BEA recap and things I learned

First off - I love my friends! It was absolutely fabulous to reconnect with these awesome ladies!

I spent most of my time with Eleni (La Femme Readers), Lexie (Poisoned Rationality), Jenn (Reading with Tequila), Taschima (Bloody Bookaholic), Sherry (Flipping Pages for All Ages), Sandy (Pirate Penguin's Reads), Nikki (Wicked Awesome Books) and Danielle (Frenzy of Noise), Bri (B.A.M. Book Review) and Amelia (Imagination In Focus).

BEA itself was amazing! The amount of book love going on at the Javits Center was off the charts!

Last year was my first time attending and I did a lot of walking around not quite sure of what I was doing. This year, I took the slow and steady approach. I didn't rush to get to anything and if I showed up at a signing or publisher booth and there weren't any more books, or the line was way long and I didn't feel like waiting, I did something else :) And you know what? I'm not disappointed with anything!

Was there blogger drama? (I know you know what I'm talking about). Sure there was. Did I pay any attention to it - or more importantly, witness any of it myself? Nope. That's not to say there weren't rude people. But really? Rude people exist everywhere. Being a blogger (or author or publisher or librarian or teacher) doesn't mean you are a perfect person that never makes mistakes. My life is drama free and I think my attitude severs me and my lifestyle very well :)

Provided you are still reading, you might be asking yourself, but Emily, what did you learn this past week? So kind of you to ask :)

BEA 2011 -- WHAT I LEARNED

*My friends are awesome

*Publishers, for the most part, want to work with bloggers.

     Not saying they haven't wanted to in the past but it was a more prevalent theme this year. I was (a little) more outgoing as far as talking with people and handing out my card but I also felt like the reps I talked too were interested in talking to me. Very cool feeling

*DO NOT use the BEA Shipping area / box up your books room...thingy

     Ok, I have no idea what this is actually called, but this year I finally understand what it is. It's been said that people take things from your box if you check your books, or that the area isn't secure and I've been like - what are you talking about? Boxes? Not secure? Well people - you know what? THERE ARE TWO DIFFERENT PLACES TO LEAVE YOUR BOOKS! BEA itself has a shipping room. You can (buy?) a box and fill it up all week and then pay BEA way too much money to ship it for you. THIS ROOM IS SKETCHY! This is the room where people have had their boxes 'broken' into and books stolen.
     BUT! The Jacob Javits Center has a BAG CHECK station. They do this for all events they hold and it isn't actually affiliated with BEA. It's basically an area set aside on the lower level where you can check a bag. You can pay the $3, visit your bag all day, have the somewhat pleasant ladies watch it for you (every bag has a tag and you have to jump through major hoops to prove who you are if you loose that tag!). The check does have set hours and you can't leave your bag overnight but it's secure.

*Commuting sucks a little

     I grew up on Long Island and my family still lives there so I stayed with them and took the LIRR in everyday. It's cheap and trains run all day and it's a very quick ride for me. So, kinda awesome. BUT! I was so exhausted by the end of each day and I had books to carry that I wasn't up for after hours events. Next year, if we can all swing it, a bunch of us are renting an apartment or hotel in the city. More money, yes - but totally worth it! With NYC declaring Book Week during BEA week each year - there are tons of things going on in the city!

*My friends are awesome

     So awesome in fact that it needs to be said twice

So....did I take pictures? Um...really not as many as I wanted to! Even with Eleni saying "we should take pictures!" a dozen times (pretty sure she didn't take a lot either ;) But  here are a few of my favorites. (You all will NOT be seeing the 'hold camera at arms length and try to fit you and your friend in the frame' pics of Eleni and I b/c those are just sad)

Spent some time on Monday at the Harry Potter Exhibition - it was made of awesome!

That ===> slightly blurry picture is of Lexi, Taschima, Bri and Jen - some of the wonderful people I spent my Monday with.

Monday I also attended the Teen Author Carnival in the smallest, hottest, hardest to find library in NYC.

While there, I snapped this pic of Lexi and Karsten Knight, author of Wildfire due out in July. I'm reading it now and it is fabulous - you should go add it to your wishlists!

I had intentions of taking as many pictures as I could of the wonderful authors who were signing but alas, I only took one:

The beautiful Leigh Fallon, author of The Carrier of the Mark, due out in October.

I really do love NetGalley
And see that lovely lady on the right?
That is the amazing Lindsey Rudnickas, NetGalley's own Digital Concierge.
She was so supportive of my NetGalley April adventure and I can't wait for NetGalley July - we're cooking up some more fabulousness for all you NetGalley lovers out there!

So! There is so much more I can babble on about but I'm already tired of writing so I know you are tried of reading! If anyone has any questions about my BEA experience, email or tweet me and we can chat it up :)