BEA 2015: Touristing + Leaving NYC

Saturday was my last full day in New York City. Since I had never been to NYC before, I knew I needed to add some sightseeing time into my trip. I also knew I wouldn't have a ton of time to see things because I didn't feel super comfortable wandering around on my own and I was already pretty booked up before I even got to BEA.

Ciara (Lost at Midnight) and I decided we would spend the morning together and meet up with Katherine (Ms Lady Critic) later in the day. We wanted to see as much as we could so we picked a lot of things we could sort of do walk-by stops at. First up: the M&M's and Hershey's stores in Times Square.

Oh my gosh, guys. So much chocolate. It was so cool just looking around M&M's World because there were colours everywhere. Look at those M&M dispensers! Because I didn't have a ton of money and am trying to not eat as much junk, I walked away from both stores empty handed. (Except for the free chocolate at Hershey that ended up melting and then I forgot it when I was packing up anyway. Fail.)

Ciara decided we could cut through Times Square before heading to Bryant Park. This was when she learned that I hadn't actually been to NYC before and immediately stopped and made me stand in front of the iconic buildings for a typical tourist picture. We ended up walking the wrong way, I think?, off the subway but it was an excellent move because we found ourselves in front of the New York Public Library. You know...the one with the lions out front! So we took a selfie, as one does. Bryant Park was lovely (I didn't get a great picture!) and it was nice to have a brief break in the shade. It was so hot outside! I had spotted the HBO Store down the street and we decided to make a quick stop. I picked up an Eastbound and Down shot glass for my boyfriend's brother, a Sex and the City magnet for me, and a Newsroom coffee mug for my boyfriend. The guy at cash (who had visited Toronto, naturally, because everyone we met had been there) told me that the building across the street, the Bank of America Tower, was used for the media building in the Newsroom. They just used CGI to put the fake media corporation name on it in post-production. Neat!

Left: Look, Ma! I'm in Times Square! | Middle: Making new friends with the lions.
Right: Can't believe that building is in The Newsoom!

We battled slow/delayed subways and large crowds and powerwalked our way down (up?) Fifth Avenue (Tiffany's!) to make it to FAO Schwarz and Katherine. The three of us definitely wanted to go to the iconic toy store because we knew it would be closing in July. It was so freaking cool. So many toys and things to play with! If you've never been, employees are stationed throughout the store showing off different toys. We happened upon one guy who had the coolest Melissa and Doug game (it was similar to Jenga). We started playing and he asked us where we were from. We answered generally: Ontario, Canada. He was all, "No way, I'm from Brampton!" Cue the jaw dropping. Just kidding! He actually wasn't (I think he was from Montana or something) but the fact that he knew Brampton and could kind of tell us where it was totally made our afternoon. After spending way too much time playing the game (and all of us wishing we could afford to buy it) we carried on to our next destination: Central Park!

Top left: I wanted that Barbie so bad. | Top middle: The Big piano!
Top right: The closest I got to the Statue of Liberty.
Bottom: The main store signage. I was there!

Of all the things to do in Central Park, I really wanted to see the Alice in Wonderland statue. Katherine and Ciara wanted to ride the carousel, which I was totally down for. It was classic, nostalgic, and a lot of fun. We wandered through the Mall and Literary Walk (spotted Robert Burns and had to take a picture for my grandma. We're Stewarts, after all.), found Hans Christian Andersen, and then came upon Alice. Ciara and I scrambled up for a picture (thanks, Katherine!). I, as a bunny owner, snuggled up to the White Rabbit and Ciara nearly burned her butt sitting on the mushroom. Totally worth it! :) We walked through Bethesda Terrace (I foolishly didn't get a picture. It was so beautiful though.) and saw the Loeb Boathouse and the pond that are featured in so many movies. Again, beautiful.

Top left: Hello from the carousel! | Top middle: Robbie Burns! | Top right: carousel details.
Bottom left: Chilling with Alice and her friends. | Bottom middle: The Ugly Duckling + Hans.
Bottom right: Beautiful scenery. 

We made it out of Central Park, a tad reluctantly, and set off in search of food. Specifically, the Shake Shack. When in NYC, right? We walked past the Met (oh, I cannot wait until I'm back in NYC and can spend a full day there) and dragged our weary, hungry selves into the bustling Shake Shack (I don't remember the last time I've been so happy to see food!). The milkshake was definitely necessary. I had finally admitted to the girls the night before that I had never actually had a macaron (despite being strongly opposed to/annoyed by people using macaroon when they mean macaron) so they were adamant that we stop at Ladurée. (And if you were wondering what my first experience tasting a macaron was like, don't worry, Katherine instagrammed a video of it. You're welcome.) I don't know if I can have any other macarons since Ladurée is kind of a big deal. Mmm. Yum.

