BEA 2015 – Part 2 (Days 3, 4 and 5)

 

Day 3 – Thursday, May 28th

I knew this day was going to be a long one before I even left for BEA. It seemed all the signings and the like were happening on the Thursday.

The four of us staying at “Chateau” Belvedere got up and headed to the Javits for the firs time together. Kiki had never had Dunkin Donuts so Gail and I made it our duty to show her what she was missing. After a brief detour there for coffee and tea we headed off to once again wait in line for the doors to open. Gail and Sarah had a breakfast to attend so Kiki and I hung out with Jess, Lauren and a couple of others.

We ran into Lindsey (Bring My Books) which was awesome because I missed her the day before.  While we waited for the others to get back from the breakfast we took a bunch of pictures (I managed last BEA with only 2 pictures of me happening, this year I lost all control). And then it was time for the doors to open.

My main goal for Thursday was really one signing. I mean I had a ton of other things on my list (which I was lucky enough to cross off, but the Rebecca Serle signing was my top goal for the day. Last year I got to meet her and she was so lovely. But she was also in a sling and couldn’t sign. This year though I was able to not only say hello but get a copy of Truly Madly Famously signed which was awesome. That was probably my Thursday highlight. That and getting to chat with a bunch of other bloggers like April (Between the Pages), Michelle (Pink Polka Dot), Gaby (Bookish Broads), and Emilie (Emilie’s Book World) plus many more. It was a successful day, but it was still time to party.

Tired but ready to go Gail, Sarah, Kiki and I all got ourselves ready and headed over to The Strand for Macmillan Happy Hour. In all my trips to NYC I had never actually been to The Strand (I come from a family of non book lovers). I was really excited to check it out and then I was even more excited when Asheley passed me a gift from my #OTSPSecretSister and it was a gift card to The Strand. It took all of 3 seconds for me to know I wanted a tote and I got one. After we did some shopping we headed up to the rare books room.

The party was pretty awesome. It wasn’t all that crowded and it was easy to chat with bloggers (finally got to see Alexa (Alexa Loves Books), Rachel (Hello, Chelly), Sandie (Teen Lit Rocks) and Nikki (There Were Books Involved)) the awesome people at Macmillan and a few authors. Macmillan had invited Josephine Angelini, Leigh Bardugo, Marissa Meyer, Sandy Hall and Leila Sales. I had never actually met any of them (I did hear Marissa talk once at an event in Boston) so it was nice to be able to hang around and chat with them. Macmillan also had a photo area set up which was filled with all sorts of awesome. And the authors did some impromptu signings for the books Macmillan had so graciously given us. Basically it was an amazing night that I won’t soon forget.

 

Day 3, done.

Day 4 – Friday, May 29th

I’m not going to lie, I wanted to SLEEP on Friday. I was beyond tired. But like any good BEA girl I got up and got myself out of bed. Actually more accurately I got up and walked with Kiki to where Sandie was staying and then I went back to the hotel and got myself ready. Yes, I walked the streets of NYC in my PJs, but the pants are cute so I deemed it acceptable.

Gail had yet another early breakfast so Sarah and I walked with her to the Javits after we were all ready (and of course after a Dunkin Donuts stop). I had to get really far back in line this time as I needed to get my mom a copy of the new James Patterson. Let me tell you, if you thought the YA people could be pushy for a galley drop, you should see the people trying to get a Patterson book. Anyway after I was successful at that I wandered the floor and got in the Abi Glines line for her new book. I ended up meeting Nori (Read Write Love 28) and waiting in line with Jamie (The Perpetual Page Turner). When Jamie and I were done we waited for Jess and then we wandered the floor some more until it was time to head to the Sarah Dessen/Carrie Ryan luncheon hosted by Penguin teen.

