ALA12 Recap & Books

Alright, I'm taking a break from my actual book-writing to write this ALA recap/book post before I completely forget everything that happened. This past week's ALA Annual event was the second ALA I've been to and it couldn't have come at a better time, because I got to tell people in person that I had an agent. (People I told before I told you include Cindy Pon, Tahereh Mafi, and Morgan Matson. Also Liz, Khy, Zoe, Nancy. And probably a few others I've forgotten.) When I went to ALA Midwinter I made a list of the 25 most exciting or interesting things that happened while there, and I figure that worked pretty well so I'll do the same thing this time.

1. I was there for two days -- Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday morning I had the go-ahead to make my agent new public knowledge and so spent a great deal of time grinning like a crazy person when I got to tell people. I'm especially especially happy I got to tell Tahereh Mafi in person because she's been one of the most inspiring and motivational writers to me for a long time, and getting to share this news with her was incredible. She's such a supportive and enthusiastic person. (Thank you, Tahereh!)
2. In less-than-stellar news, I managed to lose my ipod/iphone thingy on Saturday. In the exhibit hall. Next to a booth and that huge line for Marissa Meyer's signing.
3. I got to meet and hang out with Liz, from Consumed by Books for a while on Saturday morning. So that was nice.
4. One of the signings I really, really wanted to get to was Morgan Matson's signing Saturday morning. Me and my sister showed up at the booth a little early and I asked one of the ladies there if she knew when/where the signing line was, and it just happened that the lady I asked was Morgan Matson herself. Chatting with her, and getting her to sign a copy of Second Chance Summer (I've been wanting to read this one for a while) was so great.
5. I somehow went through a ton of my business/blog cards. Which usually doesn't happen -- most times at events I end up giving cards to a handful of people, but I met so many authors, bloggers, reps, and librarians at ALA. It was great.
6. There were a few absolutely awesome reps I talked to at the booths -- one of the women at HarperCollins and another at Penguin were so sweet and so fun to talk to. I don't think I got their names though (maybe first, not first and last), which is a major bummer but I'm going to see if I can find them on Twitter somehow anyway.
7. I met so many people at the blogger meet-up on Saturday night, including two authors who have debut sci-fi books coming out next year. AHHHHH!! (And it was so, so crazy to think that someday I might be them. Or not them exactly, but you know.) I had an especially good time talking to Amy Tintera, author of the upcoming Reboot.
8. After the meet-up I got horribly, terrifyingly lost in the parking garage. And you know what's super creepy at about 10 at night? Wandering about a dimly-lit, low-ceiling parking garage all alone. But all is ok! I found my car! I survived!
9. After I got home some kind person contacted me via Twitter to let me know they'd found my iphone. I called the ALA conference desk and it's gonna take a while, but I'll be getting it back! Yay! Librarians and librarian-types are so trustworthy; thank you!
10. I met Sharon Creech. More on this later in the post. I don't normally get tongue-tied or starstruck around authors, but she was a definite exception. 

THE BOOKS.

Okay so the thing I use to take photos is my dad's old iphone that has no service and now I use it as an ipod -- that's the thing I lost at ALA. So I'll be taking not-as-good pictures of these books (ARCs & finished copies) that I was lucky enough to pick up in the exhibit hall at ALA.

A note on the books: when I went to midwinter about a year and a half ago, I picked up a lot of ARCs (less than some people, but still. A lot). I ended up reading -- or at least starting to read -- all of them, but before heading to ALA this time I looked over what I'd gotten, what I'd liked, what I hadn't liked, what blew me away, and what I hadn't even finished. Because I'm picky, there were a lot I abandoned when I realized I wasn't liking the book or just wasn't interested anymore. So I decided that this time around, especially since I have less reading time than I used to, I'd try to be extra-selective in what I brought back. I'm happy to say that quite a few of the books are ones I'm really super excited about and all but about two are ones I'm just regular excited about. And I'm still pretty sure that (sadly) there'll be some I don't finish. The only book I was really, really wanting that I didn't end up getting is Unravel Me, but then I thought probably it'll be easier to wait for the third book if I have to wait for the second book, too.