After Ladurée we made our way back to the apartment because we had agreed to go to a Paper Lantern Lit party in Brooklyn that Jess (Read My Breath Away) had been invited to later that night. While I'm happy we went and it was fun to be with everyone (Tiff and Sarah included), it almost wasn't worth it. We were already late leaving and certain subway lines weren't running so that made us even later and we missed the games and most of the fun at the party. We did get drinks and candy so that was a plus. I was a super fancy lady and had some Rosé (in my plastic cup) while others tried the punch (it had basil in it and I leave the basil to my rabbit). I classed it up even more and ate a candy necklace as well. I also turned down the free ARCs that were being handed out at the end of the evening. They weren't books I really wanted to read and I was super conscious of suitcase space!

I also couldn't help but think of all the things I didn't get to see in New York City. I didn't see the Statue of Liberty. I wasn't able to make it to the 9/11 Memorial (a fact I'm really dwelling on today, 9/11, as I write this). I didn't get up the Empire State Building or Top of the Rock. I wish I could have made it on The High Line too (something I didn't even know existed until I was there). I am happy with what I did get to see and I know I was there for BEA but I can't help but wish I had done just a bit more sightseeing.

While at the publishing party, Tiff, Katherine and I arranged to get to the airport together, which lead us to packing as soon as we got back to the apartment. But even the fact that Emilie needed to leave at the crack of dawn to drive back to Ottawa didn't stop us from staying up too late and enjoying our last night in New York City together. Katherine and I quickly regretted it the next morning when we both overslept and had to throw crap in our suitcase and hope we weren't overweight. We made it to the car service (which was early, of course) and realized all three of us were going to different terminals in Newark. Of course. Why can't things be simple? Once I was dropped off, a very  nice United employee got to work checking me in. Then disaster struck. Again. Yep. My flight was cancelled. Again. I was super lucky that I was early so the woman got me all set up on the next flight, just 45 minutes after my original flight. It still meant I had a lot of waiting to do in the airport. But, bonus, both suitcases were underweight! I was so happy I went the suitcase within a suitcase route! At long last, I made it back to Buffalo, got off the (tiny) plane in the pouring rain, gathered my (wet) luggage, made my way to my parked car, and went off towards the border and my country. This was where I was very worried. I had heard horror stories of people being charged duty and given trouble for going over the border with ARCs they had received at BEA. Luckily I made it through without incident. Finally, about an hour after landing, I was home sweet home. I was exhausted and exhilarated and I couldn't wait to unpack all of my lovely new books and start planning for BEA 2016.

Stay tuned for my haul post where I will share everything I brought back with me from BEA. I can sum it up in one word: insanity.

In case you missed it...

Planning + Travel Day

Day One - Day at the Show

Day One - Evening Events

Day Two
Day Three

BEA 2015: Day Three

This is it, friends. The final day of BEA. *sobs* I couldn't believe it was already Friday! I felt like I had barely scratched the surface of the event.

The day started early for me and Katherine. I wanted to get an autograph line ticket for Meg Cabot and she wanted tickets for Jennifer L. Armentrout and another author (I think?). Tickets were handed out starting at the ridiculous hour of 7:00 AM. These tickets weren't for all authors, just the ones that would have a really large crowd. So, we woke up at 6:00, stumbled out of the house at 6:15, arrived at Javits at 6:30, got our tickets just after 7:00, and stumbled back home for breakfast (and tea for me). While we sat in line, I finally read one of the show guides. Um. Why hadn't I been reading that every day? So many tidbits! We also shook our heads in amazement at the group already lined up to get into the show, which, by the way, didn't open for another two hours.

Everyone else in the house left early because there were important books to be had but Katherine and I took our time and wandered back to Javits together. We got more Litograph tattoos (this time it was "The Tell-Tale Heart") and I remembered there was a print I wanted to get from an upcoming picture book. Finding Winnie is about the real Winnie the Pooh. As a Canadian and a Winnie fan, I had to have it!

Left: How cute is this illustration? | Right: How cute is Beth? :)

While wandering I also found a copy of Everybody Rise, which I had I wanted to pick up but missed out on. How lucky is that? Also, after hemming and hawing all week, I finally picked up the Litographs Anne of Green Gables print I've been lusting after for ages. This way I wouldn't have to pay the obscene shipping cost to Canada. Win! Another notable moment was getting a picture with Beth (Fuelled by Fiction), though I didn't want to say goodbye because she lives so far away!

Friday was all about quality over quantity. I got a bunch of signed books (of the nine I picked up that day, five of them were signed) which was amazing. (Stay tuned for the haul post where you can see each and every title I received!) I had planned on getting Sandy Hall's new one, Signs Point to Yes, because I adored A Little Something Different (review here). Not anticipated was the new Abbi Glines novel, Until Friday Night. She had two signings that day but that one was the only one that fit into my schedule.

