. We then went to the Standard Grill and met up with Adriana and had a fantastic dinner. This woman is amazingly funny and genuine. I haven't read a novel of hers (yet) but after listening to her stories I am SO excited to get my hands on those books. It was an absolutely fantastic day Adriana — thank you!
After lunch we returned to the Expo to find that our boxes of books down in the shipping area were open and basically pillaged. Of course there were tears when I realized that both "Crossed" and Button's book by Rick Riordan were gone. I have no one to blame but myself as I should have just carried them with me. The other down side is that because I was extremely selective all three days I only had a total of probably 20 books from BEA 2011 at the beginning — today I shipped home about 10. Now, the lesson here (besides guard your ARCS) is that books aren't everything. This mantra is literally what's getting me through the day. I didn't come to BEA for books and I believe that I "preached" that enough before BEA (so perhaps this is a test). I came to network, make connections, and reconnect with "internet friends." I'm most upset over the loss of the signed Kane novel for Button as everything else can be bought later. But again, books aren't everything and definitely not the reason I attended BEA. I had a great trip, met some fantastic authors and bloggers, and, honestly, it could be worse. Our hotel could have been robbed (laptops, Nooks, etc), we could have been mugged (or kidnapped), I could be unemployed and homeless, D could leave me at the altar... the list goes on. Am I upset — yes. Is it my own darn fault — yes. Will I get over it — yes. My added advice to all future BEA goers — take your precious items with you at all times.
After that excitement Sheila and I walked the several blocks to the Post Office (as I didn't want to pay the $37 handling fee for ten books) to mail my small box home. We then traveled to the Atria Reception and had a fantastic time! I met some more great bloggers, publicists, and authors. It was very relaxing and not crowded (thank goodness). After that Sheila and I viewed the Empire State Building (because, why not), returned to the hotel, and are gearing up for the BBC tomorrow.
If you'll be at the BBC tomorrow look for me at the following panels: Ask a Publisher or Publicist, Author Speed Dating, and Technology for Blogging.
I really appreciate all of the bloggers who have come up to me and complimented on the BEA vlogs and my blog in general. You have all made me smile throughout this entire trip and I hope to see you tomorrow and get to know you each a bit better. I'll be posting pictures next week and I'll link this post when I have a bit more time (and am not completely exhausted) at a later time in the near future.
Today I'd like to offer up for grabs any BEA 2010 book that I haven't read yet! Yes, folks that's right, last year I bit off more than I could chew and the following books are books that I have not gotten around to yet. All of these great books will go to one US-address winner (drawn on Sunday).
"Time Riders" by Alex Scarrow "Nonna's Book of Mysteries" by Mary Osborne (signed) "Fixing Delilah Hannaford" by Sarah Ockler (signed ARC) "Virgin Territory" by James Lecesne (ARC) "HERO: For One Kid, The Time is Now" by Mike Lupica (ARC) "The Saga of Larten Crepsley: Birth of a Killer" by Darren Shan (ARC) "Dreaming in Chinese" by Deborah Fallows (ARC) "Rivers of Gold" by Adam Dunn (ARC) "What Good is God" by Philip Yancey (ARC) "Russian Winter" by Daphne Kalotay (ARC) "Girl in Translation" by Jean Kwok (ARC) "Emma and the Vampires" by Wayne Josephson (ARC)
Well, we didn't make it to the Simon and Schuster Fall Preview. I mean we made it literally, but we were about an hour late due to a delayed flight and once we arrived we were sent all over the building and no one really seemed to know what was going on. We went from the 14th floor to the 7th floor to the 4th floor to the 17th floor! Finally, we decided to cut our losses, find food, and head towards the Teen Author Carnival. That, of course, ended up in a three hour trek in Manhattan due to some poor directions and tired feet.
But eventually we DID make it to the TAC and had a great time! It was a bit different than 2010 as the place was even more packed and there really wasn't a lot of time, unless you waited for the lines to die down, to actually talk to the authors so I'm hoping to accomplish that more tomorrow.
After our TAC adventure Sheila and I returned to the hotel room, got some Subway, and relaxed the rest of the night. It was a long, tiring day but we survived with a bit of improvisation and will, indeed, live to see another day.