SATURDAY BOOKS

I've tried to put the books in order (bottom to top) of when I got them, though of course I don't remember exactly. Books with a star in front of them are ARCs, the rest are finished copies I bought.

Second Chance Summer, by Morgan Matson - Like I said, I've been wanting to read this one for quite a while now and when I found out she'd be signing at ALA I had to buy a copy. Now, of course, I'm wishing I'd also bought a copy of her debut novel, Amy & Roger's Epic Detour, because I still haven't read that one. But I guess I can probably borrow it from my sister, who did buy it. Meeting the author was super fun though, guys. Authors are fun people to chat with.

* Time Between Us, by Tamara Ireland Stone - A time travel YA romance? Sign me up! Despite not loving (or even liking) The Time Traveller's Wife (movie or book), this seems right up my alley and is something I'm so psyched to read.

* Diverse Energies, edited by Tobias S. Buckell & Joe Monti - In total honesty the one reason I made a point to pick this one up is because Cindy Pon is in it. I don't do great with short story collections, so so far I've been skipping around, reading what interests me and not worrying about the rest. There are definitely some really interesting stories in here, including Cindy's.

* Through to You, by Emily Hainsworth - WOO, MORE SCI-FI. You guys, I'm seriously seriously excited about all the YA sci-fi that seems to be coming out. This one is about parallel worlds, which reminds me of an episode of The Twilight Zone I recently watched. High hopes, guys, high hopes for this one.

* Love and Other Perishable Items, by Laura Buzo - Published in Australia years ago as Good Oil, I'm thrilled that this is finally in the US. The cover/title combo is so much better than the Aussie version (sorry) and it involves grocery stores, which I love. As Khy would say, "it sounds like a Jory book," so I hope it lives up and I feel super-lucky to have a copy of it.

* Prodigy, by Marie Lu - SIGNED! If you remember, Legend was a really terrific dystopian -- one of the best, in my opinion, and I'm excited to see what happens next in this world and find out more about the history. I missed Lu's first signing on Saturday, but luckily she had another one and I got to go to that one (and buy a hardcover of Legend).

* Summer and Bird, by Katherine Catmull - I honestly can't tell what genre this is, though from the summary it reminds me a bit of Imaginary Girls and Alice in Wonderland. Also a bit like the old children's book Silverwing, by Kenneth Oppel. So basically it could be anything. But I love the title and the cover and the story itself sounds fairy-tale-ish. I'm nervous and excited to read it, especially since it's represented by my agent (which, not gonna lie, was a big draw in me trying to get a copy at ALA). 

Legend, by Marie Lu - I had an ARC of this that I got signed at Comic-Con last year, but I had to buy a hardcover. And while I don't like that it took me so long to buy a hardcover, I am glad I got one at ALA so the author got to sign it. 

SUNDAY BOOKS

* Two or Three Things I Forgot to Tell You, by Joyce Carol Oates - I'll admit I don't know a ton about this book, but it sounds like it could be right up my alley; I love the whole secrets-and-friendship thing in books, as long as it's done well.

* The Great Unexpected, by Sharon Creech - I hate bragging about ARCs, but omg I have a Sharon Creech ARC!!!! This book sounds most excellent. MOST EXCELLENT. *spazzes out* Also, how excellent is that title?

Walk Two Moons, by Sharon Creech - I don't really know if I've read this one yet, but I bought a copy for Sharon Creech to sign (along with The Great Unexpected and the copy of The Wanderer that I brought with me) and am excited about reading it (or rereading, as the case may be).