Lunch was with Katherine at the little healthy grocery store down the street from Javits. I was in desperate need of vitamins and nutrients so I loaded up on Greek salad and a ton of fruit. SO needed and delicious!

Finally it was time for the main event of my BEA: Meeting Catherine McKenzie! I was standing in line, quietly hyperventilating, when Katherine came up behind me. I had been gushing about McKenzie all week so Katherine wanted to see what it was all about. Of course, now she'd be present for my fangirling and she was finding way too much pleasure in that. I don't know why I was so worried about meeting Catherine ("what if she doesn't know who I am?") because as soon as I came up and she saw the sticky note with my name on it, she lit up and immediately gave me a hug. She even introduced me to her agent ("Kaley's been reviewing my books since 2010!")! I ended up being quite happy Katherine was there as she took this picture of Catherine and I. I wanted to keep chatting but I knew there were others in line. I walked off clutching my signed ARC of Smoke and wearing, I'm sure, a stupid, huge grin on my face. Whee!

I lined up in the unofficial Meg Cabot line quite early (I had learned the ropes quickly, plus I didn't have anything else pressing to see) and when we moved to the official pre-line, I was about fourth or so. I knew there would be some people jumping the line (you could purchase passes that allowed you to have a line jump at an autograph session), such as Emilie, but I was still pretty excited about how close to the front I was. I made friends with a woman behind me (who is friends with the woman who got bit a few years ago! She was so amused that so many people had heard that story. Her friend? Not so amused.). This new friendship with Kate worked out very well for me because I was able to hop over the the K.A. Tucker signing line, which I didn't think I'd be able to make! I was totally thrilled that Tucker remembered meeting me in Toronto last September and that I had reviewed Burying Water for the magazine I write for. After a lovely, fangirling (on my part) meeting, I hopped back over to the Meg Cabot line. It's been years since I've read a Princess Diaries book, but I was so excited about Royal Wedding. Cabot asked if it was for me and I said how I had thought about having her sign it to my sister but she said that was silly and I needed it for me! (Sorry, dude!) Also, did I mention Cabot was wearing a tiara? Amazing!

By this point most of us roomies had met up and we decided to do one last lap before trudging home. Emilie and Jess got some travel books (pro tip: wait until the last day and sometimes the publishers will give you things that had previously only been on display. This is how Ciara got the mini light up TARDIS I was going to give to my sister until I found out she already had it. I just politely asked at the end of the day if I may please have one of the mini books.) Katherine and I each picked up a cute picture book for the kiddos in our lives (niece/nephew on my end). After a quick couple of pictures of the venue (why hadn't I done that before?) and the Pengin Book Truck, it was time to say goodbye to Javits and BEA.

Left: SO many posters for BOOKS! | Right: I saw the Penguin book truck in person!

We dumped our books and made our way to the blogger dinner Tiff had planned at Bourbon Street Bar and Grille. It was nice to see some other bloggers buuut...we really didn't have the chance to mingle. We ended up getting there last so it was basically just us roomies at the table and those of us at one end of the table couldn't hear a thing at the other end because the restaurant was so loud.

How many bloggers can you fit in one picture?

The evening took an upswing when we decided to go back to The Strand that night instead of working it into our busy Saturday. I knew I wanted to get myself a shot glass to add to my collection and get as many postcards as I could for my sister to add to her collection. I was a really good girl and just bought souvenir type things and didn't get any books or totes or anything totally unnecessary. Yay, me!

Once we got home we decided it'd be a brilliant idea to drink, eat more food, and watch The Princess Diaries. As you do when a few of the roommates met Meg Cabot that day. (Yes, we know the books and the movie are very different.) It was probably the best way to end the day and I am so glad the girls didn't mind me quoting the movie constantly. I've only seen it a bajillion times. :) Then, to bed to prepare for a day of touristing in New York City! Whee!

In case you missed it...

Planning + Travel Day

Day One - Day at the Show

Day One - Evening Events

Day Two

BEA 2015: Day Two

Happy birthday to meeeeee! That's right...Thursday was Day Two at BEA and my champagne birthday! I was thrilled to be celebrating my 28th birthday in New York City and completely surrounded by books.

I actually ended up spending the majority of the day at the show on my own. It was actually kind of nice because I was able to stop where I wanted, when I wanted, and stay as long as I wanted. I knew one of the things I had to do was the tattoo chain from Litographs. The basics: they take a poem, chop it up, and make temporary tattoos. I got the second last piece of the day for "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T.S. Eliot. I told the guy taking the pictures that I wanted to do this that day because it's something fun to do on my birthday. He wished me a happy birthday and said they "just happened" to be having a birthday special and I got to pick out a tattoo to take home with me! (Stay tuned for my haul post where you'll see which one I picked!) How nice was that?

Left: Colouring books are all the rage (yay!) and there was a board to colour!
Top: My Litographs tat and the photos of the chain.
Bottom: The craziness that was the Harlequin romance signing.

