BEA 2016 Recap: Day Three

BookExpo America 2016 Day Three: May 13

Well, here we are, at the time of the year where I have to say goodbye to my gorgeous recap of BEA. Okay, there's one more post tomorrow, but today I will be discussing the last and final day of the convention that makes my life complete. 

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I think that Friday was the best day throughout my whole Chicago trip. I got to spend time with new friends (sorry, Mom) and got the best books out of the whole three-day convention. I finally understood how BEA worked this year, and I understood the crowds and how to get the books I wanted the most, and how each publisher worked. All that time the two days before spent on waiting in line for Replica especially during galley drops where I actually had no chance of getting a copy because I was last in line, I could have been somewhere else, knowing that Friday was the day!

I was extremely anxious that morning because of: A Torch Against the Night, Gemina, Replica, Heartless, Passenger, The Sun is Also a Star and The Amateurs. I NEEDED THEM. My life depended on them. I barely ate breakfast (but I had to fuel up!) because I thought I wouldn't get them.

OH YEAH, HARLEQUIN!

Speaking of Harlequin, it was also the day where I had a chance to meet JLA and all of the other Harlequin Teen authors of 2016! I was number 83 in line, and there were only 100 tickets being given out. I GOT TO MEET ELEANOR HERMAN, JLA, AMY LUKAVICS AND MANY OTHERS. It was just the best way to get books and feel special. It was nice chatting with others in line, as well!

JLA AND I. EEEGH!

A nice tip for future BEAers: wait until a ticketed author is almost finished with their signing and try to snag a spot in line without a ticket! I constantly missed ticket giveaways in the mornings because I was never at McCormick early as other crazy bookworms, so I never got the chance to meet Marissa Meyer because of that. I did get to meet Danielle Paige and Meg Cabot even though I did not have tickets! Danielle Paige was so sweet and I went nuts when my friend Melanie and I snagged a spot in line towards the end of her signing. I already had a book, so I just brought it over and got it signed by her. We had a full-on discussion about The Wizard of Oz, and my, I LOVE HER.

HI DANIELLE!

I GOT REPLICA. GUYS. I learned HarperCollins' galley giveaways the hard way, by trying to go in every line every time. Melanie and I, as well as Kristina from Gone Pecan and Rosie from The Literary Hedonist all were close to the front—I think I had the third spot, and the first five all got COPIES OF ALYSON NOEL'S UNRIVALED. EEEEGH. That honestly was luck, and saved me time from actually having to wait in line for it afterwards. I would've wanted to meet Alyson, though!

Another case of pure luck? Being at the Middle Grade Editor's Buzz, I was coming out of the room where nearby at a table, A Torch Against the Night was lying down there. WHAT?! GUYS—THE LINE FOR THAT BOOK A FEW HOURS WAS CHAOTIC. MY LIFE WAS MADE. It was just one copy, so I took it, obviously. I wish I met Sabaa Tahir too, but here is a photo of her (she's flawless!)

For those of you who were wondering about Veronica Roth and Crave the Mark, which, in case you didn't know, is her new book that will be released in January 2017, they were samplers. Meh. She was signing, as well as Laini Taylor, who was promoting her upcoming novel, Strange the Dreamer, which also was being given out as a sampler. Of course I grabbed them both, and I understand that lines would be chaotic for finished ARCs. Also, I imagine that some people would try to sell them online. Boo. 

Honestly? I got every book that I NEEDED to get from BEA this year, excluding Heartless by Marissa Meyer. I would sell my soul to get a copy of that, but it's fine, I'll pre-order it because I love Marissa's writing anyway. I had a close encounter with snatching a copy, but it didn't happen. The Amateurs by Sara Shepard was one of the last books I got, and I also had the chance to meet Sara!

GOT A SECRET CAN YOU KEEP IT SWEAR THIS ONE
YOU'LL SAVE... BETTER LOCK IT IN A POCKET...

At the time of this signing, my mom was at the Gemina giveaway, and I was so surprised that she got it! There were about two hundred people in line I can imagine (maybe I'm over-exaggerating), and then Jay Kristoff made a surprise appearance and the whole exhibit floor was jolly. Ew, that's cheesy, I know. BUT IT WAS GREAT. Those were one of the most happiest moments of my life. Seriously. And who could forget about Jay Asher hot chocolate from his newest, What Light? 