Boys, Bears, and a Serious Pair of Hiking Boots, by Abby McDonald - My sister has been wanting to read McDonald's Getting Over Garrett Delaney for ages, so we skiddaddled over to her signing as soon as Creech's signing was done on Sunday. And just aside from this book sounding really good, Abby McDonald was absolutely awesome to meet and talk to. Also, at this point I loaned my sister the last ten dollars in cash I had, which is why I didn't end up buying a copy of Between Shades of Grey (NOT THAT OTHER BOOK!!!) for my mom.

* Send Me A Sign, by Tiffany Schmidt - I've read (or started reading, at least) quite a few YA books that deal with "the  big C," but this is one I'm really hopeful about and not just because it has a dandelion (my favorite flower, which I know is not really a flower) on the cover.

* Dear Teen Me, edited by E. Kristin Anderson and Miranda Kenneally - To the wonderful rep (and blogger!) at the Zest booth who gave me this ARC -- thank you! We started talking about this book (which they had on display) and how excited we both were for it and she went, "Well, I'm really not supposed to be giving these out, but I'm going to see if I can sneak you a copy." Aaaaand now I've announced it on my blog. Oops! (But seriously, so excited.) We then went on to discuss how brilliant Before I Fall was.

* Son, by Lois Lowry - Ack! I did not actually realize, when I picked up this sequel to The Giver, that there are two books between The Giver and Son. I'm hoping the book will make sense even though I haven't read the other two -- does anyone know? Anyway, I felt compelled to pick up a copy of this since The Giver was such a surreal and weirdly memorable reading experience for me as a kid. The book isn't one of my all-time favorites, but it's definitely one I have vivid memories of.

* Keeping Safe the Stars, by Sheila O'Connor - Another amazing rep (at the Penguin booth) gave me this copy. When she saw I had an ARC of Son she asked if me and my sister could go snag her a copy and we wound up talking about covers and books for a little while. It was honestly one of the best conversations I had at ALA (and there were a lot of good ones).

* Scarlet, by Marissa Meyer - I lined up half an hour early for this signing just to be sure I was able to get a copy of this book. If I'd known Meyer was signing at ALA before I drove down to Anaheim, I probably would have brought my copy of Cinder for her to sign as well, but I didn't. I'm excited for this one, guys. I loved how Meyer twisted the story of Cinderella in the first book and Little Red Riding Hood is one of my more favorite fairy tales from childhood, so I'm definitely intrigued for this next book.

* Out of the Easy, by Ruta Sepetys - First of all, it was embarrassing standing in line for Ruta Sepetys' signing and having to tell people what book we were in line for. Between Shades of Grey is just too too similar to that other book that I am definitely definitely not going to read. Anyway, since I was out of cash I couldn't buy a copy of the paperback of Between Shades of Grey like I was planning. Which is sad because that cover is gorgeous and it would have been awesome to have a signed copy. But her upcoming book, Out of the Easy, takes place in the 50s in New Orleans and sounds even more interesting to me.

* Fangirl, by Ken Baker - This one, that I just happened to stumble upon (the author was signing ARCs) sounds like absolute fun and the type of love story I've been wanting to read for a while. Woo!

Big Girl Small, by Rachel DeWoskin - I wasn't planning on picking up this book but I ran into the author and we ended up talking and now I have a book to read. It's sort of YA but sort of adult.

* Secrets of Shakespeare's Grave - A fun-looking middle grade. It was pushed into my hands right as I was leaving and while I'm not crazy-excited about it like I am for many of the other books I managed to pick up, I'm hoping it'll be a fun, mysterious read. A good middle grade would be awesome.

BOOKS I'M MOST EXCITED TO READ.

In My Mailbox - The ALA Post

Because I know not everyone cares to hear about all the ARCs I got at ALA I'm posting the list after the jump for anyone who's interested.

The ALA Recap Post

I managed to go to all four days of exhibits at ALA's Midwinter Meeting and have so much to say about the experience. It's the first book conference I've been to and I'm absolutely thrilled that I was able to attend. Tons of greatness happened, unfortunately someone (me) forgot her camera every. single. day. and alas there are no pictures. But here are the highlights. ELEVEN OF THEM, in whatever order I think of them in.