I was getting the hang of signing times and such and I learned that Harlequin was going to be doing three signings throughout the day. I went to the romance one in the morning (I think that was the morning one) and the women's fiction in the afternoon. I skipped the insanity that was the YA signing. Harlequin did things a bit differently: you met and got signed books from about six authors all at once. It was nice because it cuts down on the number of lines you have to wait in but it's also tough when, at the end of the day, you have twelve novels to lug home and you're not sure if you want to read all of them! I ended up giving two of them away to two of my roommates and another got left behind since I knew I wouldn't read it. Suitcase space was precious! It was great to chat with the ladies at Harlequin (I loved seeing all the badges from Canada!) and meeting so many of their authors.

Orphan Black was for my mom. Hexed is
signed. And yes, that is Lumberjanes!

Katherine (Ms Lady Critic) and I met up at some point and wandered around together. We ran into someone who told us that there were Saved by the Bell comic books up for grabs. Since we didn't have any authors to see in the next little while, we headed on over to the graphic novel area. Boy, did we do well! We got chatting to a few of the vendors who were more than happy to hand over some titles for us since we're fairly new to graphic novels. A huge thank you to all of them for these goodies!

Lunch on day two was at a diner down the street from Javits. After a crazy huge meal (that was cheaper than eating at the centre), the roommates went home (happily taking my signed Sandra Boynton print with them so I wouldn't damage it - thanks, ladies!) and I went back to the show for the Harlequin women's fiction signing and a few other authors I wanted to see. I had promised my friend Natalie, of Browsing Bookshelves, I would try to get something for her. I ended up having time to get After the Red Rain signed by Barry Lyga for her, yay!

By a happy coincidence, I ended up in line behind Melissa (Chick Lit Central) at the women's fiction signing at Harlequin. Samantha Stroh Bailey came by to say goodbye to Melissa (who was leaving at the end of that day). Melissa wanted a pic of all three of us and, in more "the world is so small", the person taking our picture ended up being Beth of Fuelled by Fiction, a fellow Canadian blogger! The day before Giselle of Booknerd Canada had mentioned me, Katherine, and Beth in a tweet so it was a crazy coincidence. I absolutely adore Beth and I'm so glad I got to meet her in person. I just wish we didn't live in different provinces!

After a long day, I scurried home to change before my big birthday night out. While I was planning for the week, I had mentioned to Tiff (Mostly YA Lit) that I didn't have Thursday night plans. She and Sarah (You Should Read this YA) were planning to see Finding Neverland after dinner out that night. Did I want in? Um, hells yes. Dinner was at The Marshal, an amazing local place where I ate the best mac and cheese ever and the most scrumptious strawberry shortcake. Mmm. Bring me back.

3 ladies out on the town - I loved that the menu had the date on it!
A delicious New York rose cide - Birthday Dessert #3

Next stop: Broadway! I was so pumped for the show and was so pleased that Finding Neverland ended up being beyond amazing. There was laughter and tears (from Tiff...she just couldn't hold it together ;) ) and a great time had by all. (Seriously, see it if you're in New York!)

After the show was birthday dessert #4 (if you're keeping track) - donut ice cream sandwiches! Yep. Such a thing exists. Tiff, who discovered the shop and bought my dessert for me (thank you!!), was a champ and finished hers while Sarah and I had to admit defeat. I just couldn't finish my birthday cake ice cream between a coconut topped donut! But, boy, was it ever good. (Not so good? The guy who decided to start chatting us up. Sarah was too nice, I ignored him, and Tiff, at the other end of the table, was oblivious. Thank you to the shop owners for kicking him out before things got too awkward!)

Left: In front of the sign outside the theatre. Middle: I'm at a Broadway show!
Right: Posing with my gigantic dessert.

I don't think I could have asked for a better birthday. Thank you to everyone who made it such a special day!

Make sure you check out Tiff's day two recap post because she's got some more great pictures and details of our evening out.

In case you missed it...

Planning + Travel Day

Day One - Day at the Show

Day One - Evening Events

BEA 2015: Day One - Evening Events

After a crazy (but great) first day at BEA, I was ready to move onto my evening activities. First up, as I previously mentioned, was the Simon & Schuster hosted event for Laura Dave's Eight Hundred Grapes (review here, if you're interested!)

It was a happy coincidence that I had read Eight Hundred Grapes about a week and a half prior to BEA - before I even knew I'd be going to this event. I'm really glad I did because book events are so much better when you've read the book being talked about! I wasn't originally invited to this event and it was thanks to the amazing generosity of Melissa of Chick Lit Central (who I would finally be meeting that night) that I'd be going. She reached out to BookSparks, who had invited her, and asked for me to be put on the guest list. Thank you, Melissa!

