BEA 2016: Day 1

   Day 1 of BEA consisted mostly of stress and excitement more than anything. Being my first BEA, I didn't know what to expect. With an already pe-organized schedule to help us with everything from the time signings were at, to where everything was going to take place. What could go wrong right? Wrong.

   One thing I definitely didn't expect was the large amount of people already in line to get into the convention, or the herd of people trying to get everywhere all at once, once we were let in. Because I was traveling with Stephanie (Doodle's Book Reviews), she ended up having to hold onto my backpack just she wouldn't loose track of me!

Stephanie, Michael DiMartino

   From the minute we entered the convention floor, we thought that we knew where we were headed. But unfortunately the first signing we were headed to, was postponed till the following day so we ended up wandering until our next signing, which was at 2pm. BEA opened at 1pm the first day, unlike the other two. Our first signing ended up being for Michael DiMartino, co-creator of Avatar: The Last Airbender, and The Legend of Korra. Not having been a fan since I was younger, I got a signed copy of his Middle Grade novel, Rebel Genius for my obsessed friend.

   From there I went onto figuring out what ARC drops were, and ended up getting over half of my final BEA haul on day 1. (1. Advance Readers Copy, 2. ARC drops are when a publisher picks a time to pull out a particular ARC or two to put in a large pile for people to take.) You *might* even say that I went a little overboard with all my ARC grabbing...

   My favourite ARC haul from day 1 would have to be Blood for Blood by Ryan Graudin, I adored Wolf by Wolf back in October 2015. So I honestly couldn't have been happier to have won it in a Little Brown Dice Game, where is was random what book you received, out of four options.

   Not being used to standing in lines for long periods of time, those four hours of being on the floor were brutal. The first day, the floor was open from 1pm-5pm. But in the end Steph and I were both satisfied with the ARCs that we received.

  One of my favourite moments from the first day of BEA was when we first entered the convention centre and there were TONS of HUGE posters everywhere advertising upcoming books. They were GORGEOUS!

   Short and sweet, the first day of BEA went by very fast and both prepared us mentally and physically for the next two days of BEA that we had yet to experience.

BEA Day: 1 Book Haul

   Sounds like a lot happened right? And that was first day! Just wait till you hear about what happened in the days that followed!

 If you haven't seen my other posts from BEA you can see those here:

Maggie Stiefvater Signing

BEA: Day 2

BEA: Day 3

BookCon 2016

Sarah J Maas Signing

Book Signing: The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater

   I first read a Stiefvater book in grade 7, so roughly 5 years ago. I still remember being kicked out of class while reading Linger, because my teacher was so fed up with me reading it in class rather than reading the assigned book. (I had done this with Shiver as well.) From then, I remember rushing to pick up the then, finale book in the series Forever. I also did this a year and bit later when The Raven Boys released. Since then I've read the book twice in hopes that I'd have time to continue the series, unfortunately that still hasn't happened. Hopefully after this signing, I will finally have the time to finish the series.  

   While in Chicago for BEA 2016 with my friend Stephanie @ Doodle's Book Reviews, we were able to check out the Raven King signing in Naperville, IL. Both of us being huge fans of Maggie, we knew we were in for a treat before all the bookish madness that would follow in the following days. (Although if you ask to see Steph's collection of Maggie books, then oooooh boy you'd definitely see that she's an ultimate fan.) 

   Maggie spent the signing discussing her past profession as a for hire artist, talking about that moment when she just couldn't do it anymore because of one scarring piece she had to do. (See video below).

   From there she went onto telling us how she once put a picture of her boob on Twitter, and having her publisher retweeted it. In all it was a hilarious story, involving a goat, some very reflective sunglasses and a shower. I think what made it better was the fact that the stores speaker system was also on, outside. So everyone passing by also heard the story aha.

Maggie looking like a proud mother after signing my books.

 Then finally it was signing time, having brought my hardback of The Raven Boys from home, I was able to get that and a new hardback of The Raven King signed. 

   In all it was a wonderful signing, even with me being half dead because of having flown earlier in the day. Maggie was a wonderful person to have met, and I hope that I'll be able to go to future signings of hers as well!

The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater

Release Date: April 26th, 2016

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Series: The Raven Cycle, #4

Format: Hardcover, 439 pages

Description from GoodReads:

   Nothing living is safe. Nothing dead is to be trusted.

   For years, Gansey has been on a quest to find a lost king. One by one, he’s drawn others into this quest: Ronan, who steals from dreams; Adam, whose life is no longer his own; Noah, whose life is no longer a lie; and Blue, who loves Gansey…and is certain she is destined to kill him.

   Now the endgame has begun. Dreams and nightmares are converging. Love and loss are inseparable. And the quest refuses to be pinned to a path.

   

   And don't forget to check out the first three books in the series, below!

The Raven Boys, #1

The Dream Thieves, #2

Blue Lily, Lily Blue, #3

   Have you ever met Maggie before? Were you at the signing? Would you ever want to meet her in person? Tell me your stories! I'd love to hear!

Chicago Trip 2016

My Chicago Trip 2016

   Hi friends! As most of you all know, I went to BEA and Book Con 2016 this last week. Along with that I also went to a Maggie Stiefvater and Sarah J. Maas signing. Because there is a lot of pictures and information for each one of those days. I've decided to make a bunch of posts hat you can expect every two days or so. 

   Each post will be about a specific event or day, depending on which event it is. Examples would be a post dedicated to Maggie's signing or to Day 1 of BEA. These will be published in the order for when each event occurred. So Saturday will start with the Maggie Signing! 

   And that's what you should expect for the next while!(With the odd book review here and there) I can't wait to share my memories with you!

Chicago Hiatus

   Hey guys! 

   So I just wanted to let y'all know that from May 10th-15th, I will be in Chicago for BEA, BookCon, and the Maggie Stiefvater & Sarah J. Maas signings! So there will be a slight internet absence until the later evening(unless I can find wifi), but the blog should have posts up!

   I'm not quite sure what my schedule and plans will look like for BEA/BookCon quite yet, but if you see me around, definitely make your way over and say hello! I would love to talk! But I apologize in advance if I don't recognize you right away!  

   I can't wait for the trip, and you should most definitely expect MANY pictures and posts!

   Let me know if you'll be attending! I'd love to be able to meet you all!