Sabaa Tahir's line. Whoa.

After Sara Shepard's signing, I got extremely depressed. It was the end of BEA! Three days of continuous roaming, laughs with my mom, new friends who I will have to wait to see until another year in NYC (hopefully!), books, an atmosphere of books and just a good time came to an end. I strolled around McCormick as it got empty with my mom, and I swear that a tear roamed down on my cheek. Meh. I had to snag a few photos of McCormick before I left, and it was sad. Terrifying. Meaningful.

I say this after every time I travel somewhere (but that's because my dad keeps taking me to amazing places), but Chicago is my new home. You'll see why after tomorrow's final post where I talk about BEA overall, the University of Chicago and tourism. I'M SO SAD NOW EVEN THOUGH IT'S JULY AND I SHOULD BE OVER THIS. MEH. WAH. I CRAVE BOOKS AND MORE BOOKS EVEN THOUGH I HAVE TONS AND TONS. 

Oh, and my haul! I literally almost forgot. WANT TO SEE IT?!

65 BOOKS! YAY!

Sorry for my freaking-out-self. How was your final day at BEA? What was your favourite BEA year if you've been?

BEA 2016 Recap: Day Two

BookExpo America 2016 Day Two: May 12

Greetings, mates! I am not Australian, and I am not (okay, kind of) trying to be. Let's take a look at BEA day two, where the magic really began, and my achy breaky bag hurt ten times more than I would have liked. But that's the magic of BEA: it hurts, a lot. Make sure you bring comfortable shoes, people. I wore flats for the three days and it wasn't the best decision I could've made, even though I was sacrificing comfort for style.

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Day two of BEA was the day where I accumulated the most books, and perhaps some of the books I want to read the most from BEA. Okay, Friday was pretty amazing too, but that'll be tomorrow's post.

On Thursday, McCormick Place's exhibit hall opened earlier, at nine, so we tried to leave earlier, but of course we got caught in a little Chicago traffic. I thought I would get Replica by Lauren Oliver then, that day, since the giveaway was at 9, but my mom and I arrived 10 minutes later and missed it. THE LINE WAS CRAZY, PEOPLE WOULD LINE UP HALF AN HOUR EARLIER. I later learned the best way to wait for HarperCollins' galley drops: by waiting early. My friend Melanie (I MISS YOU), Rosie (I MISS YOU TOO!) and I learned this the hard way after trying many times. (Friday was a go!) People are literally chaotic at BEA, and although this gets frustrating sometimes, I don't like to really think about the negatives.

Sourcebooks, Capstone and people!

I honestly have to go back to my schedule and try to remember everything that was going on. Thursday was the day of Taherah Mafi (FURTHERMORE!), Jennifer Niven (HOLDING UP THE UNIVERSE!) and Ransom Riggs (TALES OF THE PECULIAR!). I couldn't wait to meet these amazing authors, and Penguin Random House had them all in their booths, signing! I must say, for the second year in a row, Penguin Random House has stolen my heart for best booth. They are so organized, have signs everywhere telling people where to go, the publicists are amazing (Enid!), they hand out information sheets with in-booth signings and there's no confusion. Thank you for that, I know I spent so much time in your booth during the three days!

I attended the BEA YA Editor's Buzz, which was fabulous just like last year's. I really want to work in the publishing industry. *cries* MY MOM GOT TO MEET DAVID LEVITHAN WHILE I WAS THERE. CRY. CRY. CRY. I made her send my best wishes out there, and she snagged a copy of The Twelve Days of Dash and Lily for me!

Hah. I remember 11:30. That was the galley drop for Stealing Snow by Danielle Paige and The Edge of Everything by Jeff Giles at the Bloomsbury booth. I got there around 11ish, and the line WAS HUGE. I started panicking that I wouldn't be able to grab a copy, and I was really hoping to because I love Danielle Paige so much. THERE WERE TONS OF COPIES AVAILABLE, THANK GOODNESS. That was amazing. Around that time, Ransom Riggs' signing was moved a little earlier from the 1:30 signing, and I rushed over to the Penguin booth, expecting a bigger line. I actually was one of the first 20 people? 