It was adventure getting there (my first Uber ride was interesting), but eventually the girls (Tiffanie of Mostly YA Lit, Andi of Andi's ABCs, Tiffany of About to Read, and Gail of Ticket to Anywhere) and I arrived at the venue, The Park. The restaurant was so nice and I adored the twinkle lights strung up around the outdoor seating.

We were able to meet author Laura Dave immediately. She was as sweet in person as I expected! She actually remembered tweeting with me a few days prior (thank you, Mom, for giving me a unique name, and thank you, self, for giving yourself a Twitter handle that includes your name) and was so appreciative of my kind words about her book! I always love an author even more if they are as thankful for my support as I am to be meeting them. 

There was a ton of food to be eaten but, I admit, I was more excited for the above desserts and wine! There were three kinds of each, though I only tried the two white wines (the Prosecco was dee-lightful). 

Signage - Laura Dave is so tiny (and I am so giant) - With the other bloggers!

While I was thrilled to finally meet Laura Dave, I may have totally fangirled when two other guests walked into the event...LIZ AND LISA. Ahhh! Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke are the two women behind the, now defunct, Chick Lit is Not Dead blog. They're authors as well  (so they're focusing more on their own work than reviewing other novels) and I absolutely adore them. I awkwardly hung around so I could meet them and, after telling them that I really love their work, mentioned it was Melissa who got me into the event as I was wait-listed for the event my other dinner companions were going to. Turns out they were going to that event too and Liz told me they wouldn't leave without me and we'd all go to the event together. Speechless.

After chatting books, life, and being a twentysomething with two of the girls from Simon & Schuster (I wish I remembered their names because I totally adored them), taking pictures with Laura, and picking up a finished copy of Eight Hundred Grapes (now signed and personalized!) and a great mug, Liz, Lisa, Melissa, and I headed out to Ladies First, an event hosted by Jennifer Weiner and Atria Books, in support of VIDA: Women in Literary Arts. 

Top Left: With Liz and Lisa. Middle: The view from the 42nd Floor. Swoon.
Right: With Colleen Hoover! Bottom Left: A few of the ladies at the event.
Right: Jennifer Weiner speaking to the crowd. 

True to her word, Liz got me in the door and I was able to surprise Samantha Stroh Bailey (in the blue striped dress above) and Meredith Schorr (in the black and white striped dress above), two of the other women I'd be dining with that evening! While the event was free, you could give a $30 donation and get a tote and five signed books from any of the authors at the event. And there were a lot of authors! Jennifer Weiner, of course, Jodi Picoult (who we apparently walked right by when we came out of the elevators), Elin Hildebrand, Jen Lancaster (in the flower dress and crown in the group shot above), and so many more. It was quite hard to pick which books I wanted! There was a lot of food here too but since I had had so much at the previous event I passed on everything...except the milkshakes. Give me ice cream and I am a happy girl. :)

I ended up with Colleen Hoover's Confess (I got a picture with her but didn't think to get my copy personalized. Stupid. BUT she said I looked familiar after I said I was at the Atria Toronto event last fall. Squee!), Maureen Johnson's The Name of the Star (I've loved her for so long and to be able to say hi and get a signed book was so cool!), Elisabeth Egan's A Window Opens, Brenda Janowitz's The Lonely Hearts Club (which she personalized for me - she's so sweet!), and Spinster by Kate Bolick (which wasn't actually signed and she was busy chatting with someone and didn't even look over to me while I was hovering sooo...that sucks.). 

Meredith, Samantha, Melissa, and I had dinner reservations to get to so we scurried off to our next destination. The cab ride took forever so we eventually got out and walked the last couple of blocks to the restaurant (Trattoria Trecolori), just as it started raining, of course! Along with the four of us, Julie Valerie (who I had met for lunch earlier in the day), Francine LaSala, Amy (who also reviews for Chick Lit Central), and Lynn Marie Hulsman were also there. There was so much to talk about (books! BEA! life! wine!) and so much to eat and drink that it felt like we were there for no time at all. I pretended to be oblivious as Meredith, who was seated next to me, ordered desserts for Sam and I (her birthday was the day before, mine the next day), and act surprised when a piece of the most decadent chocolate cake was placed in front of me. :) Amy and I quickly devoured the cake and then, eventually, it was time to head home. Goodbyes were said (sad!) and I powerwalked home to the apartment and my roomies. 

Left: Meredith, Sam, and me in the cab. Middle; Me and Meredith at dinner.
Right: My first (of many) birthday desserts.

Because there were six girls and only two keys, we had to do some creative planning to make sure no one got locked out of the apartment. I knew I'd be the last one home that night so I texted Emilie to say I was on my way so she'd let me in when I buzzed. When I opened the door to our place I was greeted with the sweetest surprise: five girls yelling, "Happy birthday!", cupcakes, and mimosas. The cupcakes were from Donna Bell's Bakeshop - which was opened by Pauley Perrette (Abby on NCIS) (boy, was my sister jealous). I had the red velvet cake and a mug (well, two) of mimosa before heading off to bed. 

