ALA Annual 2018 Recap

Hi friends, you may have noticed that the past few weeks my posts here have been few and far between. I know that I haven't been posting much these past few months anyway but there was a big break these past few weeks and I wanted to explain why. Well you see, I went to ALA. If you are not aware, ALA stands for The American Library Association. They host two conferences a year, Midwinter and Annual. This is my second year going to the annual conference and I really enjoy it.

I have been to both ALA and Book Expo and I have to say, I prefer ALA to BEA. For one thing, ALA is much more chill. With BEA it's so much more structured. You got here at this time to get this book and it's your only chance to get it. Plus publishers only bring a limited number of titles with them. This could be my perception but ALA seems like there is more titles. Plus you can ask for what you want and the publishers will give it to you if they brought it.They are also more willing to talk to you and share titles that you might not of heard of. There is a lot more recommending happening at ALA. But it's also easier to get carried away because of that. It's not hard to get 50 books a day (don't worry, I didn't do that).

The other thing I really like about ALA is that it moves locations. It is in a different city every year which I really like because then you can get to explore a new place while attending a fun bookish conference. This year it was in New Orleans which was amazing because I have never been and it is a place I have always wanted to visit. And boy was it a beautiful place to visit, if a little hot and humid. It seriously feels like you are getting two vacations in one.

Okay, that is all for the general info about ALA, how about some specifics about my trip.

Day One: Friday

After some flight delays (a trend for my trip) I landed in New Orleans two hours late which technically meant I arrived on Friday morning. Exhausted I made my way to the hotel to meet up with my girls who I would be staying with: Michelle from Pink Polka Dot Books, Katie from Katie's Book Blog, and Shelley and Octavia from Read Sleep Repeat. I love these ladies. We have been rooming together for a few years now and I always have a ton of fun with them. But like I sais, exhausted so I basically went to bed.

Then in the morning I woke up and I had to get some work done. I work from home which means I can work anywhere which basically also means I don't have an excuse to take vacation time. So I worked all morning and then when I was done we headed out to get lunch and to the convention center to get our passes. Lunch was great. I got my first of many po boys, this one was blackened fish, from Picayune. When we got to the convention center it was huge. Like at least a milt from one end to the other. I mean there was a whole other conference happening at the same time. That's how big it is. After that we headed to an Escape Room which we had booked because we wanted to do something fun and different but air conditioned. It had this cool jazz theme and was awesome. Besides the five of us we also had three women who got just as into it as we did and we worked together well. We ended up escaping the room and solving the murder with ten minutes to spare. They gave us another mystery to solve but we definitely didn't have enough time for that.

After the escape room we went back to the French Quarter for a ghost tour. This was the main thing I wanted to do in New Orleans. I hate scary stuff but I love hearing the stories. The tour we did was really cool. It was a four in one tour so we learned about ghosts, witches, vampires, and voodoo. The tour guide was not only really engaging but super cute. He kept saying we like everyone on the tour was part of the stories which I completely loved. Plus it was great to walk around the French Quarter because it is so pretty, even though it was disgustingly hot and humid. After the tour we went back to the hotel to swim in the pool. Did I not mention that our hotel room was huge and opened up onto the pool. Then we went to dinner at Mahoney's Po Boys and Seafood because it was right next the hotel. I got a fried oyster po boy which was pretty good but nothing to write home about. We were all oretty exhausted from the day so we went to bed.

Day Two: Saturday

Saturday was the first day of the exhibit hall being open so we headed to the convention center early. I grabbed an egg sandwich from the hotel for breakfast because I new I needed to eat some food before being on my feet all day. The line wasn't too crazy so we just waited for them to open the doors. I headed straight to Disney because they had limited numbers of The Darkest Minds tote bags and copies of The Darkest Legacy which I definitely needed. Then I wandered around a bit before getting in line for Laini Taylor to get a copy of The Muse of Nightmares. Laini was amazing and I talked to her about the audiobook for Strange the Dreamer and how much I love Steve West. Other highlights of the day were Julie Kagawa who I also talked about audiobooks with, Jennifer Lynn Barnes who I gushed to about The Fixer, and Adib Khoram and Nathalie C. Parker whose exaggerate beef I may have helped fuel.

After going a little overboard and picking up 38 book I took the shuttle back to the hotel. I was so glad that our hotel was one of the shuttle stops because I have stayed at hotels before where you had to lug your books a mile away and this was great. After that we ended up going to dinner at Acme Oyster House which was around the corner. The line was crazy long but it was good. I had had an alligator sausage po boy for lunch so I wanted something other than seafood for dinner and so I got the New Orleans medley which had jambalaya, red beans and rice, gumbo, and a sausage. It was really good and between that and the crawfish hush puppies I got, I was a proud member of the clean plate club. Then Michelle, Katie, and I decided to go out on Bourbon Street because you got to. I got a vampire's blood daquiri which I am pretty sure was cherry flavored but Michelle said did actually look like blood. Then as we were walking by another place and because I'm a sucker we followed a lady over who said it was "shot time." Before I knew it she was coming at me with two test tubes in her mouth that emptied into my mouth that ended up being $14 shots. We totally got ripped off but it is a story.We kind of just walked around outside with our drinks and then went to the hotel because I am lame.