1. On Friday I got to hang out with the fabulous Cindy Pon, who is incredibly incredibly sweet and awesome. I also met a few other awesome book people, including Robin, who I talked about books like Columbine and Nineteen Minutes with. (YAY for book conversations!) (Also, she has tons of pictures up on her blog!)
2. Also on Friday was the YA Book Blogger Meetup where I met so many bloggers and librarians. I had a great time talking with and meeting so many people and fangirling over Betsy-Tacy books with other book lovers. Authors, publicists, librarians, bloggers.
3. I now have a Betsy-Tacy tote bag. YEAH.
4. My badge said Ten Cent Notes on it, which made me feel really awesome and legit.
5. TROLLEY RIDING ON SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. It took forever to get there and back but was pretty fun. I enjoy the trolley.
6. I talked to such excellent and interesting people at Flux, Hyperion, Harper, Scholastic, Little Brown, Random House, Penguin, Macmillan, and Egmont. It was like a book geek's special brand of heaven. These conversations included: upcoming themes/trends in contemporary YA, the reissue of the Baby-Sitters' Club series, Across the Universe, Sarah Dessen, Hunger Games, book covers, Lynne Rae Perkins, etc etc etc. 
7. Tons of shiny pretty wonderful ARCs! Including one that was pushed into my hands by someone at the Macmillan group -- a YA scifi without a cover or pub date listed but OMG YOU GUYS. I'm more than kind of in love with it.
8. On Sunday I got to hang out with Khy, of Frenetic Reader! I always love getting to talk to and hang out with her. Such fun is had! 
9. I also met the lovely Amy of My Friend Amy, who I've talked to on Twitter more times than I can count. She's so nice! Just as nice as you'd suspect her of being!
10. At one point Khy said, "That's John Green's editor!" And I didn't see her but I really, really wanted to follow her and meet her. I didn't though.
11. Probably the highlight of the entire thing? I ran into and talked to a librarian who is on next year's Newbery Committee. OMG OMG OMG. I pretty much geeked out over that one. I love the Newbery Award. It's. Amazing.

So the whole thing was incredibly awesome.

I met all kinds of awesome people, got awesome books that I'm excited to read, and overall just had a fantastic time.

On the Topic of Bloggers at ALA

Prompted by some chatter on Twitter (and, oddly enough, Tumblr) about the number of non-librarian bloggers at ALA and how/if this is a problem, I decided to share my thoughts on it. Because, as someone who is a blogger and was at ALA and did get a lot of books, I have many thoughts and I've been trying to organize them in my mind...

I am not a librarian. I don't work in a library, I don't work with school library programs or anything like that. I'm a blogger, aspiring writer, and future elementary teacher. That being said, I wish there were guidelines for bloggers going to ALA. Because honestly I had no idea what to expect. I've never been to a book conference before and went into it almost on a whim, figuring things out as I went. I've been blogging for three years but I still feel like a "fringe" blogger, like I'm not really in the midst of things. I like this, but it also means that my blog is smaller and doesn't have a huge readership. I'm not one of the "big bloggers" by any means and sometimes -- especially at an event where so many of the people are in books professionally, it does sort of put you on a lower level and the expectations can definitely be confusing.

It would be great, I think, if there were some guidelines or even a discussion of what's expected at ALA for book bloggers who aren't professionally involved in the industry. Should we introduce ourselves as bloggers to the publicists we take ARCs from? Should we not keep the ARCs for ourselves but instead donate them to libraries/programs after reading them? What are the rules? 