My first day at BEA was a success and I didn't get lost. I couldn't wait to see what the second day, and my birthday!, had in store!

In case you missed it...

Planning + Travel Day

Day One - Day at the Show

BEA 2015: Day One - Day at the Show

So after lots of planning and a stupid day of travel, we had finally arrived at my first day of BEA. Katherine, Emilie, and I left for Javits together. The other three girls had taken off at a ridiculously early time to try to get the big book of the day. (Truthwitch) A caffeine stop was necessary so we stopped at Gotham West Market (somewhere I definitely want to go back to) for iced coffee (for them) and a tea (for me) on our way from our apartment to the venue.

Verdict: basic tea. But their logo
matched my nails!

We had signed up for Blogger Con in order to get BEA passes but the consensus was that it wasn't necessarily useful for veteran bloggers so we weren't concerned about making any of the panels. What really concerned me was the lunch voucher that was included with our registration. I wasn't about to pass that up! Katherine, Emilie, and I registered and made it downstairs to the Blogger Con area just as a panel was starting so we popped into "Tactics to Create Killer Content Fast." We didn't really learn anything too groundbreaking but the time in the panel gave me the chance to take an official "I'm here!" pic.

Look, Ma, I made it!

As we were waiting to get our lunch vouchers, a semi-familiar face walked by. A quick glance at the name tag of the woman in question confirmed it was Julie Valerie, blogger extraordinaire, and one of the women going out to dinner with me that evening. The four of us made our way to the lunch area (me, once again, playing sheep and following the ladies who knew where they were going) and Julie thanked us, again, for letting her sit with us. She felt better once she realized that I had basically invited myself into the girls' apartment without knowing them in person. :)

After an overpriced, but essentially free, lunch of chicken fingers and fries, Emilie and I went to check out the line to get into the exhibition area. Katherine set out on a mission to fix her misbehaving phone and Julie had to head off as well. The line to get in was insane because of Truthwitch. Emilie and I found the rest of the girls we knew and then backed the hell up as the line started moving. There was no way we were getting caught in the stampede to get that coveted book.

I'm pretty sure my jaw dropped as we walked onto the exhibition floor. It was huge. Like you couldn't even see anywhere close to the other end huge. I spent most of the afternoon wandering with various roommates and even ventured off on my own a bit too. I tried to get used to the floor and how the drops seemed to be working. At some point I ran into Tiff and Sarah. While I was with them, Jamie of Perpetual Page-Turner came by so I finally had the chance to meet her in person, which was awesome. Her first words to me were something along the lines of "Holy crap, you are really tall!" Classic case of me telling people online that I'm very tall and them not realizing how tall is tall (6' in my case). She felt bad because she knew I probably heard that all the time but it was a hilarious and genuine reaction so it was fine by me :)

Because I was so overwhelmed and wasn't sure what the hell was going on, I didn't get a ton of books on Day 1 at BEA (I'm going to do a big haul post at the end of all these recaps). There also wasn't that many authors I really wanted to see in the autographing areas so I ended up with just two signed books from my day at Javits: A paperback copy of The Sweet Spot by Stephanie Evanovich (I really liked Big Girl Panties) and a sampler of Last Night's Reading by Kate Gavino (check out her Tumblr for an idea of what the illustrations are like).

I met up again with Tiff and Sarah and we went back downstairs to the networking hour for Blogger Con. While I came out of that with a copy of Nowhere But Here by Katie McGarry, I almost lost a limb and understood, for the first time, why bloggers tend to get a bad reputation. There were books on a table and it was total pandemonium as everyone grabbed what they wanted with no respect for others. We got out of there quick. Tiff and I met up with some other bloggers (Andi of Andi's ABCs, Tiffany of About to Read, and Gail of Ticket to Anywhere) and made our way to the Simon & Schuster event for Laura Dave's (excellent) novel Eight Hundred Grapes. This post is already huge so I will recap that event, and the two others I attended, in another post!

In case you missed it...

Planning + Travel Day

BEA 2015: Planning + Travel Day

I did it, friends. I finally made it to Book Expo America. (What I didn't do was post my recaps in a timely fashion. Ahem.) For those of you who don't know what BEA is, it's basically a giant book convention full of authors, publishers, and other bookish vendors and it's all around amazing. I've only wanted to go for the past, you know, four years or so. Every year I'd see so many bloggers talk about how great it was and I decided 2015 was the year it was going to happen.

Thankfully, my grandma seemed to be in a giving mood. (Seriously, I have the best family ever.) I was also even more motivated to go this year because the event would be happening the same week as my champagne/star/golden birthday. (28 on the 28th, baby!) How could I not go, right?