Day Three: Sunday

Sunday was the second day of the exhibit halls being open so we headed down there early but first, breakfast. And we knew we needed to get beignets so we went to the Cafe du Monde in the mall by the conference. And they were amazing! If only I had remembered to order my coffee without cream and sugar. That morning there was a lot of signings I wanted to do so I bounced around a lot before lining up for Kerri Maniscalco. I adore Kerri and it was so great to see her and pick up a copy of Escaping from Houdini (which I have already finished). Other highlights of the day were Nova Ren Suma who I gushed to about her books, Megan Shepard, and Mackenzi Lee. I was much more responsible today and ended up with 13 books and all of them I was really excited about and most of them were signed.

That night I went back to the hotel to chill a little bit before going to get dinner with Michelle. I was kind of over the seafood so we went to a Mexican place that was like a stepped up version of Chipotle. I know there are better places to eat but sometimes you just need something familiar. After that we ended up going to this park down by the water to relax and check things out before getting more beignets. That's right, two rounds of beignets in one day. This time from Cafe Beignet. They were definitely delicious and I regret nothing.

Day Four: Monday

Originally my plan was to go to the conference for the last day but I realized I basically got all the books I wanted and I have been burned before waiting in line for display copies. So I decided to do more touristy stuff with Michelle. First we got breakfast at Jimmy J's Cafe which was a cute and funky cafe around the corner. I got steak and eggs because I definitely needed the protein. Then we took the bus to the Garden District which has these pretty mansions and the LaFayette Cemetery No. 1. I couldn't go all the way to New Orleans without visiting a cemetery and my friend who went to Tulane recommended this one. It was definitely really cool. On the way back we took the streetcar by all the mansions and it was a pretty and nice ride.

That night I had plans to have dinner with my coworker who lives there. We both work remotely so it was the first time I had met her so that was cool. Plus we went to a vegan soul food place which was awesome because I could eat mac and cheese and collard greens without worrying about it upsetting my stomach. Then I met back up with Michelle and we went to Louis Armstrong Park and Congo Square. It was a nice little park but I wish I had learned more info about it. On our walk back through the French Quarter we ended up stumbling upon where the home of Voodoo Queen Marie Levau used to be so that was cool. But Michelle was hungry and I had to use the bathroom so we walked around trying to find a place for her to eat. We ended up going to the New Orleans Burger and Seafood Restaurant. I was originally going to just get a beer but they had alligator poppers and I wanted to try alligator for real. But I was super full and I kind of regretted it. They were good though. Then back to the hotel for the night.

Day Five: Tuesday

This was our last day in New Orleans and I had to leave for the airport in the morning so we all just went to breakfast together at The Ruby Slipper Cafe which was around the corner. I ended up getting a grapefruit mimosa because why not and it was really good. I'll tell you this, New Orleans definitely knows how to do brunch. Then we did a little souvenir shopping. But like I said, I had to head to the airport. After a bit of a shuttle snafu (the wrong driver picked me up) I ended up making it to the airport early for my flight which would have been less frustrating if it wasn't delayed for lightning. But I made it to Orlando thinking I would have a shorter layover but that flight was delayed too! I got home two hours later than planned, tired and a little worse for wear but me and all my books made it safe so no complaints.

All in all it was an amazing trip. I got to explore a beautiful and amazing city, I hung out with some of my blogging friends in and out of the convention, and I picked up some super exciting books. If you have a chance to go to ALA I would definitely recommend going. Also, try to add a few extra days and do some touristy things. The books are great but the experiences can't be beat and this way you get two vacations in one.

And I did pretty good when it came to books. I got just over 50 which is one of my lowest ever at a bookish conference. Plus I am very excited about all of these books. I definitely have a very exciting fall full of books ahead of me.

Have you ever been to ALA or BEA? What is the coolest place that you are visiting this summer? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

Bookish Event Recap: ALA vs. Book Expo

Hi Everyone,

So as many of you know, I was at the American Library Association (ALA) conference last weekend. It was amazing and exhausting. I was originally just going to give you an ALA recap where I explained my trip, what I did, the books I am excited about, you know the usual stuff. But then I thought it would be fun to compare the two events. It's particularly interesting because I have attended both events in Chicago. So I think I can do a pretty good comparison.

On the whole, it was an amazing weekend. I got to see a ton of awesome bloggers, meet some amazing authors who I love and admire, and I picked up some really exciting books. It was my first year attending ALA after going to BEA (or the now named Book Expo) so I wasn't sure what to expect. I had heard from some friends that had been to both that ALA is much more chill and just about wandering the exhibit hall and talking to publicists about the books they have to offer. And while it was that, it was so much more. Alright, let's dive into the comparison.

The Exhibit Hall

This is a pretty good view of the booths.

As I said, I attended both events in Chicago so both events were at McCormick Place. After being there for BEA last year I knew exactly where I was going and how everything was set up. Or so I thought. I mean I did know where the exhibit hall was and the bathrooms, but the floor was super different.

At BEA, basically all you have is publishers' booths and autographing tables. I would say about a third, maybe even half, of the exhibit hall is devoted to the autographing area. The booths are then dispersed throughout the rest of the hall. While at ALA there is no autographing area so all you have are booths. However there are a ton of other booths besides those devoted to the publishers. There was artist's alley, a gaming and graphic novels area, education areas, vendors, all kinds of things besides publishers. I liked this because it added more variety and honestly there was more "empty" space. It was easier to find a corner to sit down and relax in and they even designated some space for that in the hall which was very nice.