I FREAKED OUT SO HARD. I actually expected a full copy of Tales of the Peculiar, but we ended up getting a sampler. I FREAKED OUT OVER HIS ATTRACTIVENESS AND TOLD HIM HOW I LOVE HIM AND TAHERAH TOGETHER.

I love you! 

So that was a true highlight. I was the happiest person alive! Oh, and I missed another fab moment!

HECK YEAH. If you do not know who this is, then we can't be friends.

Gayle Forman is the nicest, cutest, most amazing human in the whole planet. I gushed to her about If I Stay and everything. Agh.

What else? I freaked out a little when I discovered that my two favourite YA authors were signing at the same time. AGH.

But thankfully, I had my mom with me, and at 1:00, I headed to Jennifer Niven's line, grabbed a ticket, and IT WENT BY SO FAST.

SHE'S SO BEAUTIFUL AND I FANGIRLED ABOUT HOW MUCH I CRIED IN ALL THE BRIGHT PLACES AND AHHHH!

We looked like twins with our navy blazers! *SCREAMS* I love her so much. My mom grabbed a ticket for the Taherah Mafi line and after Jennifer, I quickly headed over to that, took her place and chatted with some people and my dreams came true once again. 

Look at me going nuts!

I ended up missing the signing for Vassa in the Night because Macmillan was seriously unorganized with their in-booth signings. I honestly had no idea what was going on with Marissa Meyer and Heartless, and everything that was happening. But they were good with their galley drops, I must say!

I also loved how HarperTeen was secretive with their drops until BEA actually happened. That created more excitement for us bloggers and people!

Starbucks, once again, kept me up and ready to go with my lemonade, and I honestly feel that after that, BEA helped me keep shape. I walked three miles, for sure.

The most annoying signing of the day was Adam Silvera's signing for History is All You Left Me, but at the same time, it was so much fun because Adam cares so much about his readers and he wants to talk to us! I THINK I STOOD IN THAT LINE FOR TWO HOURS. But it's fine, hah. And I might be over-exaggerating a little. Adam was afraid that no one would show up for his signing, though! I should have snagged a photo with him. Ugh. 

Here's my YA/Adult haul! I'm a little embarrassed, but there's 90 books here. *blushes* That's what happens when you drive here and know that it's okay because you have a luggage checked in outside! I still haven't read any of the books in that pile, whoops. I'M GOING TO, ASAP.

Day two was the second most fun day out of BEA. (Friday was the best!) But at the same time, I loved each and every single day for the number of people I talked to, the time I got to spend with my mom, the books that I got to snag, the environment of McCormick and just how organized this year's conference was. I love book conferences to the moon and back.

Here's a photo of beautiful Chicagoan artwork on the streets for fun:

My back hurts again just thinking of BEA, but my heart flutters so much at the same time! What was your second day of BEA like if you were there?

BEA 2016 Recap: Day One

BookExpo America 2016 Day One: May 11

I have literally been pushing this (as well as the next three) post aside, mostly because I didn't have the time (and feeling) to go through all of the photos I took in Chicago and rave over BEA. Before I get started, I have to say that BEA this year was amazing—so much better than last year in New York City. Chicago is my new favourite place to visit, and this year attracted different audiences, people from the west whose blogs I have heard about in the past, and I was able to meet them in person. Chicago introduced visitors from all over the place, and it wasn't as crowded as the Javits was last year. I had so much fun!

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Let's begin! I arrived in Chicago, the city of the winds (which I kind of understood later—I'll let you know!) on the Tuesday, so on the 10th, the day before BEA began. I used the same kind of schedule with the amount of days my family and I would spend in the city as last year, including a day of total tourism. (YAY!) The drive from Toronto took about eight hours, which was really boring (sorry, Ontario and Michigan!) but once we reached Illinois, ALL OF THE EXCITEMENT WAS IN ME. The year passed by so fast from the last time I was in a huge convention centre filled with book lovers, and it was my dream come true to see Chicago!

Reaching Chicago at its Skyway bridge!

The weather was seriously gloomy for a huge portion of our trip, though. I'll get to Saturday, which was when I visited the University of Chicago (I want to go there. Period), and which turned out to be the coldest day ever, but I must say, Chicago gets a lot of fog. Afterwards, we checked into our hotel and did a little shopping, which was highly recommended by a friend of mine who frequently visits Chicago.