Friends I Made Today
Renee from The Book Girl Reviews
Jamie from The Broke and The Bookish
Robin from Scholastic
Friends I Missed Out On at TAC But Vow to Say Hello Tomorrow
The Book Smugglers
Julia from Rex Robot Reviews
Farrah from I Eat Words
Day Two: The plan of Day 2 centers around (obviously) Book Expo America. Sheila and I plan to leave for the Javits around 6am to stand in line to get our badges (as we didn't have time on today). From there we will probably move to another line to enter the Exhibit Hall. After that, all bets are off and let the craziness begin. I'm hoping to go into the Expo a little more level headed this year and again, be a bit more selective.
I don't exactly have a "plan" for the Expo, but I do want to get my hands on "Witch Eyes," "The Demon Trapper's Daughter," "Haven," and "Enthralled" hopefully today. I also am on the look out for "The Power of Six" — if anyone sees it please let me know via Twitter! Tomorrow I do want to check out the Online Book Discovery discussion, the Inkspot Tweetup, and the Bookrageous Bash! Sometime tomorrow (if at all possible) I'd also like to sneak away to go to the HP Exhibit so if you're interested in that let me know!
It's finally Armchair BEA/BEA time! While I am actually not in a chair but in NYC to attend BEA, I will be participating in Armchair BEA via my cellphone and iPod Touch this year. Last year I didn't participate because I was (again) attending BEA and I actually felt a bit left out. I found myself thinking, "That is so cool!" So this time, despite attending BEA, I am choosing to also participate in Armchair BEA. Wow... I said BEA eight times. I feel like the English teacher in me is slightly annoyed — but, oh well, school's out for summer.
As this week will undoubtedly be super crazy, I won't be as active as I normally would but rest assured that I will be visiting as many blogs as possible — it just might be after this week. Whether, you are in an Armchair or walking the streets of NYC with Twitter and Phone in tow — it's BEA 2011 and it is going to be a fantastic week!
It was the night before BEA 2011 and Reagan and Sheila (Book Journey) were starving. After long hours of driving (or drowning) in thunderstorm showers, all they wanted was food. So they walked to the Mall of America but everything was closed. They returned to the hotel and wanted only some pizza. An hour and a half later, pizza they ate.
They blogged and they tweeted. They attempted to make sense of their crazy BEA schedule, but alas they decided to simply "wing it" and sleep.
Alright, I'm sorry about the third person aside. But, really, what a night this has been! I'm already a bit overwhelmed and definitely tired. My plan for tomorrow is this, so if you're doing something similar please "hit me up" on Twitter or email (delivered to my phone as long as the Hourglass of Death stays out of my way). I know I keep saying this, but I'm so excited to see everyone; I just need to remind myself to breathe!
Monday Leave for airport at 4am Fly out at 5:45am Attend the S&S Fall Preview from 11-3pm Teen Author Carnival from 4-7pm
Monday — Simon and Schuster Reception and TAC Tuesday — Bookrageous Bash Wednesday — Harper Collins Reception and Book Blogger Dinner Thursday — Atria Book Reception, Walking Trip with Adriana Trigiani, BBC Registration Friday — Book Blogger Convention
Look for me on Twitter — @google
Last minute BEA Review: BEA 2011 Blog Feed What to Wear What to Bring Networking Questions Answered
I'm so excited to see you all again! Remember to say hi if you see me around!:)
BEA 2011 Blog Feed Twitter BEA 2011 Publisher List compiled from the information found on Ware-Pak! Sheila from Book Journey April from Good Books and Good Wine and @booksandwine Once Upon a Twilight Shannon Delany author of "13 to Life " — THANK YOU!!
Other BEA 2011 Vlogs:
BEA 2011: What to Wear BEA 2011: What to Bring BEA 2011: Questions Answered If you have any questions please let me know! Again, I don't presume to be an expert I'm just trying to help anyone I can.
Also, please notice I'm talking about networking with other primarily bloggers.:)
Sheila from Book Journey Amanda from The Zen Leaf Trish from Eclectic/Eccentric Pam from Bookalicious Cat from Beyond Books
I'm still new at this vlogging stuff so please be kind — I'm learning how to edit. It's a slow process (no pun intended). I am in no way an expert, I'm just trying to help. Let me know if you have any questions!
Remember if you're going to BEA this year sign up for the BEA 2011 Blog Feed!