Because here's the thing: blogging is not something I make money from. It sounds corny to say but people who blog regularly about books really are doing it because they love it and they love books. Sure, some people get into blogging in the hopes of getting "free books," but a blog will not survive if that's the motivation. Anyone who's been blogging regularly for six months, a year, or more, is definitely putting out the effort. (I just switched over to blogspot, but I've been book blogging for three years.) As people who love books, bloggers don't want to be on the naughty list of anyone in the publishing or book industry -- not authors, not publishers, editors, publicists, or librarians. I can only speak for myself, of course, but I think it's safe to say that if there are guidelines regarding bloggers and ALA, we will follow them.


But there are no guidelines.

Some suggested general rules for bloggers in the future, based on my experience at the midwinter meeting?

• Be upfront about the fact that you're a blogger and not a librarian. Talk to the reps at the booths you take ARCs from; everyone I talked to seemed pretty psyched about the blog and more than happy to talk to me and share books/ARCs with me.
• Be selective about what you take. Amazingly enough with all the books I ended up taking home, they were all titles I was very interested in and fairly confident about liking. I didn't take any highly-recommended fantasy or paranormal ARCs because it doesn't interest me and that would just be a waste.

That seems pretty reasonable to me, but then again this is only my opinion and I have no idea what others might think or expect. The thing is that "greedy" is hard to define and as a blogger who absolutely loved ALA, got a lot of ARCs I'm super excited about, and met tons of awesome people it does make me feel a bit bad to have people think I shouldn't have been able to attend as a blogger. It really was an amazing and incredible experience.

So, readers, what's your opinion? And what are you -- blogger? Librarian? Reader? Author? INCREDIBLE PERSON MADE OF AWESOME AND WIN?

(and yes, my recap post is still on its way...)

Contemporary Trends of the Spring

One of the really cool things about being at ALA's Midwinter Meeting was seeing all the upcoming books for spring and summer. In seeing all the books I noticed some definite trends in contemporary YA, some that I'm really jazzed about.

Sports Fiction!

There are a few books coming out that focus on very sports-driven characters who end up getting injured or "losing" the sport in another way. I'm definitely not an athlete and there are very few sports I even slightly follow, but I definitely have a fascination with football (high school football? even better.) and am interested in the whole allure of sports. These books look absolutely great, even for a non-jock like myself.

Foreign Fiction.

I saw tons of MG and YA books themed around immigrants and heritage. I haven't read much of this sub-genre so there are definitely a few books here I'm excited to read and interested to see what I think of them. I'm so glad to see this theme emerging because it's just so different and there are so many different directions for it to go.

Friendship & Betrayal Stories.

OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG.

So many stories about friendships that don't seem right!! It's sad how excited I am about this but I can't help it. I've talked about friendship and especially toxic/unhealthy friendships before on this blog and I definitely have a very personal and intense interest in this. I love that YA is getting away from the theme of "perfect" best friends but at the same time this is a very tricky theme to tackle and it can seem really unrealistic or cliche if not done right. 

What trends have you seen emerging lately? Which are you most excited about?

What I Love About Book People...

...is that they're all so excited! Seriously. I've been at ALA's Midwinter meeting this weekend and talking to fellow bloggers, lots of librarians, and publishing people has shown me that EVERYONE LOVES BOOKS SO MUCH. 

& I love that.

In the past couple of days I've had discussions about the Gallagher Girls series, all the upcoming dystopian novels. I've talked about Lynne Rae Perkins (author of the amazing Criss Cross and even more amazing All Alone in the Universe), who apparently has a YA title out now (!!!). I've had conversations about Sarah Dessen, All Across the Universe, and fangirled over the Betsy-Tacy-Tib books with other bloggers. 

IT HAS BEEN GREAT.

Like many diehard readers (ahem. DIEHARD!!) there aren't a lot of people in my day-to-day, in-person life that are as crazy about books as I am and it's wonderful to talk to others who are just as crazy about books as I am. 

so yeah. ALSO! sidebar poll, please answer it. 

ALSO! I'll quite possibly be doing a more in-depth ALA post later on in the week.