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Day one! I woke up pretty early, I think around 7:00, which kind of is the same time that I wake up to go to school each morning. I still wanted to get to McCormick Place (the convention centre!) early even though the convention actually began at 1:00 that day. 2.5 days of amazingness! I had a fulling breakfast and THEN I WAS SET WITH MY PAPERS, MAP, AND SPREADSHEET! Here is a peek at my spreadsheet for that day (those highlighted in yellow are books I actually got there!):

Chicago does have traffic, guys. I mean, it's just like any other city, and I must say that it does move, better than Toronto or NEW YORK CITY for sure. I didn't mind, because Tuesday was only a half day of activities. I just couldn't stop staring at the Chicago skyline. It's beautiful!

Here is a paragraph dedicated to Chicago's architecture. For quite some time, I had this minor dream of becoming an architect. Designing buildings sounds so cool, but that kind of faded away because I have no artistic ability whatsoever. Chicago has such gorgeous buildings that I just cannot function. The city is so clean, so pretty, and has nicer architecture than NYC, which is definitely hard to beat. Agh.

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I got to the convention centre and went to grab my badges. The staff at BEA are so helpful and I didn't have any issues finding something or getting my badge or anything.

We all kind of sat around the entrance for two or so hours. When 1:00 came around, thankfully, thanks to publishers and their Twitter accounts, I was able to discover galley drops and cool things that would be happening for the next three days. I had my eyes set on Replica by Lauren Oliver, because I originally heard that she would be signing the book right when the time came. The "doors" or "gates" opened, people went chaotic (as usual) towards the inside, and when I got to the "line" at the HarperCollins booth, IT WAS HUGE. And then we were told that a galley drop would occur later in the day, so I was a little relieved. 

I was able to get most of the books I wanted! BEA was full of galley drops and signings this year, I would say an equal amount, which was great. I got to know all of the booths the first day so I would be ready the next days, and the publishers were great with handing out schedules for their signings and whatnot. 

I met many new people and authors on day one, surprisingly! NICHOLAS SPARKS, GUYS. His line actually wasn't too bad and I got the chance to fangirl (over his attractiveness) over how I love the movies of his books! Who else? Jennifer Close, author of The Hopefuls, Kate Beasley, author of Gertie's Leap to Greatness, and Jonathan Safran Foer, author of Here I Am (which is HUGE) for a few.

Amazing things that shocked me the first day (in a good way)? The amount of people, which was less than last year, the gorgeousness of McCormick Place (including its signs and banners), how the Starbucks was so close to the exhibit hall, and the fact that the luggage check-in WAS RIGHT BESIDE. The people who worked there were so sweet and nice to this crazy fangirl over here.

STARBUCKS. Thank you for your ingredients to make me happy and to give
me a Mango Black Tea Lemonade everyday to keep me boosted.

DISNEY! PEOPLE! YES!

Even though this was day one, and it was only for four and a half hours, I was dead afterwards. My back was killing me! BEA COMES WITH TONS OF PHYSICAL PAIN, EVEN THOUGH YOU COULD CHECK YOUR LUGGAGE IN FOR $4. I went nuts. And a tip? Don't bring many bags with you from home, 'cause they give so many out. I have a collection of tote bags in my room, like a hoarder. I don't want to give them away!

Ready for the haul?

BEHOLD. I love each and every one of these pretties.

This is my day one haul, which is only YA and Adult in this photo. How many books? 71. We were crazy! Here is my middle grade haul (for my sister and myself):

23!

Don't make me pick the ones I want to read the most, PLEASE.

We headed to an amazing Polish-American restaurant for dinner, called Staropolska, and here is a photo of it inside (very Viking-like):

The food is so good there! (We spent a lot of dinners there afterwards because we all loved it). 

BEA, thank you for an amazing day one. I had a blast, and I didn't even think about the fact that it wouldn't last too long!

I apologize for the late post. Anywho, stay tuned for a day two, day three and overall post coming this week! Michelle's posts will be next!

How was your BEA, if you went? How was day one? What did you like about it?

BEA Adventures: The Commencement

BookExpo America (BEA) is the best bookish event in the world. If you have
not heard of it, you're in a different world. A world that does not include bookish
events. Whoa.