When I tell you I was excited when I got the last minute invite for this lunch I’m not exaggerating. You see when Sarah Dessen was in MA in May for Saint Anything I was asked if I wanted to interview her at her signing. I was so sad when I found out what time and where the signing was as it just wasn’t possible for me to make it since I work full time and the signing happened while I was still working. But this lunch more than made up for it. First Sarah is awesome. She is very sweet and very humble and I was so happy to get to be in this setting with her (I only talked to her about Veronica Mars and Logan Echols when I got my book signed. I couldn’t help it!). And Carrie Ryan was equally as awesome. I had never really heard of her new book but listening to her talk about it made me excited that I was getting a signed copy. Not to mention I got to have lunch (and sit down in a cushioned chair) with Lauren, Jess, Jamie, Alexa and Hazel (Stay Bookish). I mean was in embarassing to pull turkey out of my sandwich (I don’t eat sandwiches) in front of Sarah Dessen? Absolutely. But Lauren and Jess made sure to laugh with me about it and not at me. 😀 So thank you Penguin for having me and for that experience.

When lunch was over I found Estelle hanging around which was an added bonus. I ended up wandering the floor with her and Alexandra. We went to some booths, saw some friends that we chatted with, waiting in some signing/galley drop lines, and went to see Ksenia at the S & S booth. We also ran into Brittany (The Book Addict’s Guide; I was so happy about this!) and Gail came and said hello too. I kept the books for me at a minimum for the day which was nice. And my schedule was pretty clear too thanks to the books from the Macmillan Happy Hour so even better.

After everything was done at the Javits a bunch of bloggers met up at Bryant Park. Brittany, Alyssa (Books Take You Places), and Amy (Tripping Over Books) gathered about 25 of us including Lauren (Bookmark Lit who I was excited to finally meet) and we all really just sat around and talked about BEA and books. It was fun to chat and relax after the last few hectic days and it was such a gorgeous night. And Linz (A Bookish Sinister Kid) even made an appearance which was awesome because I finally got to meet her too! When the meet up was over my friend Sarah that lives in NYC took Gail and I out to eat at a pizza place in Harlem that was SO GOOD and to a fab outdoor bar for some beers and hockey watching.

Day 4, done.

Day 5 – Saturday, May 30th

Saturday was going home day. But first it was the blogger breakfast at Bloomsbury.

The ladies at Bloomsbury always know how to throw a gathering. They had coffee, bagels, donuts (I tried a Green Tea one) and mimosas. We all got to hang out in the office and look at the book shelves, decorate tote bags, take a few books, do a book shelfie, and just generally have an early morning gab fest before everyone leaves to head home or in some cases BookCon. What I like most about this get together is the laid back vibe of just hanging out. Plus it is a good way to get to say your see you laters to some friends you don’t know when you’ll see again (I hope ALAMW in Boston for all of you!).

When breakfast was over it was time to take care of business. Packing, shipping, and lunch. Gail and I said bye to our roomies and headed to the PO. That is always an experience. The lady gave me some song and dance about media mail only being for academic books but I was so tired I didn’t argue too hard. Instead I shipped priority which ended up not being that much and I was pleased so whatever. After shipping was complete we headed to Brickyard Gastropub to meet up with Estelle and Sarah. The four of us had a nice lunch (minus the freezing cold bathroom) and just chatted about books and life and the usual. When lunch was over we headed to the one place that was a must on my BEA list…Baked by Melissa cupcakes. I ended up getting 25 of them to bring home and share but man did I want more. They were basically perfection and AMAZING.

Once cupcake were purchased it was time to get home with my very heavy bags, hurt feet and happy spirit.

Day 5, done. BEA over.

All in all BEA was a lot of fun this year. It was very different than last year but I still had a really good time. A year ago I felt like I barely knew anyone (I literally wandered the whole floor one day last year by myself speaking to no one) but this year I was saying hi to so many more people that recognized me or that I recognized. It was a nice feeling to not seem like a newbie anymore and to actual know what I was doing. I’m sad BEA is going to Chicago next year as I will have to miss it, but ALAMW is in Boston and so am I so I guess I’m winning on some level. Thanks to all of you that made BEA 2015 s much fun. I apologize if we met and I didn’t mention you. I tried to get as many of you into the posts as I could but I know I missed some. XXOO

Till next time you awesome book nerds! Stay out of trouble.

 

 

 

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