However, at ALA the publishers booths were all in the same area. No publishers had self-contained booths either. They were all sort of like cubicals  and all really close together. There were a few exceptions like Disney, Sourcebooks, and Simon and Schuster but for the most part all the booths I wanted to visit were in one long line closest to the entrances. It was literally this order: Penguin/Random House, Harper, Macmillan, Abrams/HMH, Scholastic, Little Brown. There may have been one or two different ones in there to break things up a little but they were all so close together it really muddied the waters when it came to lining up for signing. Although it did make things nicer for walking around looking for drops and you didn't have to remember where all the big publishers were.

Winner: ALA. I would have liked the publishers to be spread out a little more but that congestion happens at BEA too in the autographing area and this was honestly not as bad. Plus they had a designated sitting area for you to relax in. Can't beat that.

Author Signings

The lovely Kerri Maniscalco

The first thing I will say about this is that there were way more signings at ALA than I was expecting. I think I had heard from people that there were only going to be a few authors that attend. And it wasn't anywhere near as many as BEA but there were still plenty of signings. If you have attended BEA you know that there are two different types of signings. There are in-booth signings and autographing. At ALA there is only one, in-booth. This is exactly what it sounds like, it occurs in the publisher's booth where the author sits at a desk and signs the books for you. And because there is no autographing area that means ALA only has half the signings.

I would also say ALA probably has more already released books because of the awards ceremony but BEA has more authors and probably bigger authors. Some publishers bring their big tent pole authors like Scholastic with Maggie Steifvater but for the most part it's more middle of the road names and big authors who had books out last year. And sometimes they are giving the book away and sometimes you buy the book. They also bring other books by that author you can get, Like for Maggie received All the Crooked Saints and could buy The Raven Boys.

But there are amazing authors at both places. Basically everyone who went to Book Expo was also at ALA. I got to meet Maggie Steifvater, Kerri Maniscalco, Alexandra Bracken. Marie Lu, Anna-Marie McLemore, Cat Winters, Sharon Cameron, E. Lockhart, Melissa Albert, Kristen Cashore, Adele Griffin, Stacey Lee, Brandy Colbert, and Amy Reed.

Winner: BEA. I have to give this to BEA just because of the sheer number of author signings. At ALA even if you have a bunch of author signings you still have time to chill and wander. At BEA, I have spent whole days in autographing areas and not been able to do everything because they were all at the same time. Which honestly is something in ALA's favor, more doable.

ARC Drops

This is probably where things differ the most. At BEA the ARC drops are extremely structured. The publisher will tell you exactly when they are releasing a specific book and that is the only time you can get it, When it's gone, it's gone. So you need to build into your schedule those times so you make sure you get there early to line up. At ALA that is not the case. Some publishers will have specific drop times, particularly first thing in the morning, but it's not so structured.

At ALA you can, and honestly should, go up to the publishers and ask if they have copies of a certain book. Many of them will not put the books out for a drop and will instead keep them in a cabinet for those who ask for copies. I don't think I ever saw Penguin do a formal drop like I'm used to, not even in the morning. But if you asked them they would give you any book that they brought copies of. Same with Macmillan.

The thing to keep in mind with this though is that you totally need to ask about this as quickly as you can. Your first day is the day you need to ask about that priority book you were hoping to get. They will more than likely give it to you if you ask or they will tell you when you can get. But keep in mind, everyone else will be asking too and they don't have an unlimited supply of the book. I saw some publishers run out after the first day. Don't assume that you can ask the next day, or even later in the day for the book.

Winner: ALA. You really can't beat the ability to ask and then more than likely receive any book you ask for. It's nice to not have to structure in drops throughout your day and to be able to check in when you get a spare moment. Plus when you ask about a certain book the publicist might say "oh, you like YA fantasies? Have you heard of this book?" and then they will give you a similar title which I think is awesome.

The Books

In both conferences there are seriously book everywhere and anywhere. It is an opportunity for the publishers to talk about their upcoming titles and put them in the hands of the people who can read them and then share their thoughts with others who might be interested in reading them. It's just as easy to get more books than you could possibly read at either event. I think at ALA it's probably more selective. You can ask about specific books and therefore get ones you are much more interested in rather than taking one you know nothing about because it's being dropped with a book you do know.

Most of the books featured are fall releases. I would say that probably with ALA there is definitely more already released books. At BEA I only got a few books that were already out and at ALA I got close to 10. Plus because ALA is a little later than BEA there are also more 2018 releases. When looking through my books I had much more 2018 releases than I thought. Even some not coming out until March.

Winner: Tie. But ALA might have a slight advantage because you can be more selective. I like being able to ask about books I am interested in and being able to talk to publicists is way better than just hoping the book will be out or knowing when to come back.

The Lines

For both conferences there are also seriously lines everywhere and anywhere. I have never seen so many lines in my entire life as these kind of conferences. I'm sure it has nothing on ComicCon but I don't know that I want it to. This is enough for me, too much for me. I will say that because there are less signings and not structured drops, there are far less lines at ALA than at BEA when there is so much more going on at a particular period of time.

