and Times Square:
At BookExpo America, I attended author panels featuring Rainbow Rowell:
Anna Jarzab, Cristin Terill, Amy Rose Capetta, Sara Farizan,
Robyn Schneider and Katie Cotugno:
Corey Ann Haydu:
Suzanne Young & Cat Patrick:
and heard about tons of exciting upcoming titles.
In preparation for this trip, I read a great many blog posts from people sharing their experiences from past years. Despite the horror stories, I didn't witness biting, shoving, using elbows as weapons, or anything remotely unpleasant. I stood in lots of long lines and met many lovely people.
The one common piece of advice I found over and over again was "wear comfortable shoes." Even so, I somehow managed to overestimate the comfort level of my shoes and underestimate the amount of walking involved. Which meant that at the end of day one, I had to spring for some comfy sneakers.They did not make the ideal match with my dress on day two, but vanity gave way to survival.
In an effort to save my shoulders, I tried my best to be discerning about what books I gathered, and came home with a total of 29 titles: one for my daughter, five for my mother, and 23 that I am eager to read myself. I look forward to sharing my reviews with you in the coming weeks.
Out on the sidewalk, just before I left on Friday, I was so pleased to meet Kelly Hager from KellyVision. With several years of BEA attendance under her belt, she graciously answered my questions, pre-trip and helped me prepare. I'm glad to have a face to go with her name (and blog) now, and happy to have been able to thank her for her help in person.
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| A tiny corner of the Javits Center as I left. |
The greatest part about this trip was experiencing it with my wonderful daughter, relying on her understanding and Gods peace to help me overcome my anxiety and aversion to crowds. I did not suffer one moment of panic during the trip. God is good!
Yay, I'm glad it went well for you! And I'm sure you rocked that dress in those sneakers! =)
ReplyDeleteOh I'm so glad you enjoyed it! (And you're right, He is good :) )
ReplyDeleteSo happy to hear you had a wonderful experience, Ruth! Looking forward to those reviews!
ReplyDeleteLooks like you had a great time.
ReplyDeleteHow fun! Thanks so much for sharing and I bet everyone was jealous of your sneakers.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful experience you had, Ruth! I would love to attend the BEA someday.
ReplyDeleteSo much good reading awaits you. You'll need it while you put your feet up! NYC all by itself can do this, and BEA sounds like it was worth a new pair of shoes.
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome experience! Your dress and sneakers reminds me of my daily attire while visiting DC several years ago. :-)
ReplyDeleteYay! So pleased you report back that everything went smoothly. Congrats! And enjoy all that reading!
ReplyDeleteQuite an excursion for the "shy writer"! I really wanted to attend this year, but had to hold off because of some health issues. Someday!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you had a good time!
I'm so jealous you got to go! I'm good for wearing sneakers. They're my favorite shoes.
ReplyDeleteBEA sounds overwhelming but I'm so happy you got to share this experience with your daughter. Looking forward to reading your reviews.
ReplyDeleteLove the pictures, Ruth! I'm so jealous you were there!!!
ReplyDeleteI am so glad that you had such fun and that all went well. Now you have all kinds of wonderful books to read, too. Congratulations: Now you are a veteran of BEA. : )
ReplyDeleteI am so glad that you didn't experience any panic and that you got to have such a wonderful trip! You saw some awesome sights and it sounds like the BEA was amazing. Good to know that the shoes are key! I love that you got to meet someone who provided you with help and who you have interacted with online. So cool! ;) Happy reading.
ReplyDelete~Jess
Fantastic! I'm proud of you for overcoming your fear of crowds and actually having a great experience!
ReplyDeleteI'm really pleased you had an enjoyable and successful trip. It sounds like an awesome experience... and all those books! Wow!
ReplyDeleteI hope to go one day and I'll bring comfortable shoes. Enjoy all the books. I'm glad you had a fantastic time.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great trip. Am so happy you had a good time. How did you bring 29 books home? Will look forward to your reviews.
ReplyDeleteWow, what a bonanza of books you collected. I'm jealous, but in the friendliest of ways, of course. ;)
ReplyDeleteWhat an adventure, Ruth! I'm so glad it went well for you. And NO panic attacks - that's wonderful!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great adventure! I'm so glad you had a good experience. :)
ReplyDeleteYay for you, Ruth. So glad you had a great experience and that you could share it with your daughter.
ReplyDeleteHooray! I'm so glad it went well. Thanks for sharing the pics and info. Yes, I agree, God is good. :)
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you had a wonderful time! I'm so glad! And now you have all those delightful books to look forward to :)
ReplyDeleteOh what fun! Rainbow!!!! Too awesome.
ReplyDeleteAre you on Twitter?
ReplyDeleteI don't know how I missed this post. Such a great recap. I loved seeing all the pictures and reading about your adventures.
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