BEA in Pictures

Didn't take many pictures and could kick myself for missing so many great photo ops, but wanted to share with you the pictures I did remember to snap. BTW, did anyone get a picture of the Naked Author? He was gone by the time I thought to pull out my camera! ;)

Maria V Snyder and Gena Showalter at the Harlequin YA signing. It was a mob scene, as I don't think they were expecting that many people! Thought the ladies behind me were going to start a fight, as they kept complaining about line jumpers to the poor PR guy. Yikes!

Rachel Vincent at the Harlequin YA signing. Love her!

Gena Showalter during the Harlequin YA signing. Isn't she gorgeous?

Rachel Vincent and Artist Arthur at the Harlequin YA signing. I heard later that all of the authors ran out of books, so guess it was a good thing that I got there early!

Loved the main steps! Saw Vlad Tod bags everywhere as well!

Heather Brewer, the author of the Vlad Tod books. Love the purple highlights in her hair!

Someone called the autographing lines "cattle chutes." That's what they felt like! And the whole area was so crowded and so hot that I'm surprised no one fainted!

The lovely Lauren Oliver! Look at all of those gorgeous books! *drool*

Lauren Oliver. So nice!

Gena Showalter at the autographing tables. Got a total of 3 books from her! Felt like I was stalking her, but so worth it!

Is this woman kidding? My feet hurt just looking at those shoes! :o

The suitcase and coat check area. My suitcase was one of the smaller ones, and I'm SO glad I listened when it was recommended to bring at least one suitcase, as I filled it both days!

Laura Anne Gilman at the Harlequin Paranormal signing. Think they learned their lesson from earlier, and this signing went much, much smoother!

Rachel Vincent at the Harlequin Paranormal signing. Her line was too long, so I didn't get an autographed copy of Shift. :(

Jeri Smith-Ready! She is incredibly nice and I was so excited to meet her, that I think I may have babbled a little! *L*

The BEA welcome sign outside the Javits Center.

Wish I had remembered that I had my camera on me and had taken more pictures, but at least I got a few! Looking forward to seeing everyone else's BEA pictures and reading about their adventures. The Javits Center was huge and I know that I missed a lot, but I loved BEA!

IMM: BEA Edition

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. As I was fortunate enough to attend BEA this year, thought I would do a special post on the books I received. I've included links to Goodreads for more information on the books. Hope I spelled and linked everything correctly, as I'm still exhausted! :-)

Tuesday:

Juliet by Anne Fortier

The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore by Benjamin Hale

West of Here by Jonathan Evison

Wednesday:

Star Wars by Rufus Butler Seder

Sourland by Joyce Carol Oates

In The Arms of Mr. Darcy by Sharon Lathan

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

Live to Tell by Lisa Gardner

The Enemy by Charlie Higson

The 13th Reality by James Dashner

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Nonna's Book of Mysteries by Mary Pope Osborne

Ascendent by Diana Peterfreund

The Chronicles of Vladimer Tod by Heather Brewer

The Last Princess & the Cup of Immortality by D.R. Whitney

Zombie Chasers by John Knoepfer

She Said, She Said by Celeste O Norfleet

Manifest by Artist Authur

Intertwined by Gena Showalter

My Soul to Keep by Rachel Vincent

Inside Out by Maria V Snyder

Thursday:

Married With Zombies by Jesse Peterson

Death Most Definite by Trent Jamieson

Secrets of Camp Nokimos (American Girl title for niece)

Braving the Lake (American Girl title for niece)

Hard Magic by Laura Anne Gilman

Unraveled by Gena Showalter

Clementine, Friend of the Week by Sara Pennypacker

Spy Glass by Maria V Snyder

Fablehaven by Brandon Mull

Shards of Summer by Kelly Jameson

The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas

Witch & Wizard by James Patterson

Sapphique by Catherine Fisher

Bound by Antonya Nelson

Into the Dark by Gena Showalter

Fat Vampire by Adam Rex

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

God's Guest List by Debbie Macomber

Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready

Reckless by Cornelia Funke

The Rise of Renegade X by Chelsea Campbell

Matched by Ally Condie

Dead On by Ann Kelly

The Obelisk by Howard Gordon

Hero by Mike Lupica

The Emporer of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Hannah's List by Debbie Macomber

Sturdiest Tote Bag:

Harlequin's tote was incredibly large and very sturdy, so I didn't have to make too many trips to drop off books to my suitcase. There were bigger totes out there, but I was very happy with this one!