The other really great thing about ALA is that they actually let you line up in advance. AT BEA they were such sticklers about that sort of thing, You couldn't get in line until a half hour before and if you tried to they would tell you to leave. I felt like at ALA they were like "yeah, start a line, just stay out of the way and we'll grab you when we're ready for you." I mean I think I was in line for Maggie Steifvater for over an hour and a half and there were people in some lines for a few hours.

But the only problem with the fact that there are less lines during ALA is that those lines, especially ones for YA titles or big titles, can be insanely long. The line for Angie Thomas was out of control. I got so intimidated by it that I didn't even try to get in it. The line for Alexandra Bracken was also pretty crazy. I did something else and then got in that one when it died down a little and I ended up being one of the last people. SO, less lines but super crazy lines.

Winner: ALA. I'll take a crazy long line where they let you line up in advance any day. It never felt crazy or overwhelming in the way BEA did. There weren't any miscommunication of where the line was, it was just long. And the people working the booths were pretty good about crowd control. Plus at the end of the day my feet didn't hurt all that bad. Twice I even walked back to my hotel.

Blogger Dinner! (photo credit: Lauren)

The People

I mean, the people are great (for the most part). The people are great no matter where you are going. When you are bringing bookish people like authors and librarians and bloggers all in the same place you are going to have great people. My first time at BEA I remember thinking how amazing it was to be with all "my people." That's what I felt like at ALA this year. It was amazing meeting people and being somewhere with people who also care this much about books.

For authors, I have already talked a lot about this but I did feel like ALA had less authors and less big name authors. A few of the publishers brought their big names but for the most part I felt like ALA was more about middle of the road kind of authors and even debuts. And yes, I would have loved to see Leigh Bardugo and Marissa Meyer again but it was great to meet some new authors.

As far as bloggers go, there were actually more than I expected. I didn't go to BEA this year but I feel like I didn't even really know that many people going. There were a few blogger friends that I would have liked to see and hang out with but I do feel like there were great bloggers at ALA. I got to meet some new ones, see some I know, and hang out with a few at a blogger dinner. It was so nice to see Nicole from Feed Your Fiction Addiction (and her mom who is awesome!), Shannon from It Starts at Midnight, and Holly from The Fox's Hideaway. It was also amazing to meet Lauren from Stooting Star Mag who organized the blogger dinner and the ladies of Once Upon a Chapter, Stephanie and Alexa, who were my line buddies many times and gave me some helpful tips. And of course my lovely roommates Katie from Katie's Book Blog, Montana from The Book Belles, and Michelle from Pink Polka Dot Books who was stuck with me all weekend as we drove together from Pittsburgh. Although I did miss the rest of my girls from last year. It just wasn't the same without you awesome nerds.

And yes, of course there was drama. There is always going to be drama. Any time you get that many people anywhere there is going to be someone behaving badly. And bloggers, librarians, randos off the street who want to pay $75 for books are not exempt from that. But I'd say for the most part that everyone was really nice and professional. Although probably a little punchy because they were tired and hungry. That was me.

Winner: BEA. I think having so many less author signings means that I have to give this one to BEA. Plus like not that I'm ever invited to any but BEA has parties that bloggers are invited to and I think that publishers tend to gear more events to us. So if you are a blogger you may get more out of Book Expo because ALA is intended for librarians.

Okay, there you have it. My thoughts and kind of recap of ALA and how it compares to Book Expo. I don't think I can say one is better than another. They are both really fantastic. If you are going by these categories ALA gets a slight advantage. But they are both really fantastic and fun bookish events. There are amazing authors to meet, upcoming books to learn about, bookish friends to meet and hang out with, and plenty of exhausting fun. If you have the chance to go to either I would definitely recommend going.

 If you have any specific questions please let me know. But honesty, it was a lot of fun and super exhausting. I'm definitely planning to go again. Next year ALA Annual is going to be in New Orleans and I'm hoping to go.

Have you been to ALA? What did you think? Did you go this year? What was the best book you picked up? Have you been to Book Expo? Have you been to both? What were the major differences for you? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

I'm Going to ALA

Hi Everyone,
This is just a quick update to let you know that I will be at ALA this weekend and for the beginning of next week. I'm not really taking a haitus but I'm also not really going to be around much so I thought I would just give you a quick heads up in case you were wondering where I am.

Also, I'm letting you know I'm going in case you are going as well. I know a few bloggers and bookish friends are also on their way there so if you are one of them and you see me, say hello. If I look intimidating because I'm super tall and not at all smiling, don't worry, I'm a gentle giant. I love meeting fellow bloggers whether I knew you before or not so please say hi.

This is my first time going to ALA so I'm not really sure what to expect but I'm exciting. I've been to BEA or Book Expo but I wasn't able to go this year because of reasons but I needed my bookish conference fix so ALA Annual it is. ALA is the American Library Association and they hold two conferences a year. This is the big one, the annual one. It's in Chicago this year which is where BEA was last year so at least I know the conference hall well.

 I've heard from some blogger friends who have been in the past that ALA tends to be a little more chill than BEA. Not as many long lines and there aren't really galley drops. You kind of just walk around the booths and chat with publicists and see what books they have to offer. I am all for that. I hate lines and crowds so as little as that as possible sounds great. I also don't have a ton of publicist contacts so I'm hoping to make some while I am there. Have you been to ALA? What was it like?

