GIANT BookCon + Employee Appreciation Book Haul!!

There are A LOT of books for this haul!! I'm finally getting around to my BookCon haul (only a week and a half late) but not only that, right after BookCon was employee appreciation week at work! That could only mean that I buy way more books than I need - not that I even don't need books - but with a bigger discount. Just one of the perks of working in a bookstore. I did try to be good and not buy all the books even though I was sincerely tempted to.

BookCon Haul

This first part are all the books that I either bought while at BookCon or snagged free ARC copies of. 

Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
Invasion of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
The Lifeguard by Deborah Blumenthal
Jackaby by William Ritter
The Keeper by David Baldacci
Galactic Hot Dogs by Max Brailler
The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud
The Zodiac Legacy: Convergence by Stan Lee
The Summer I Found You by Jolene Perry
Mafia Girl by Deborah Blumenthal
Passenger by Alexandra Bracken *
The Opposite of Love by Sarah Lynn Scheerger
The Diary of a Mad Brownie by Bruce Coville
Demon Dentist by David Wallace
The Curious Cat Spy Club by Linda Joy Singleton
Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff **

* I didn't actually get the Passenger ARC from BookCon. They weren't giving out ARCs of it there. One of my managers went to BEA and he got me the ARC from there because he knows that's what I read. I really, really, really want to read it!! But I heard it's a super early draft and Alex Bracken has made significant changes to it since then so I'm a little hesitant. 


** Illuminae aka the most beautiful ARC ever created.

This second part is all the books that I got signed by their authors.

Penny Dreadful and the Poisonberry Fortune by Carl Paolino
Hatter M: Far from Wonder Vol 1. by Frank Beddor
The Princess in Black by Shannon Hale
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness *
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

 * Though I got this signed, I actually brought this copy from home and since I brought my own copy of one of his books, Patrick Ness signed and gave me a copy of The Knife of Never Letting Go too because he's awesome like that.


I got a bunch of chapter samplers too though I gave all of them away at work except for the Felicia Day one. I read it and I'm really excited for her book to come out later this year.

 Employee Appreciation Haul

Shadow of the Wolf by Tim Hall
Off the Page by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer
The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
Uprooted by Naomi Novik
John Winchester's Journal by Alex Irvine *
The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette de Bodard **

* I saw this and the Supernatural fangirl in me needed it. There's also Bobby's Guide to Hunting that I want to pick up at some point too. 

** Another book that I didn't buy but got brought back from BEA by one of my managers. 

I admit to having had a minor crisis moment when I realized I had 27 new or ARC books to choose from. But I finally decided I'm going to start with Queen of the Tearling - partly because I've heard good things about it and partly because Emma Watson is supposed to be starring in the upcoming movie version. After that, The Wrath and the Dawn is definitely my next go to.

What books have you guys hauled recently?

My BookCon Experience + May Wrap Up

May was the month where I basically failed from a bookish stand point. But a lot did happen.

Most of May, I was in an epic post-Lunar Chronicles book slump. And I mean this was a terrible slump. I began reading at least five different books before realizing I wasn't in the mood to read any of them. Partially because they weren't living up to the awesomeness that is The Lunar Chronicles. (Though in the books' defense, I probably only made it through the first ten pages of each book, if even.) But, A Court of Thorns and Roses saved me from my terrible slump. It took me a long time to read it but being back in Sarah J. Maas' writing is amazing. This lady knows how to use the words.

One of the more major things that happened in May has nothing at all to do with books but I'm so so so happy for it. I might have mentioned in passing somewhere in a past post that I had braces. For twelve years. Yes, 12. It was ridiculous. And to make matters worse, my orthodontist didn't give me a retainer after he took them off. Instead, I got a "positioner" which is basically a giant mouthpiece (think like what they use in sports only bulkier) that I was supposed to wear for as close to 24 hours a day as I could get. Basically, that didn't happen. I was a freshman in college and still working nights after class so for most of the day I wasn't wearing it. In the end, over time, my teeth reverted right back to how they were before braces. Now though, after diligently saving my money (and finding a capable orthodontist), I was able to get myself Invisalign and I started the process this month. I could not be happier with how it's going so far. I mean, it was a bit awkward at first because I had to figure out how to talk without lisping while I was wearing them. But now that I've gotten used to them, there's been no pain (like braces had) and I barely feel them anymore. I brush my teeth a lot now but that's the only difference. It's still going to take two years to straighten my teeth completely but I'm really happy with the way things are going so far.

BUUTTTT... The most major thing that happened is that I went to BookCon and it was freaking amazing!!! There was so much to do and see!! And books were everywhere - like literally everywhere and almost everywhere I stopped, a booth was handing out a free ARC or a tote or buttons or stickers, posters, chapter samplers... I brought so much stuff home this weekend. I don't know what I'm going to do with it all.

