All other pictures on this post are ones I took with my phone (so sorry for any quality loss!). The aforementioned BOW link does have some great stand-alone shots if you want higher quality. :-)
Anyway, the event! So my friend and I hopped on the train Sunday morning. Unfortunately, we had a slow train (1.5 hours; sometimes we get lucky and the train ride only takes 1 hour!), but we still got to New York City with plenty of time to spare. We got to Books of Wonder about an hour before the event and met up with Grace from Livre d'Amour. We did a little shopping, then checked out. At first, we were like, "Wow, we have numbers 472, 473, and 474...How many people will be ahead of us?" Luckily, the signing started with number 471, so we were second, third, and fourth in line instead of in the four-hundreds!
Before the authors began signing, each one talked a little bit about his or her latest book. Tamora Pierce mentioned that she's finally working on a two-book duo revolving around Numair (From the IMMORTALS quartet), which is really exciting! Delia Sherman stated that she's working on a novel about a boy who becomes an evil sorcerer's apprentice, which sounds fascinating. I so want to read this!! Audience members were also able to ask questions. One of the best questions revolved around e-books and the way people are purchasing books now. I felt that John Connolly's reflections on how a lot of people want both were very accurate. I have an e-reader, but I still love holding a physical book, too, or want a copy when it's gorgeous-looking. Wouldn't it be nice to start doing bundles? For example, right now, if you purchase a hardcover copy of WHEN SHE WOKE by Hillary Jordan, you get the e-book for free. I like that mentality!I really enjoyed talking to all of the authors as they signed books. I'll talk about them in the order in which I had my books signed:
Leanna Renee Hieber is so nice! I can't wait to read the two books I own by her (DARKER STILL and, on my nook, THE STRANGELY BEAUTIFUL TALE OF MISS PERCY PARKER). I've been wanting to read DARKER STILL, which is being called "The Picture of Dorian Gray meets Pride and Prejudice, with a dash of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." Um, yes, please! And ...PERCY PARKER is Greek mythology and has a great e-book price that I took advantage of at one point...but have yet to read!!
I loved finally meeting Rae Carson, who I've talked to on Twitter. If you're looking for a good fantasy series, try out THE GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS, which I reviewed earlier this year. CROWN OF EMBERS and THE BITTER KINGDOM will round out the trilogy in 2012 and 2013. I already want them!
I haven't read THE BOOK OF LOST THINGS by John Connolly yet, but not for lack of trying. I bought it earlier this year after Marissa Meyer (Who write 2012 debut CINDER) recommended it last year. I wanted to read it for Fairy Tale Fortnight in April, especially after doing an interview with Victoria Schwab (Author of THE NEAR WITCH) where she talked about it, but the book was long and I ran out of time. I will read this before this coming April's Fairy Tale Fortnight, though! I really loved talking with John (and also listening to him beforehand). Aside from his wonderful accent, he's very charismatic and has a way of speaking that just draws you right in. Instant fan!!
Finally, finally...I had my books signed by the legendary Tamora Pierce. I own every one of this woman's amazing novels. I've been reading her for years; she replaced Madeleine L'Engle as my favorite author and remained at the top of the pack until I discovered Jodi Picoult half-way through college. I still enjoy her books and often compare other fantasy authors, such as Kristin Cashore, Alexandra Bracken, Leah Cypress, etc., to her. Originally, she was supposed to sign and personalize one book and hand-stamp the others because she has carpal tunnel and is getting surgery next month. I don't know if it was because we were at the front of the line and her hand was still fresh or because she could see how yellow my books were and hear how much I loved her, but she hand-signed and personalized every single one of my books...in PURPLE ink, no less! I felt so incredibly honored, especially since I brought multiple books from home (You could bring a book for every book you purchased). She even signed a copy that I will be giving away to one of you lucky readers!!
Anyway, I had such a great time! I also got to briefly meet Kaye from The Paper Reader, who gave me some awesome swag from THE PLEDGE by Kimberly Derting (Thank you so much!!). She couldn't stick around to hang out after the signing, but the rest of us headed over to The Strand, which sells most of its books for half-price, then ate dinner at this delicious seafood restaurant Grace knows, Café Español, in Greenwich Village. After that, we grabbed the subway to the 40s and headed to the Book-Off on 45th St. between 5th and 6th Ave. It used to be that all of their books were $1 or $5, but they re-arranged the store and leveled the prices a bit...though we only picked up the cheap bargains, of course!
Here's a video of everything I picked up on Sunday, including a first-hand look at the personalized signatures!
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