But before I could get there I had a lot of planning to do. Not only had I never been to BEA but I had never even been to New York City. I knew it would be expensive to stay so the first order of business was to find some roomies. After a few failed attempts at finding local-ish folk to stay with, I was finally put in touch with some of the Ottawa Bloggettes who would be attending. Luck was clearly on my side as the girls would be staying in an apartment that slept six and they only had five attending. Would they let in a girl who hadn't met most of them in person? Yes, they would! Accommodation: secured.

I quickly registered for the event and, after a long pro/con list for how I should get to NYC, booked my flight. I read up on what I could and could not bring with me to the show, and bothered Michele of Just a Lil' Lost with countless questions (thanks, lady!). I decided which authors I wanted to see in the autographing area, and tried to figure out what books would be given away, where, and when. At a quiet night at the library where I work, I read through a New York City guidebook and made notes on what I'd like to see when I was in the city (knowing full well I wouldn't have a ton of time to see the sights). I made pre-birthday, birthday, and post-birthday night plans. I also figured out that packing a suitcase within a suitcase would be the best way to get all of my books home (after I told myself, quite sternly, that I needed to be careful about how many books I needed to bring home). I signed up for the outrageous roaming package for my phone so I would be able to communicate with folks while in the States. I decided that driving myself to the Buffalo airport and parking there was the most cost-effective measure and found myself a coupon to park. My roomies and I decided that we would meet at the Newark airport and I would be the first one there.

Then...it was time to go.

I've been to the Buffalo airport before but because it involves a border crossing, I knew I needed to leave lots of time just in case it took awhile to get into the US. I also suck with directions so I needed some buffer time in case I got lost, too! (I did kind of get turned around...it's so confusing coming out of the crossing!) I got to the airport with plenty of time so I read at my gate while I waited. I have a messed up back so the last thing I wanted to do was wander the airport with a carry on and purse. It was close to my boarding time when a mild disaster struck...my flight was delayed by an hour. OK, not a big deal. I sent a tweet to my roommates but I would still get to the airport around the same time as they would so it was all ok. Time for tea, a disappointing muffin, and a postcard purchase for my sister. Back to my gate when everything went to hell in a handbasket...my flight was now cancelled. I don't travel much so I didn't know what number to call or where to go in the airport to figure it out on my own so I lined up with all the other chumps and waited for the not-very-nice attendants to help me. It took forever because so many people were only connecting through Newark. After silently cursing everyone and myself, and meeting a lovely couple who had just traveled through the Niagara region, I finally got myself a seat on a later flight. Yay? Bad news was I would now have to figure out a way to get from the airport to near the apartment on my own. Bit of a worst nightmare for this inexperienced traveler. But first, what is a girl to do with four hours to kill in an airport?

I needed to have some lunch and, damn it, I needed a drink. I sat myself at the bar and, a little while later, a ridiculously good looking guy sat a couple stools down from me. We started chatting and it definitely made the time fly. I may not be single but I wasn't about to turn down the chance to talk to a nice (looking) guy. (When I told my roommates this story they were all furious...I'm the only taken one in the bunch so it wasn't fair that I got to meet the hot guy!)

I finally made it to Newark, with a dying phone, and got myself on a bus shuttle that would take me to somewhere near the apartment where two of my roommates, Emilie of Emilie's Book World and Katherine of The Lady Critic's Library blog and Ms Lady Critic vlog, met me at a random corner so I wouldn't have to find the apartment on my own. These ladies are my saviors. Also, this happened to be at the random corner I was on:

Cake Boss, anyone?

After trying not to run people over, or get run over, we made it to the apartment. I dropped off my stuff, looked longingly at the plug that would charge my phone and the couch that would be lovely for my weary body, and headed back out into the world. First stop, Strand bookstore! Emilie and Katherine wanted a few books and I wanted to experience bliss the bookstore. I was also an exhausted sheep so they could have led me anywhere and I would have followed. The girls picked out one New Adult book that sounded great (Leaving Amarillo) so I bought one too. Then we hopped on over to the Teen Author Carnival. This was the first real indication that I'd be spending a bit of time on my own during BEA since I don't review, or pay too much attention to, much YA. So, while the ladies were getting their books signed, I watched over their bags and sat my tired ass down on the teeny chairs in the children's section of the library we were in. Here I finally met the rest of my roommates: Ciara of Lost at Midnight Reviews, Jessica of Read My Breath Away, and Kathy of A Glass of Wine. I also met Sarah of You Should Read This, who would be one of my birthday date buddies later on in the week. Had I mentioned my phone was practically dead? This meant that many people didn't know I had made it safely. I loved Michele's comment on this selfie Katherine snapped of us while at the event.

We finally, wearily, made our way back to the apartment - after a stop at Duane Reade for some supplies, including much needed alcohol - though the rest of the night is a hazy blur. No, not because of the booze. I could barely finish my Twisted Tea! I was just so tired. I had never been so happy to fall asleep on a pullout couch before in my life.