I was honestly a little bummed about not going to BEA this year. It is the first time since I started blogging seriously that I haven't gone and just felt really weird. The lead up to it just didn't feel right. I felt like I should be doing something to prepare and I wasn't. Then when I saw people there the FOMO hit. I wanted to be hanging out in lines with my blogger friends, I wanted to be meeting favorite authors, I wanted those book hauls. But then I remembered that I would be going to ALA in a few short weeks and that it would be just as exciting and fun. I know a few bloggers going already and I'm excited to meet some more as well as some librarians.

And of course I am ready to meet some amazing authors. I am super excited to see that some of the authors I really wanted to meet at BEA are also going to ALA. Including some that have been on my must meet author list which is cool. I can't wait to meet them and tell them how much I love their books. I will probably be awkward. I will almost certainly be awkward.

Authors I'm Excited to Meet

Marie Lu - Signing Warcross

Anna-Marie McLemore - Signing Wild Beauty

Sharon Cameron - Signing The Knowing

Cat Winters - Signing Odd and True

E. Lockhart - Signing Genuine Fraud

Maggie Steifvater - Signing All the Crooked Saints

Kerri Maniscalso -Signing Hunting Prince Dracula

Alexandra Bracken - Signing The Dreadful Case of Prosper Redding 

Any authors you know going that I should make sure I meet and talk to? Any books you know that will be there that you think I should make sure I pick up?

And I'm sure I will come home with way more books than I planned. I don't exactly know what books will be there besides the few that I have seen the ones that have been mentioned with the meet the authors but I'm sure there will be even more than that as giveaways at the publisher's booths. I will need to restrain myself like I tried to do at BEA the last couple of years. Although driving instead of flying does make it easier to take home excess books. NO! I will be good. Anyways, look out for my hauls on Instagram and Snapchat. Also, if you are not following me there and on Twitter, be sure to do that if you want updates and stuff. But I will of course do a recap when I get back.

Alright, that's all I got. See you soon, ALA! Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

Book Review and Author Event: Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Title: Carry On Author: Rainbow Rowell Published: October 6, 2015 by St. Martins Griffin (Macmillan) (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: Rainbow Rowell continues to break boundaries with Carry On, an epic fantasy following the triumphs and heartaches of Simon and Baz from her beloved bestseller Fangirl.  Simon Snow just wants to relax and savor his last year at the Watford School of Magicks, but no one will let him. His girlfriend broke up with him, his best friend is a pest, and his mentor keeps trying to hide him away in the mountains where maybe he’ll be safe. Simon can’t even enjoy the fact that his roommate and longtime nemesis is missing, because he can’t stop worrying about the evil git. Plus there are ghosts. And vampires. And actual evil things trying to shut Simon down. When you’re the most powerful magician the world has ever known, you never get to relax and savor anything.  Carry On is a ghost story, a love story, a mystery and a melodrama. It has just as much kissing and talking as you’d expect from a Rainbow Rowell story — but far, far more monsters.

We don't get a lot of YA authors coming to Pittsburgh. So when I found out that Rainbow Rowell, who is someone that I adore and have missed meeting at two BEAs, was coming to town I was absolutely ecstatic. Two days after the release of Carry On she came to the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh for a short talk and book signing. She was unsurprisingly delightful and kind, staying for three hours to sign books. During the signing we chatted about awkward author encounters (she'll make this list now) and how I figured out she was writing this book when she tweeted about doing something new. She talked about everything from writing and reading, to fantasy, to fanfiction, and even some movie updates. I was originally going to write a whole separate thing about the event but I figured I would just pepper in some things she said throughout.

I absolutely love Rainbow Rowell and all her books. The one that introduced me to her writing was Fangirl which I will always have a special place in my heart for. I love Fangirl for multiple reasons. For one thing I always connected with Cath and her love of fantasy. So when I found out that Rainbow was writing a book about the characters that Cath loved, I was very excited to fall in love with them too. And that is exactly what I did.

One of the things that I always love about Rainbow is her characterizations. Every book has brilliant and realistic characters who you can't help but love and Carry On was no exception. In her talk Rainbow mentioned that one of the things she noticed while writing Carry On is that she had to have a lot of character perspectives because each character needed a little bit of information. I think there are seven different POV characters here. Usually that is something that annoys me but here it mostly worked. Each character had their own distinct voice and did in fact bring something that felt essential. Rainbow said one of her favorite characters to write about was Baz and he was definitely my favorite to read about. He has so much inner turmoil but so much humor and intelligence. He was fun and dark and so interesting. Simon was also really interesting. He's such a complex character and I really enjoyed his development and the way Rainbow played with the Hero's Journey through Simon. But I think my other favorite character was Penelope. She's the overly intelligent Hermione-esque character here but I love the way she flouts the rules and helps Simon. They had a great friendship.

But all the relationships here were so fantastic. For one thing they were incredibly complex, especially the romances. I often think that term "love triangle" is a misnomer. It's usually a love line with the MC in the middle and the two love interests on either side. Here it could genuinely be called a triangle. Most of the characters did in fact like the other two which made for a lot of drama. But the OTP here was the best part. We're all on the same page here, right? The ship here is Simon and Baz. And wow, I loved it so much. Baz isn't in the first part of the book and Simon's obsession with him was a little frustrating because I just wanted them to interact. I wanted the banter and the romance. And when I did get it I couldn't be happier. Because when it did finally happen it was so sudden. They went from enemies, to a begrudging teammates, to in a romantic relationship. I do kind of wish there was more romance though because the kissing scenes were pretty top notch.