 All the things from BookCon

On Saturday, I met Frank Beddor author of the Through the Looking Glass trilogy which I read a while ago. I bought a copy of Hatter M. Far from Wonder which is book one of his spin-off graphic novel series surrounding Hatter Maddigan (aka his version of The Mad Hatter) and little deck of playing cards with all the characters. He signed the book and also signed a Hatter M. poster which he added for free. I also saw Shannon Hale who wrote a bunch of middle grade girl power princess books like Princess Academy. She was signing and giving away copies of her newest book for beginner readers, The Princess in Black, along with a little black face mask like Princess Magnolia and some stickers. (No shame: I read this during down time at work last week.) I also met Patrick Ness. I almost didn't meet him because by the time we got to his autographing line, it was technically capped because there weren't going to be enough books to give away. But I told the line organizer lady that I brought my own copy of A Monster Calls and she let us in. By the time we got there, there were still a few giveaway copies left so he was nice enough to sign my book from home and give me a copy of The Knife of Never Letting Go and signing that for me too. We also went to the Wands not Required! Exploration of Epic Fantasy for Readers Aged 10-110 panel with David Baldacci, Kevin Sands (debut author), Maggie Stiefvater, and Jackson Pearce. Maggie Stiefvater and Jackson Pearce stole the panel. They were hilarious and I really want to read their new book, Pip Bartlett's Guide to Magical Creatures. I've also decided Maggie is my new author spirit animal. It was a done deal when she described her childhood self as "small and creepy who didn't like hugs."

Sunday was the day I planned everything I wanted to do around Sarah J. Maas. Sadly, it didn't go as well as planned but that was the day that I got almost all of the free things in the picture above. Judging from how Saturday went, my boyfriend and I planned to get there by about 9am. The showfloor didn't open until 10 so we assumed that gave us plenty of time to make it to the line for Sarah's first autographing. But what we didn't know was that they moved everything around on Sunday and let people start lining up for the autographing booths around 7am. Saturday was different - no one was allowed to line up for anything until after the showfloor opened. Needless to say, I missed out on getting my copy of ACOTAR signed which bummed me out but oh well. I also missed out on getting a Throne of Glass Litograph poster signed later in the day but I had a good reason for that. We went to the Fierce is my Middle Name Panel with Rae Carson, Charlaine Harris, and Sarah J. Maas instead and by the time we got out, the line was capped. I'm not too disappointed about that though because the panel was amazing. It was all about the fierce leading ladies these three authors created in their various books and was basically girl power galore. It was honestly extremely inspiring to hear them talk about their process and why they created such badass protagonists that wouldn't give up that hour of listening to them for anything. After that, we caught the tail end of John Leguizamo's panel about his new graphic autobiography. It was cool to see him but I was more excited for the Booktube 101 Panel that came after him with Kat, Christine, and Jesse from YouTube. They were just as awesome in person as they are in all of their videos.

All in all, I had an awesome time at BookCon and I'm so upset that it's moving to Chicago next year and I won't be able to go back. Hopefully in 2017, they'll come back to NYC so I can go again. Now without further ado, here's some pictures from over the weekend:

 

Guys! Guys! BOOKCON is tomorrow!!

Way, way back when in February, I mentioned that I was going to BookCon this year. Now guess what? BookCon is tomorrow!!! And I am beyond excited!!

I'll be there both days. I basically did everything the website said to do to prepare for my first BookCon expedition (actually my first adventure into any kind of con.) I've downloaded the app and synced all the things that I want to do with my phone calendar so that I get notifications half and hour beforehand so I don't miss anything. But there are so many things!! All the panels sound amazing and then there are autograph booths and awesome bookish stuff... I know that I won't get to everything on my list but, hey, a girl can try right?

I'm most excited to see Felicia Day (aka Charlie for Supernatural fans - by the way, the season finale this year killed me), Rainbow Rowell, and Marissa Meyer on Saturday and Sarah J. Maas and Kat, Christine, and Jesse from Booksplosion on Sunday. But really, if out of all the things I bookmarked for both days I only got to get an autograph from Sarah J. Maas, I'd be a happy camper. Like a really happy camper.

Lots of pictures will happen and since this week is also special employee discount days at work, a giant BookCon/Summer Reads book haul is to be expected in the near future.

April Wrap-Up

This April was the month that I discovered the absolute AMAZINGNESS that is Marissa Meyer. So, so far this year, I've discovered two new authors who have hit the higher end of my favorite authors of all time list. The first was the wonderful Sarah J. Maas and now, the lovely Marissa Meyer.

