Yay! It is finally time to share my recap of this year's Book Expo America! I have been a tad busy so, sorry it has taken me longer than usual to post this.
This year BEA was held in Chicago, which is only 4 hours from where I live in Michigan vs. the 10.5 hour drive to New York. I definitely enjoyed the drive to Chicago much more than the drive to New York, but nothing compares to the city of NYC. I have to say my mother and I dearly missed it. Honestly, Chicago is boring. It did have sights from the movie Divergent, but other than that? BORING! In New York my mom and I go all over the city everyday. We go to BEA, run back to the hotel to change, and then go touristing, we go shopping, we go eat, and then crash at the hotel before doing it all over again the next day.
However, in Chicago we only went to BEA and got food. We didn't do any sightseeing and we didn't do any shopping. We didn't have the drive to do it and for whatever reason we were so much more tired after BEA than any year previously. I think it's because NYC is constantly alive. There is a very busy energy that surrounds you there, and in Chicago people take their time getting places. There is no rush to do anything.
Overall we had a very good time, but it just wasn't NYC.
Day 1:
We arrived in Chicago. It's known as the windy city, but on this day it was FOGGY! You can see how thick it is if you look between the buildings in the distance. We headed straight for our hotel, grabbed some food, and then went off to BEA!
I was very happy to see that the layout of BEA stayed the same. We still had the awesome hanging ads all over the convention center and the layout of the booth's and floor was pretty close to how it always is in NYC. I was worried that they wouldn't have put in the same effort for Chicago as they do NYC, because of how low the attendance was for exhibitors.
Here is where I was in line for day 1. Not bad at all, and what I absolutely loved about Chicago was that there pretty much was no such thing as a line. People leisurely walked to each place they wanted to go, they didn't line up 2 hours in advance, and there was absolutely no running. I think I was the fasted power walker lol.
On day one the only signing I had scheduled was Nicholas Sparks. I didn't get a photo of him, but he was super nice and I loved the ladies I made friends with in line.
Day 2:
This year I splurged and bought myself the Avid Reader Pass which gives you the opportunity to pick 10 ticketed authors ahead of time and get 1 front of the line pass. This meant we got to sleep in and take the shuttle every morning.
Day 2 was packed with signings, but the only photo I took was with Nicole Curtis.
She was SO super nice! I didn't have her on my schedule for the day of signings to get, because even though I recognized her name while making my schedule the week before, it didn't register to me who she was. I happened to have free time and was walking around the show floor when I saw all these people in line holding the sampler of her book so, I immediately jumped in line when it finally hit me who she was. If you don't know her, she has a VERY successful and VERY awesome show called Rehab Addict where she restores historic homes to their original beauty. She is from Detroit, like me, and does a lot of great work for our city so I absolutely adore her. Her line was not long at all when I jumped in, but I assure you it was one of the longest waits I had, because she talked to, personalized, and took photos with every. single. person. It was great!
Other authors I met on day 2: Isabel Bandeira, Melissa de la Cruz, Ransom Rigg, Lauren Oliver, Eoin Colfer, Paula Garner, and Zoraida Cordova. Two that my mom was very excited she got to meet were Kenny Loggins (Footloose) and Marcia Clark (O.J. Trial).
Day 3:
Unfortunately, I have zero photos from day 3. The thing about this years BEA is although I got a lot of great books, there weren't a whole lot of big name authors that I fangirl over who I haven't met in previous years. So, I didn't take photos with anyone.
Day three was another packed day, and this was the day I got a big chunk of the books I brought home.
Some of the authors I met on this day were: Danielle Paige, Maggie Stiefvater, Grant Whitus, Kami Garcia, Jeff Giles, Sara Shepard, Jennifer Armentrout, Alyson Noel, Meg Cabot, Kendare Blake, Caleb Roehrig, Marissa Meyer, and Natalie Richards.
Yes, people. I got in a Marissa Meyer line and survived. As probably most of you, I have heard horror stories about Marissa Meyer lines. They are usually out of control to the point where a lot of people don't get the book. However, this was Chicago and in Chicago there is no such thing as a horror story line. Her line was ticketed, they did only have like 3 tickets in the morning since so many people got the Avid Reader Pass and chose her as one of their ten, and it came close where people wouldn't have got it even though they hung around ticketless waiting to see if they had extras, but luckily everyone left happy.
And that, my dear readers, was my BEA16. It was a little uneventful lol. I feel like I have had more fangirling moments and horror stories happen in years past, but it was a nice relaxing trip.
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Now, time for the haul!
These are all the books and swag that went to my house.
Here is all the books that went to my moms. Big difference lol.
The total number of books we brought home was 99. I keep recounting hoping I missed one to give me that perfect 100, but alas.
Now, not all these books are for just my mom and I. Some go to my cousin Hannah, some to my brother Zack, some to my friends, some to my pre-BEA giveaway winner, and some will go to one of you!
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First up, my personal books!
Total: 41
They are all so beautiful and I cannot wait to read them all!
I also just realized Replica is upside down in this photo. *facepalm* of course it is.
*3 samplers not in the montage... "Better Than New" by Nicole Curtis, "Tales of the Peculiar" by Ransom Riggs, and "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
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And now, the ones up for grabs! The winner of this BEA giveaway will have their choice of as many or as little of the books below. None of them are signed.
*Not in montage: "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor sampler pack. Not in the picture: "Remembrance" by Meg Cabot*
a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
*Please read all the terms and conditions. There will only be ONE U.S. Winner*
I hope you all enjoyed this recap and are all done entering the giveaway! Let me know if you plan on checking out any of the books in my personal pile or have already read and loved them!
I hope you all enjoyed this recap and are all done entering the giveaway! Let me know if you plan on checking out any of the books in my personal pile or have already read and loved them!