But that wasn't the only thing about the book I loved. The world was also fantastic. This is Rainbow's first fantasy book and I have to admit that I was a little nervous about a favorite author who writes in a genre I don't usually love, writing in a genre I do love. I don't know why, I should have trusted Rainbow because she did an amazing job with this aspect. She said in her talk that she reads a lot of fantasy so she "had the vocabulary" and also mentioned a love of Lev Grossman and how he played with the tropes so after that I was really excited. And what is created in Carry On is a really unique fantasy world that does play with the tropes in a fun way. The magical school is quite common in YA fantasy but that was really just the backdrop here. Although Watford was a cool place. The locations within the castle felt Hogwartsian but they still felt unique.  But what I really liked about the world was the magical system. It was such a complex and interesting system. Here Mages had to be magical which is a mostly hereditary skill. And then to control their magic they also have to have some sort of magical object like a wand, a ring, or even a sword which was interesting. But even more creative was the fact that their magical words were nursery rhymes, song lyrics, and even some cliches. It was really unique and fun to see. The world and magical system of Carry On was one of my favorite parts.

But unfortunately there were some things about the book that didn't quite work for me. One of those is the plot development. There is a lot going on in this book. I usually love that, a complicated book makes for an interesting book. But the most interesting plot point was the "Chosen One" storyline and sometimes it was overshadowed or muddled by other plot points. At first it read more like a mystery and less like an epic fantasy, whic I liked. The mystery unfolded in an interesting way that made logical sense. It was solvable but not predictable which was really refreshing. However even the central mystery had a little too many facets. Rainbow mentioned in her talk that she gave different pieces of the mystery to different characters which is fine but often it felt like they weren't sharing that info. As the reader we had privileged knowledge that helped us solve things but that kind of dramatic irony is not my favorite. I think on the whole there were too many minor storylines. From Baz trying to find out who killed his mother, to the political intrigue of families arguing about who should be able to attend Watford, and even some stuff about vampires. There was a lot of different things that sometimes took away from the main story which I was enjoying. Plus when it was all said and done there were lose ends and plot points that just fizzled out. If this was a series then I could maybe see why they were included for them to become important down the line but here it kind of just made things a little muddled. But in the end I did really like the big reveals and resolutions.

And while the ending did redeem things it still made for a book that had some pacing issues. Things started out a little slow for my taste. I understand that when you are creating a new fantasy you have to set the scene and introduce the characters. A little bit of that is fine. But because there were so many different plot points there was a lot of exposition until they got to the meat of the story. Then when things did build to the thrilling conclusion it seemed like it was over a little too soon. And like I mentioned before, some plot points just fizzled out. There were no resolutions on some while others just ended without any follow up. The more complicated plot I think just resulted in a book that had a little too muddled pacing for me. A little less is more perhaps.

But on the whole Carry On was a thoroughly entertaining read. Rainbow Rowell created a world full of magic and mystery that she populated with some fantastic and complex characters. Fantasy fans will love the way she plays with the tropes and the unique magical systems and fans of her contemporary work will adore the romance and humor here.

I give Carry On by Rainbow Rowell 9 out of 10 stars

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Buy. This was a great read that I think will appeal to a lot of different people. I may not really recommend it to fantasy fans because of my concerns with the plot development but it is worth it to see how she plays with the classic tropes. If you are a fan of Rainbow's contemporary novels you will probably also enjoy this one. It's a big change for her but I'd like to see her do more fantasy. I wouldn't mind if there was more Simon and Baz either.

Have you read Carry On? What did you think? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

BEA Recap: Another Year of Exhausting Fun

As most of you probably know either from my Twitter, Instagram, or previous posts last week I was at Book Expo America in New York. It was my second time going and I seriously had so much fun. It was exhausting and every night my feet were killing and I was starving but I also met some really amazing fellow bloggers, saw some authors I am a huge fan of, and learned about some exciting new books. Here is what I did/

Day 1: Blogger Con Happened but So Did Truthwitch

First day of BEA, I woke up bright and early and headed to the Javits. I got there at around 8:15, registered and then headed to Blogger Con. When I sat down I was approached by Melissa from The Novelty Podcast who gave me a gift from my OTSP Secret Sister. I had suspected who it might be but it was great to have confirmed that it is Elizabeth from Book YAbber. We met last year at BEA and it was so great to see her again. She framed the picture that we took last year in an amazingly decorated frame. I totally love it! I wish we had gotten to catch up and chat more but this year we just didn't seem to be in the same lines.

Blogger Con had a great opening panel discussion and I was really enjoying the first workshop but I was fixated on getting Truthwitch. I heard the line was getting out of control so I headed over there instead of doing blogger stuff. I was so excited to meet Britt from Please Feed the Bookworm finally! We are total book soulmates and we spent a lot of time planning together. I also got to meet and Sarah from Words with Sarah, Becca from Pivot Book Reviews, Pilli from In Love with Handmade, Christina from My Life in Books, and Katie from Katie's Book Blog. And of course Octavia from Read.Sleep.Repeat and Nikki from There Were Books Involved who I met last year and I was so excited to see again. We hung out in line and caught up. I mean we were in line for nearly two and a half hours before they let us in. 

