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?