So that, my friends, was my experience getting myself to BEA. It was a hell of a time getting there but...I was there! I was in New York City! And what was I taking away from my experience? I am so driving to Chicago next year.

Up next...my first day at BEA. The one word I'd use to describe it? Overwhelming!

Armchair BEA: Introductions First!

Sarah of Puss Reboots  

It's Book Expo America time! Since I didn't have the funds to head to New York myself for this conference (sad) I decided to take part in Armchair BEA! This gives everyone a chance to get a taste of BEA while staying comfortable in our favourite armchair (or couch, or bed, or beanbag chair...you get the drift).

Today marks the first day of Armchair BEA and it's the day everyone involved is introducing themselves. Once you read through my answers make sure you head over to the interview page and see who else is participating and what they have to say.

Without further ado, here's a little bit about me!


Please tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? How long have you been blogging? Why did you get into blogging?

This is me! Hi!

My name's Kaley and I'm the voice behind Books Etc. where I've been blogging since November 2010. I was familiar with blogging because of my fourth year seminar in university (woo, Laurier!) called "Citizen Media and the Public Sphere." This is a confusing name for a class where we talked about media, the internet, Facebook, and the emerging social media phenomenon Twitter. Two of my major projects for that class were done in blog form (they're still live and you can see them here and here if you're interested) and I had a lot of fun doing them. Fast forward a year and a half and I'm at my first "grown up" job. I realized I wanted some sort of outlet for babbling on about books. After toying with the idea for awhile I finally dove into the blogosphere (again) and Books Etc. was born. I decided on the name because I didn't set out to talk strictly about books. Every once and awhile a movie or TV post will find its way onto my blog but for the most part you'll find ramblings and reviews about books, books, and more books.

If you could eat dinner with any author or character, who would it be and why?
This is a tough one but I think I'd go with Jane Austen (J.K. Rowling comes in at a close second). From what we've been able to learn from biographies and biopics, Jane seemed to have quite the sense of humour and I've love to have the chance to see that in person. You can tell from her writing that she had an interesting view on society and I think it would be so much fun to sit at a dinner party with her and gossip about the other ladies. We'll never have access to Austen through social media like so many authors these days so we don't get a peek inside her world. I'd love to hear about her journey as a female author. And, of course, I'd want to find out the real reason she never married!

What literary location would you most like to visit? Why?
I'm going to cheat a bit here and name two - one is a totally made up location and another is based on a real town.

1. Hogwarts
I really mean anything and anywhere in Harry Potter world but I figured you'd all understand if I just said Hogwarts. I just went to Universal for the first time in February and got to see the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Ah-maz-ing. It was so cool to step inside the world as Rowling saw it. Could you imagine how cool it would be to actually visit the real school? Or Hogsmeade? Or Diagon Alley? Oh, man it would be so awesome!

2. Colby
If you read Sarah Dessen's blog you'll know she loves summer and the beach. It doesn't come as a surprise to note that her books take place in the summer and almost always in and around the same beach town, Colby. Now, this town doesn't actually exist. Dessen modelled it after her home town of Chapel Hill in North Carolina. If it did exist, however, I'd be on the first bus there. Of course, the pull of the beach is strong but it also seems to have a lot of neat shops and restaurants. I'm a small town girl at heart so I'd love to see what this little town would really be like.

What is your favorite part about the book blogging community? 
I love that the book blogging community is just that - a community. Everyone works together and helps promote each other. When issues arise when one blogger is being attacked, for example, they will find many other bloggers in their corner ready to offer support. More experienced bloggers always seem to be willing to help out newbies and offer advice. It allows us to learn about new books and authors we may not have before. We find out about author events and signings and whose books are being made into films. And, of course, this community gives us the opportunity to talk at length about our favourite thing - books!

Have your reading tastes changed since you started blogging? How?
My first reaction to this question was no. My actual tastes have not changed. I've always been a chick lit fan and that isn't any different now.
What has changed is that I'm more open to trying more unknown and/or indie authors. Just because a book isn't published by a traditional or large publishing house or just because it's not a big name author doesn't mean the book won't be fabulous.
I'm definitely reading more now but I can't attribute that solely to my blog. I had just finished my fifth (and final, thank goodness) year of post-secondary school the April before I started Books Etc. so once all those boring textbooks were out of the way I had time to read more books. I do have deadlines now since I take part in challenges and tours but those give me even more opportunities to read more. More reading time = a happier Kaley. :)

Stay tuned tomorrow when all participants in Armchair BEA will be talking about their favourites of 2012. And if you're around later tonight there's a Twitter party happening. It's starting at 11pm EST and will wrap up at 1am. Make sure to follow @ArmchairBEA, the host of each of the events, as well as the #ArmchairBEA hashtag.