When they finally let us in it was a mad dash to Macmillan for the Truthwitch tickets. I am ashamed to say when I saw people running I started running too. People were backing away slowly. It was so embarrassing. But I got my Truthwitch ticket and it was all worth it. But shameful. After getting my ticket, I wandered around the floor and picked up a copy of a few galleys including Illuminae. Seriously, this book is freaking gorgeous and the most intense ARC I have ever seen. While wandering around the floor I met Michelle from Pink Polka Dot Book Blog who is like the only other Pittsburgh blogger I know so it was great to chat with her. On the whole I spent most of my day doing galley drops and in-booth signings. I knocked out all the Harper drops I wanted which was very exciting and freed up a lot of my week. I only got two signed book, These Shallow Graves and... Truthwitch. I feel bad about running but I did get to meet the amazing Susan Dennard who I talked to about the Something Strange and Deadly series and how I'm still not over that thing that happened in Strange and Ever After. All in all it was a fantastic day. I got thirteen total books and I'm so excited for so many them!

But I of course have to mention the after BEA festivities. After the Javits I headed back to Octavia, Nikki, and Christina's hotel. On the bus over I finally got to meet and chat with Jamie from Perpetual Page Turner. She is so sweet and I'm glad we got to meet in person. We were all starving so I went with Nikki, Octavia, and Christine to Shake Shack. It was delicious. I wish we had one in Pittsburgh! After dinner I went back to the girls' hotel to wait out the rain before I headed back to Woodlawn exhausted but so happy.

Day 2: The Day Where It Was All Balanced Out

Day 2 I got up so early and headed to the Javits again to get in line really early. It was supposed to be all about Passenger but after the shameful running for Truthwitch I decided I didn't want a repeat. Plus I decided I wasn't totally interested in the early ARC, I'll definitely buy a copy so I can wait a bit to read it. So I went to Penguin for the in-booth signing for Ernest Cline. It was a little early so I walked around with Nikki and Katie. We hit a few of the smaller publishers and I got a copy of More Happy Than Not and took this really adorable picture of me as Jackaby. Then we met up with Octavia and headed to Ernest Cline. I totally fangirled about how much I loved Ready Player One and he was so nice. I can't believe I got to meet him. 

Then we wandered a little more and I met up with Britt, Sarah, and Becca. We took a snack break, hit a few signings (including Mary Kubica who I told how much I loved her debut The Good Girl), and then Britt and I went in line for Gregory Maguire. It was my third time meeting him in a year and I told him that and was super awkward. After that I headed over to Little Brown for the Libba Bray for her in-booth. Or as I like to call it, the feeding frenzy. That line, just no. But I got a ticket, met Libba and she was amazing. I reminded her about chatting about Beauty Queens last year and we took a selfie with "cuteness filter." I was so hungry, thirsty, and tired of people so I took a break before I headed to the 3pm signing of Lois Lane Fallout. I met Layla from The Midnight Garden who was so sweet. We talked all about my favorite topic Sansa Stark and this season of Game of Thrones plus books and the ones we are excited about. 

That was my last signing so I went to get my stuff and say goodbye to everyone before I headed home. It took forever to get back to Woodlawn (two hours you guys, it was out of control). But another great day! Again I got thirteen books, but half of them signed this time.

Day 3: The Day With The Crazy Busy Morning

Friday was the last day of BEA. Usually the last day is the light day but it was out of control this year. So I headed to the Javits a little later than usual but still got a decent place in line. Thanks so much to my line buddies for the week: Britt, Sarah, Pilli, Bekka, Nikki, Octavia, Christina, Katie, and Melissa. You ladies are amazing! When the doors opened I was all about the galley drops. I headed from Harper to Penguin and got a bunch of books I'm really excited about. Many of the books I got were ones I wanted to get signed in the afternoon so it really freed up a lot of my time. Then I went to Kim Liggett's signing of Blood and Salt. She was so freaking sweet and I can't believe someone who writes horror can be so nice. I cannot wait to read her book. 

After that I headed to the autographing area for all the things! All of them. I popped in Carrie Ryan's line to get Daughter of Deep Silence. Then I jumped in Julie Murphy's line for Dumplin. It was amazing to meet Julie and talk about how we seriously need this MC in YA. After that I checked on Rainbow Rowell's signing but it was already out of control. So I once again missed out on meeting Rainbow. But instead I headed to Leigh Bardugo where I used my front of the line pass to get the oh so precious Six of Crows. I totally planned out what I was going to say to Leigh but I was so awkward and forgot to take a picture with her which made me so sad! But leaving the line I met the ladies from On the Same Page: Brittany, Alyssa, and Amy. Which I had really wanted to do not only because I'm such a fan of them but also because my Secret Sister in the first round was Amy who got me some amazing packages and my current Secret Sister is Alyssa. It was so amazing to meet them and chat and flail.

It was then time to take a break, ditch some books in my suitcase, and eat some food. I knew today was going to be crazy when I had to take a stop at the suitcase. Both Wednesday and Thursday I was good with just one tote bag for the day. Then I headed to Harlequin to wait for their Teen Hour. I snagged a few bonus galleys on the way and also got to chat a lot with Bayram from Never Ending Books, who I totally didn't realize I knew from Twitter until much later in our conversation, and Nicole from PopCrunchBoom. Seriously, the Harlequin in-booths are the best. You get a bunch authors and they are so well managed. 