Prettiest Tote Bag & Book:

Was walking by the Penguin booth when I saw that Jan Brett was signing her book! And as we were waiting in line, they started handing out these gorgeous tote bags! Squee!

Looking forward to seeing what everyone else picked up at BEA this year!

In My Mailbox (43)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. I have included links to Goodreads should you want more information on the books. Small mailbox this week, as I'm working on a separate post for my BEA books.

Received a gift card from Barnes & Noble the same week they sent me an awesome coupon, so couldn't resist finally ordering Bite Me by Christopher Moore. Love his books, as he has an amazing sense of humor!

I always check out the sale cart whenever I visit my local library, and this one caught my eye. Had never heard of The Accidental Sorcerer by K.E. Mills before, but I read the first page and it made me laugh. Couldn't beat the price either, so grabbed it before it disappeared!

Looking forward to seeing what everyone received this week, especially the BEA books!

Final Day of BEA

I am one tired, but happy blogger! Today was not as jam-packed with autographings, so I had more time to visit publisher's booths. As a result, I brought more books home today than yesterday. :)

Learned my lesson yesterday, and left earlier this morning. Didn't hit as much traffic, so I got to the Javits Center a little after nine. Had a lull in my schedule around lunchtime, so made sure I grabbed something. Last thing my DH said this morning was to make sure I remembered to eat today. Yes, dear. There was a hot dog cart right outside the entrance, and at only $2 vs. $5.25 inside, no contest! And either I was hungry or it was really good, as I practically inhaled it! *L*

The book gods were good to me again today, as I just happened to walk by certain booths just as authors were signing. What was great was that two of the authors were ones I had previously missed at table signings. Score!

One of the books I really wanted was Room, mentioned during the Editor's Buzz panel. They were out of it every time I stopped by, so one of the reps took my card and promised to send me a copy. Really hope he follows through, as I'm dying to read this one!

Even with sitting down to rest several times and taking time out to eat, I was ready to pack it in by four. Didn't really have anyone else I wanted to see, so repacked my suitcase to fit all of my new babies books and called it a day. Good thing I left when I did, as the skies opened up soon after I got home. Supposed to have bad thunderstorms off and on all night. Icing my poor abused knee and too exhausted to see straight, so will try to write a more detailed recap tomorrow.

Am so glad I was able to make it to BEA this year! It sounded like fun when I read about it last year, but it exceeded all of my expectations. Better than being a kid in a candy store, as you can't get sick from having too many books! :D

Cat Thursday (9)

Michelle over at The True Book Addict came up with a great idea for a meme! "Cat Thursday" is a way to highlight cute or funny pictures of cats, little tidbits about what our kitties are up to, or any snippets about cats we've come across. I love all those funny/cute cat pictures out there! Here's my contribution for the week:

A picture is worth a thousand words. Sooooo tired.....

BEA Day 2

Today was amazing! Too tired to go into it in detail, but it was awesome! So glad I listened to Jenn from Jenn's Bookshelves when she suggested I bring a suitcase! I felt a little silly, but mine was one of the smaller suitcases in the coat check area, and I was so glad I had someplace to drop off my books! Took home a full suitcase, and that was with being selective and not grabbing everything in front of me!

The book gods were smiling on me today, as I ran into several other bloggers while waiting in various lines. Said hello to Sheila  from Book Journey in my very first line, and later stood in line with two superstars:  Kristi from The Story Siren, then Amy from My Friend Amy! Hope I didn't scare them. *L*

Will write a more detailed post on Friday, as need to get to bed. I missed a few authors this morning because traffic was horrendous, then the ferry was late because of Fleet Week. Planning on an early day tomorrow! Hope I remember to eat lunch this time, as I totally forgot today! :o

Still squee-ing over the joy that is BEA!

My first day at BEA!