I literally spent all month just reading straight from Cinder all the way through to Fairest. Seriously, no fairytale retelling I've ever read has been as amazing as these four books. Marissa Meyer is a retelling queen. The way she incorporates the original story into her own story is so seamless that you almost forget you're reading a retelling and several times (particularly in Scarlet and Cress) it was so seamless that I forgot to watch out for any pieces of the original story that were moving the plot along.

In short, read the Lunar Chronicles. That's not a suggestion. You really need to. Go on now... go read them.

Books I read this month:

     

   

 Click the covers to read my reviews. I haven't reviewed Cress or Fairest yet but that's on my to do list. I won't be reviewing Amulet on here but I did a short review on Goodreads. 

Fairytale Reading Challenge 2015: I'm counting all four Lunar Chronicles books towards my goal. They were retellings of Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and Snow White. Technically, Fairest isn't a full retelling but it could count towards a retelling of the history of the Evil Queen so I'm going with that. All in all, I'm at 6 out of 16-20 books of my goal. Pretty on track in my opinion. I can't say the same thing for my yearly Goodreads Challenge though where I'm currently five books behind schedule.

In other news, BookCon has finally uploaded their event schedule. I will be there both days and I'm super excited about it. Like really, I'm way beyond a normal person's level of excitement. I might do a post of all the panels I plan on attending, maybe, but that's only if I ever make a decision as to what I actually want to go to because if I could, I would go to them all.

That's it for update-y things. Let me know if you read anything exciting in April. Or what authors have you discovered this year that have blown you away? Also, is anyone else going to BookCon? If so, I hope to see you there!

February Wrap-Up + Psst! I'm going to BookCon!!

To be honest, February was a really slow reading month for me. I'm now five books behind on my Goodreads Reading Challenge and I haven't read anything for my fairytale retelling challenge. After reading through all the Throne of Glass books in January, I started Assassin's Blade at the beginning of February, and I'm only half way through with it. It's not because I'm not enjoying it. Actually, it's quite the opposite. But I know that once I'm done with Assassin's Blade, I will have RUN OUT of books about Celaena and her adventures until Queen of Shadows comes out in the Fall. It's just so far away and I'm just not ready to let go!!

Also, another reason why I haven't been reading too much this month is I have found a new obsession and it's name is Pinterest. Oh my gosh, I just love it so much. Now, I've actually had a Pinterest account for a while but I never knew what to do with it and I never really got the whole point of it. UNTIL NOW!! I have 13 boards already - most of which are dedicated to my favorite fandoms and that's only the beginning! Now I have a place to gather all my favorite fanart and quotes and other lovely bookish things all in neat little piles. Which is amazing because A) fanart is amazing though it reminds me of my lack of drawing skills, B) going through quotes and gifs is like rereading my favorite books without actually rereading them, and C) they're all in neat little piles! Okay, they're called "boards" but same difference - they're organized and neat and that's what matters.

Now for the epically exciting news: I'M GOING TO BOOKCON!!!!

 

This year will be the second year for BookCon. It's something that was previously called Power Reader Day and is a part of the BEA Convention that happens every year for book industry professionals. However, BookCon is open to the public rather than just being for the pros so anyone can get tickets. I really wanted to go last year but I heard about it too late and wasn't able to get off work or get tickets in time - which doubly sucks because Rick Riordan was there last year and well, he's Rick Riordan. 

This year BookCon will be on May 30-31 at the Javits Center in New York. I heard some good and bad things about BookCon last year. Considering it was their first year though, I'm hoping they've worked a few more kinks out this second time around. This is year they are doing it a little differently mainly because the convention will be set up over the course of a full weekend (last year it was just one day) and I have tickets for both days. I'm so excited!! So many awesome authors will be there including Sarah J. Maas, Rainbow Rowell, Marie Lu, Alexandra Bracken, Sarah Dessen, Marissa Meyer, Leigh Bardugo, Libba Bray, and Jenny Han. Those are only the ones I'm most excited to see but there are so many more amazing authors who will be there. Major publishing companies like Random House, Penguin, Candlewick, HarperCollins, Hatchette, and Simon Schuster will also be exhibiting. As of right now, it's too early to know exactly what events will be held. Last year, there were author panels, Q&As, autographing sessions, special screenings, and trivia games. 

I'm sooooo excited - did I mention that already? Because it's true I am. I have no idea how I'm going to do everything I want because I want to do EVERYTHING.

That's all I have for updates right now. Is anyone else going to BookCon? Or did you go last year? Any pointers or words of wisdom to get to do all the things? I already know I have to get there early. That's one perk of living just across the river from New York City. I can get there in just ten minutes if there's no traffic. Though I'm always expecting traffic. 

Also, one last thing: a new layout design is coming and I'm so so so SO excited for that too.