At that point I realized I was basically done for the day so I hit a few extra signings that I wasn't counting on. This included Alexandra Bracken who was of course delightful. I flailed about my ships in The Darkest Minds and how they sailed. She's wonderful and I am so glad I got to meet her again this year and in a more relaxed line, not the crazy Passenger mayhem. I also got to see Carrie Ryan again and snag a copy of City of Thirst, the second book in the middle grade series she cowrote with her husband, which I love. After that I was done for the day so I met back up with Nikki, Octavia, and Christina.

After leaving the Javits we headed to blogger dinner where I met so many bloggers I hadn't met yet and got to chat a little more with some I had not talked to much. It was planned by Tiffany from Mostly YA Lit. She was so sweet and it was great chatting with everyone. The dinner was at Bourbon Street in Hell's Kitchen. I thought I would never not be hungry again so I got the three course fixed price menu but I lied. I honestly filled up on the gumbo so when my meal came I only ate a few bites. Then I decided to share my dessert because I really couldn't eat another thing. After the dinner I went back to Nikki, Octavia, and Christina's hostel where we hung and laughed so hard about basically everything. I had to leave to head back to Woodlawn. It was so sad to say goodbye because I seriously love these ladies. I had so much fun hanging out with them both at the Javits and after. 

On the whole I it was a fantastic and exhausting week. I got to meet so many amazing authors that I love and got tons of amazing books. I wanted to take things a little easy this year and while I did get more books than I wanted it was only a few more (42 in total) and there were some surprise books that I didn't know we're going to be there. But the best part of the week was definitely the people. From the bloggers, to the the authors, to the publishers everyone was so nice and reminded my why I love this world. I really hope I can make it work financially to go next year when it is in Chicago because despite the hassle, exhaustion, and expense BEA is worth every single second.

My total haul for BEA15 organized by release date (month)

For those of you who were not able to make it to BEA and had to suffer through my flaily tweets and lack of attentiveness on the blog, I have a special giveaway. Keep your eye on my Twitter and enter to win a copy of Court of Fives by Kate Elliot! It's one of my most anticipated releases of the summer and I want to share an extra copy I got in the mail with you. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

Top Ten Tuesday: Authors I Really Want to Meet

A weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

You guys, I'm sorry but BEA is two weeks away and it's basically all I can think about. So this is going to be very BEA centric post. I'm sorry to any followers that are not going to BEA. I know it's not always feasible and sometimes the constant reminders can be annoying. But this was a perfect topic to flail about BEA.

1.) Leigh Bardugo
Number 1, without a doubt have to have to see them at BEA is Leigh Bardugo. I loved the Grisha trilogy and I am so excited for Six of Crows. Should I tell her I figured out the twist about the Firebird?

2.) Susan Dennard

Another absolute must see. I loved the Something Strange and Deadly series, though I'm still not over that ending. Truthwitch sounds absolutely amazing but I really can't wait to meet Susan.

3.) Rainbow Rowell
I missed getting a ticket to Rainbow last year but not this year. I totally need to meet her and act like a total idiot because I love her so much.

4.) Ernest Cline
Ready Player One is a total favorite book and Ernest Cline will be there signing ARCs of his new book Armada. I must meet him. I MUST!

5.) Geraldine Brooks
I've read a few books by Geraldine Brooks and they are fantastic Historical Fantasies. Her new book is about King David which sounds really good.

6.) Rae Carson
So I know I haven't read the Girl of Fire and Thorns trilogy but I plan too, want too. But seriously how amazing does Walk on Earth a Stranger sound? Super amazing!

7.) Marie Lu
I'm currently working my way through the Legend trilogy and loved The Young Elites. I really hope to meet Marie after having read all her books. Plus the prospect of The Rose Society has me dying!

8.) Kim Liggett
I have interacted with Kim on twitter a little and she seems very delightful. Plus I really want to get my hands on Blood & Salt. It sounds creepy, mysterious, and gory. Clearly I need it!

9.) Marissa Meyer
I mean how much do I love The Lunar Chronicles series? So much! I really want to meet Marissa and maybe talk theories. I did that last year with Alexandra Bracken and it was amazing

10.) Sara Raasch
I really want to meet Sara, she's seems like such a delightful human being. I wish she was signing Ice Like Fire not Snow Like Ashes but I will consider waiting in line just to meet her.

Honorable Mention to a few favorites I met last year and I want to meet again
Libba Bray and Gregory Maguire

And a few who won't be at BEA and I REALLY want to meet

11.) J.K. Rowling
I mean she is the queen. I would die. I would be speechless. I would lose the ability to even.

12.) Brandon Sanderson
Within the past year Sanderson became an all-time favorite author and an auto-buy. I feel like a lot of you all have met him and I'm over here like "Pittsburgh is a cool city, come to Pittsburgh"

13.) Victoria Schwab
Again, Victoria has become and auto-buy and she is another author that just seems so delightful on social media that meeting her in person would be a complete treat, Perhaps she will come somewhere close to me next year when she's touring.

Who is on your list of must meet authors? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!