Well, I survived my first day at BEA! I have to admit that I was so nervous this morning that I thought I was going to throw up! Silly, but true. I've never gone into New York by myself before. In fact, I think I can count on one hand the number of times my family/friends have dragged me into the city, so going in alone was a big deal!

Found the ferry terminal without getting lost! Major coup, as I'm somewhat geographically challenged. Of course, once I disembarked, I turned the wrong way and wound up taking the scenic route to the main entrance. Lesson learned...turn left when leaving the terminal! *L*

The Javits Center is huge! I walked back and forth a few times as I couldn't find the room I wanted for the panel I wanted to attend. Finally found it! There's a wall dividing the food court from the other half of the building for some reason, so I had to go back upstairs, walk to the other end of the building, then back downstairs. Would have been nice if there were signs explaining this!

Went to the 7 x 20 x 21 presentation. They had an open bar beforehand, which was awesome! People were getting full bottles of beer, little teeny glasses of wine, or soda. I got a Coke. The presenters got 7 minutes to present 20 PowerPoint slides, with each slide up for no more than 21 seconds. Interesting premise, but some worked better than others. My favorite was about literary tattoos.

Stayed in the same room for the next panel, which was the Editor's Buzz. The place was packed and it was standing room only. Six editors presented their pick for the breakout titles of the year. Of the books presented, I think I'm most interested in Room by Emma Donaghue. It's about a mother and her son who are held captive in a single room. The editor loved the book, and compared it to The Lovely Bones and The Girls. Said they were all well written books about difficult subjects. I've read both of these and loved them, so want Room!

The other books mentioned were West of Here by Jonathon Evison, Bad Science by Ben Goldacre, Evolution of Bruno Littlemore by Benjamin Hale, The Emperor of all Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee, and Juliet by Anne Fortier. None of these were really up my alley, but I had to snag a copy of West of Here as the editor just raved about it! If someone who has been in the business over 30 years claims it's the best book he's ever read, I need to read it! Unfortunately, Room was gone before I could grab a copy, so will try to get one tomorrow. Lesson #2 - ARCs go fast! Now I know why so many people left before the last panelist was finished; they wanted their ARCs!

Have an early morning tomorrow, but had to finish my spreadsheet of autographings and events, then wanted to let you know how it went today. So excited that I'm going to see Rachel Vincent, Lauren Oliver, Richelle Mead, Gena Showalter, and James Dasher tomorrow! Actually, my spreadsheet is two pages long, but these are my must-sees. This is so cool! :D

Book Review: Mind Games by Carolyn Crane

JUSTINE KNOWS SHE’S GOING TO DIE. ANY SECOND NOW.

Justine Jones has a secret. A hardcore hypochondriac, she’s convinced a blood vessel is about to burst in her brain. Then, out of the blue, a startlingly handsome man named Packard peers into Justine’s soul and invites her to join his private crime-fighting team. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime deal. With a little of Packard’s hands-on training, Justine can weaponize her neurosis, turning it outward on Midcity’s worst criminals, and finally get the freedom from fear she’s always craved. End of problem. (book blurb)

Rating:  4/5
Source:  personal library

My Thoughts:
Thought that this book was one of the most original, clever stories I've come across in a long time! Loved Justine, the hypochondriac heroine. And the whole idea of a team of disillusionists was incredibly unique! To actually put together a team of people who use their fears to disillusion their targets, basically rebooting them, was very clever. I didn't exactly get how they transferred their fears into their victims, but they had it down to a science and it seemed to work. And the team was made up of ordinary humans, not the mutated 'highcaps' who have special abilities.

Justine is a hypochondriac, convinced that she's going to die any minute now from vein star syndrome. Her life is an endless round of ER visits, countless looks of pity, numerous broken relationships, and panic attack after panic attack. While she doesn't like the idea of being a vigilante, she can't resist the allure of finally being free from her fear. But little does she know that once she signs up, there's no going back. Being a disillusionist is a lifetime commitment, whether she likes it or not.

Gave this book a 4/5 rating as I thought it was well written, had great characters, an interesting premise, and had a great plot! This was the first in the series, and I'm looking forward to see what happens next! Book two, Double Cross, is due at the end of September. Can hardly wait!

