Book Expo America: Recap + Book Haul!

Hey, lovely readers!

So, you may have seen my excited (also terrified) posts on Twitter about the fact that I was attending BEA for the first time this year. I was pretty nervous about the whole thing, but it ended up being such an incredible experience! I met so many lovely people, got some amazing books, and had just a generally awesome time. Here's a recap of what happened!

TUESDAY

It all started early Tuesday morning when I headed to the airport for my flight to NYC. Jess and I were flying together which I was grateful for because I do not like flying. Like, at all. We made it to NYC with little trouble (minus some terminal confusion and crazy children) and met up with Emilie, Katherine, and Katie at the airport. From there it was off to the apartment we were sharing with roommates Kaley and Kathy. I have to give a huge shout out to my roommates who were honestly incredible. From the pajama parties to the bagel bites to the laughing fits, I had the best time hanging out with these girls.

After some unpacking, it was off to Teen Author Carnival! I had never been before, but it was just lovely. The panels were great, the organizers were sweet, and the authors were some of the best. I was lucky enough to get my books signed by some incredible authors who were all just so friendly and amazing. I also got to (finally!!!) meet Tiffany Schmidt, an author who I've been chatting with for a while now (mostly about our deep love for Andrew McMahon). She was just so great and recognized me right away (which was super cool)! I only wish I could've gotten a picture with her, but we'll have to save that for next time. Jess and I were also two of the last people to get our books signed by Susan Dennard. Honestly, she blew me away with how friendly and funny she was. I was lucky enough to talk to her a couple times over BEA and she was just the best.

WEDNESDAY. BEA DAY ONE (AKA TRUTHWITCH DAY)

 

The first day of BEA was chaos. Particularly cause Kathy, Jess, and I were determined to get copies of Truthwitch by Susan Dennard. We waited in line for two and a half hours, and got to chat with some lovely bloggers. It was a madhouse when the doors opened, but we all managed to snag tickets! I got my first look at the floor (which was SO BIG) and got some really great books. Sadly, I had gotten sick the day before and it really caught up to me that day. Thankfully, I managed to pull together in time to head to the Epic Reads party!

Shouts-out to the amazing Epic Reads team for throwing an awesome bash! They were all so welcoming and friendly, it was a ton of fun. I also got to meet the lovely Corey Ann Haydu at the party which was so great. We had a lot of fun chatting with her. Then, I got to meet Patrick Ness. I didn't say much (cause I was just like O.O) but he was lovely enough to sign my bag for me (which I will treasure always).

THURSDAY. BEA DAY TWO

Thursday was a bit less hectic than Wednesday. I had a pretty relaxed schedule, but managed to snag some of my most anticipated reads! I also got to meet the lovely Wendy Higgins (y'all know what a huge fan I am of the Sweet Trilogy) which I was pretty dang pumped about. 

Some of the roomies and I went out to a local diner to grab a late lunch and then headed back to the apartment. From there, Katherine and I went on an adventure around NYC and, of course, found ourselves at Strand Bookstore. When we got there though, we were met with a bit of a shock when the whole street was blocked off with police and firetrucks scattered around. After asking a stranger what was going on and being yelled at by a firefighter, we ended up in Strand which wasn't shut down after all! 

I was very proud that I managed to limit myself to only a few books but damn, I got some great ones. Katherine cleaned up there, and got quite the haul. After that, we grabbed some pizza and settled into our pjs for a chill night in the apartment (which included helping Katherine with her YouTube video that I guest starred in!)

FRIDAY. BEA DAY THREE (AKA PATRICK NESS DAY)

Guys, Jess and I did so well on Friday. It started when we made a mad dash to the Harper Collins booth to pick up both of our most wanted book: The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness. And we did it! We were so excited that we had managed to get a copy (after missing out twice before)! From there it was line jumping and spot saving and ARC spotting and general awesomeness. We managed to accomplish so much more than either of us expected. We started off the autographing day meeting the wonderful Julie Murphy, and continued on to meet a bunch of others. Including Corey Ann Haydu, again, who was so sweet as usual. And then, it was Patrick Ness time.

I'm pretty proud to say Jess and I were the first people in line for Patrick Ness. We were just so excited about it. And we were lucky we were, because the line just went bananas. It was five rows deep before they finally decided to cut it. And then we got to have our ARCs signed and meet Patrick Ness again! He saw us and said "I saw you guys tweeting about the line!" to which I flailed a little inside. He was funny and awesome and I'm honestly just so excited to read this book I can't even tell you.

We didn't have a lot to do after that, until it was time for the Blogger Dinner organized by fellow Canadian blogger Tiff! We got to meet some lovely bloggers and have a really awesome dinner and it was great. (Thanks Tiff for organizing it!)

The roommates along with Sarah and Tiff and I went for a second trip to Strand after dinner, and loaded up on even more books (cause why not).

SATURDAY

With BEA over, Kaley and I set out to do some sightseeing (cause Kaley had never been to NYC, something I found on this day). We went to Time Square, and the Hershey's Store, and Bryant Park then headed over to FAO Schwartz to meet up with Katherine. From there it was Central Park time. We had such a great time there (although the heat was something FIERCE). I also finally got to ride the carousel AND eat Shake Shack. 

That night we went to the Paper Lantern Lit party which was a lot of fun. We met back up with Tiff and Sarah and got to chat with Lexa Hillyer whose launch party it was. I also got chocolate and a copy of Legacy of Kings so it was a very solid night.

And there you have it! Sunday we all went home and besides some chaos getting there, we all made it back safe and sound. It was such a wonderful experience to say the least. I'm hoping I'll be able to go sometime in the future!

So, what did I get a BEA? We'll here's my book haul!

(I also got some really cool totes and buttons but I was too lazy to photograph them).

And I did end up getting an extra copy of Dumplin' which is being passed on to another lovely blogger who will put it to good use :)

Did you go to BEA? Send me your recaps!

- Ciara (Lost at Midnight)