Yesterday I decided to *inwardly* celebrate a special day that means so much to me, and of course—to other book bloggers. ONE WEEK UNTIL BEA!

Jimmy Fallon knows how to party.

It's been a long (but short) year since my first visit to New York City, where I fell in love with a culture of diversity and books, and the first major book networking event of my blogging career (or whatever you must call it). I NEVER IMAGINED THAT I WOULD GO TO CHICAGO. A big thanks to my family who has decided to tag along and make this all happen. What do I expect from Chicago, AKA The Windy City of them all? (I heard that it actually is not windy there. That's kind of weird). 

• THE BEAN. Oh, come on, you know we all must see it
• To see the city where Veronica Roth imagined Divergent and how it came to life
• CULTURE. GOOD FOOD. You know what I mean!
• A city that is not as busy as NYC, which allows me to see everything
• SHOPPING. Michigan Avenue, here I come!
• UofChicago. I'm heading on a tour there! (I would also LOVE to see Northwestern).
• A midwestern city! This would be the farthest west I have ever been in the US. Not that I expect anything different
• Publicists! I have to email everyone and ask if they are heading to Chicago!
• Bloggers! New friends, here I come!

There's a lot more, but my brain's a little jittery at the moment because I am thinking of school, as usual. I will be missing four school days in total, which is not absolute torture but close. But hey, this is educational! I'll probably bring some books back for my teachers too. *begs for 100 percents*

Instead of repeating all of my tips on going to the show, here are links to last year's posts from me! Of course, there will be recaps this year. 

• BEA 2015 Recap: BookCon
• BEA 2015 Recap: My Overall Thoughts
• BEA 2015 Maze: Part I
• BEA 2015 Recap: Day 1
• BEA 2015 Recap: Day 2
• BEA 2015 Recap: Day 3

You must have enough of my own typing and writing. Here are some extra stuff that I found from other great bloggers!

• Nori made a spreadsheet! (I have one too, but this is for assurance).
• Ashley @ Nose Graze wrote an excellent post!

THERE WILL BE RECAPS, EXCELLENCE AND PHOTOS. I hope I could see some of you there!

Are you heading to BEA this year... or any big book conference? What is your favourite part of going to book events?

Hosting Two Blogs: Is it Really That Difficult?

As you all are reading this post, I am sitting in a stench-filled classroom writing a provincial required literacy test. Yuck. We tenth graders in Ontario need to write (and pass) the test in order to graduate high school. All of the juniors and seniors are saying that we shouldn't study or even try hard on the test... but I'm an overachiever. Anyways. 

I HAVE NEWS. I am proud to announce that I have opened a new blog! Readers of my one and beloved Thousand Lives Lived, I have to say goodbye. BYE SO LONG! 

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I'm kidding. April Fools is tomorrow so I'm kind of in the mood to scare you all! *peeks around* Not like I have any readers anyways. *sad face* I KNOW YOU ALL ARE OUT THERE SOMEWHERE. A Thousand Lives Lived is here to stay, at least for a little while!

Key to Book City is my new blog, on Wordpress' platform, and it's a project that I have been committed to for the longest time. It's just... I never had the time to make it happen. I thought about the idea of opening the glorious thing one hot sunny summer afternoon where I realized how I wanted my blog (one day) to compare to that of Nose Graze or Paper Fury, for example.

Why?

• I would like publicity
• I would like to go/feel professional with my own domain, plugins, coding experience...
• I prefer Wordpress' formatting experience
• I feel experienced. I want to save money to go Premium!

There's a thousand reasons why I wanted this to happen. After months of preparations of reviews, themes, ideas and hopes, I opened the blog on Monday. I hope to have it really going by BEA on May 11! For now, the experience is magical.

I co-blogged for some time on a fabulous site, but things got out of hand for me when I couldn't commit to it. I had begun high school, and everything seemed very overwhelming. Now, because of the IB program that I'm in, time management is key and I have gotten it. It will take some work, but it's manageable. It honestly just depends on how much time you have. I know some bloggers who blog on three sites, one including their own. It's amazing!