In My Mailbox (42)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. I have included links to Goodreads should you want more information on the books.

For Review:

Received an ARC of Saving Max by Antoinette van Heugten from the publisher, via Shelf Awareness. Sounded intriguing!

What would a loving mother not do for her child? Lawyer Danielle Parkman is at her wits' end. Her son Max, a whip-smart teen with high-functioning autism, has always been a handful. But lately he's shutting down, using drugs and lashing out - violently. Desperate, Danielle brings Max to a top-flight psychiatric facility for a full assessment. But rather than reassurance, Danielle receives an agonizing diagnosis describing a deeply damaged, dangerous boy - one she's never met. Then Danielle finds Max unconscious and bloodied at the feet of a patient who has been brutally stabbed to death..... With the justice system bearing down on them both, Danielle steels herself to discover the truth - no matter how horrifying. It's a path well on the wrong side of the law. But only finding the true killer will absolve her from having to choose between her son and her soul.

Contest Wins:
none

From the Library:
not this week

Purchased:
nothing!

Looking forward to seeing what everyone received this week!

Cat Thursday (8)

Michelle over at The True Book Addict came up with a great idea for a meme! "Cat Thursday" is a way to highlight cute or funny pictures of cats, little tidbits about what our kitties are up to, or any snippets about cats we've come across. I love all those funny/cute cat pictures out there! Here's my contribution for the week:

I never get tired of LOLcats! The pictures always make me laugh, especially the ones with books and kitties! My, what big eyes you have little kitty.... ;)

The Dark End of the Street Anthology

The Dark End of the Street: New Stories of Sex and Crime by Today's Top Authors edited by Jonathan Santiofer and SJ Rozan

Rating:   3/5
Source:  Review copy received from the publisher, via Shelf Awareness

In one fast-paced story, a strong and aggravated man considers the pretty woman at the bar while he fingers the knife in his pocket. But what becomes of his prey when they move to the bedroom? In another tale, a man remembers the victim of a ghastly murder who visited the same hair salon as he does. And a Don Juan of a protagonist has a hobby of marrying vulnerable women, getting access to their bank accounts, and then robbing them blind.
But there is much more to this collection than dark-haired vixens and crimes of passion. Some stories are brooding, some twisted; some bring righteous satisfaction, some linger in the back of your mind. What is truly on display is an impressive collection of literary talent: a group of some of the best writers we have, weaving fresh and memorable stories from a pair of classic themes. Taken as a whole, they are a rare treat for fans of great fiction, whether it's high literature, good old-fashioned suspense, or anything in between. Original black-and-white art by artist/author Jonathan Santlofer completes this innovative, exciting, and irresistibly intriguing book - a true literary gem.

My Thoughts:
Anthologies are a favorite of mine, as I love discovering new authors and revisiting old favorites! With a collection, there's no buyer's remorse when you realize you don't really care for the book. If you don't like a particular story in an anthology, you just move on to the next one. It's like a literary buffet!

Have to admit that sex and crime aren't my usual genres, but because this is an anthology (mainly because Lee Child is one of the authors) I was happy to be given a chance to review this book! Some of the stories were interesting, some were strange, some were mysterious thrillers, and some left me scratching my head wondering what the heck just happened? While not every story in this collection was a winner, I think that there's enough variety that most readers will be pleased.

I'm not going to review all 19 of the stories, but wanted to mention a few stand-outs. I think my favorites were Scenarios by Lawrence Block, Tricks by Laura Lippman, The Beheading by Francine Prose, and Daybreak by S.J Rozan. These stories stood out from the rest for various reasons, and I liked the Laura Lippman story enough to want to seek out her other works. The Lee Child story that originally caught my eye, Me & Mr Rafferty, was okay, but I was sort of expecting more.

Gave this a 3/5 rating as while some of the stories were original, clever, or thought provoking, others didn't appeal to me at all. As I said, sex and crime aren't my usual genres, so that may be why I didn't enjoy the stories more. It also reminded me a little of film noir for some reason, maybe because of the illustrations? Not a bad collection, just not my usual type of book.