As for A Thousand Lives Lived, you might be wondering what kinds of posts and things happening you should expect:

• Comments on your blogs (YES, I'm going to be social!)
• Monthly recap posts coming back again
• Cool discussion posts
• A guest post from a friend of mine? (I haven't asked anyone yet.)
• Stacking the Shelves
• Twitter interactions with y'all
• Chicago (BEA) prep

How do you manage your blog(s)? If you are on more than one blog, is it difficult at times?

My Letter to Books: Favourite Edition

Recently, I’ve been finding myself unable to read often because of schoolwork. It’s extremely difficult balancing a good, healthy and normal lifestyle with schoolwork and continuing to do the things you love. I have given up some hobbies that I used to conduct everyday, like playing the guitar or writing short stories because of the program that I am in, and in some ways, I don’t regret it because it’s all worth it. Though, books are my life and so is blogging… so here is a letter to my favourite books, because I know that I had not forgotten about them at all.

Dear Favourites,

Like a teacher never wants to pick their favourite students out of the class (at least, they don’t admit that they have favourites somewhere deep inside of them), they do have some, and they show it. I have a couple favourites, and if you are receiving this special letter, I am proud to admit that you are one of them. Yes, you: Throne of Glass, The Selection, The Fault In Our Stars, Looking for Alaska, The Outsiders, Divergent, Falling Kingdoms, Catching Jordan, The Host, Eleanor and Park, Delirium, Before I Fall, The Hunger Games, Tiger’s Curse, Everything, Everything, Nightfall, Liars, Inc., All the Bright Things, Second Chance Summer and The Summer I Turned Pretty. You guys are the special ones. And I’m pretty sure that even though I have 326 so-called “favourites” on my Goodreads shelf at the moment, you are the special ones. 

I am a liar, okay? I pretend that some of your other friends are my favourites and then I just forgot about them. I actually remembered you guys from the top of my head and you are my true friends.

So because it is American Thanksgiving right now, and most of your authors are American, let me tell you why I am thankful and grateful for you all. You books are special—have made me feel different, extremely happy and joyful, more than ever before. With some of you, I have cried, bawled and my eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. (Sorry to put that in your head). Your words are lyrical, clever and have a meaning to them that is just so difficult to comprehend and write them out. I spend my nights thinking about you all when I need a break from life and just want to desire more, more sequels of course. Tell your authors that they need to give me more, ASAP. 

I keep saying the word “I,” because I (hey, I did it again) just need more. Yes, with you guys, I could be selfish because the luscious hardcovers that are in my bookshelf  and you’re all mine. *raises eyebrows* 

I love you, and I'm sorry that I've never re-read one of you before, except for THG. Thank you, my loves and your wonderful authors. Schoolwork is getting me to suffer, but it's okay, I'll make time for you. 

Happy Thanksgiving, viewers! I wish that I could have some turkey... sadly my turn was in October. 

Word on the Street 2015 Recap

I recently headed over to a wonderful, free book festival downtown Toronto in the harbourfront called Word on the Street! This is my second time attending, and I was more excited than ever for a new year of cheap books, interesting excerpts from authors I've never heard about and of course... the stunning view of Lake Ontario! (Seriously, you missed a lot if you attended but didn't go out to see the view. Poor you.)

I only spent a few hours there, less than last time, but it was quick, much more organized than last year and a complete blast! I found a lot of books on bargain for good prices, and yes, I will be discussing my haul below! 

Back when this event happened, the weather was gorgeous. UGH.

The team who made everything possible were awesome, though I wish that they had a broader selection of Canadian YA authors visiting! MORGAN RHODES, WHERE WERE YOU? *cries* I didn't really head to any autographing or events like that, but I definitely would have if there was more time, and less chaos.

The. Most. Beautiful. BOOK HAUL EVER, RIGHT?

Well seriously, let's make this haul happen every single day. Here's a list on Goodreads where I actually added all of these books: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/92938.Beautiful_Covers_That_I_Just_Can_t_Wait_to_Fall_In_Love_With YOU ALL NEED THEM AND I CAN'T WAIT TO START READING THEM. 

I wish I could've gotten the chance to take more photos and feel more calm at this event, but it was stressful—SO MANY PEOPLE. Thank you, WOTS for a fantastic event and I'm already prepping myself for next year! (Harlequin, thank you for that amazing deal: 3 books for $5!)

Have you read any of the books I got? Do you have any free book events in your community?