A Reaper at the Gates Event Recap!

Hello and happy Sunday, readers! I'm excited to present my recap of the Politics & Prose event of the A Reaper at the Gates tour. It was a wonderful event (and my first time attending an event at this particular bookstore!). Check out my recap!

I had actually been on the fence about whether or not I wanted to attend this event, because trips to D.C. are very long and tiring, with the traffic and the sheer distance between Baltimore and D.C. When I saw that Politics & Prose was advertising a pre-event meet & greet (just like the Fairfax B&N did when Renée Ahdieh was in town a few weeks ago), I jumped at the chance. I decided that I hadn't yet preordered the book anyway, so why not preorder the book through P&P and get access to the meet & greet. As it would happen, I was preorder #17 (out of 20), so I was cutting it close!

The meet & greet was lovely! Unfortunately I arrived ten minutes late but it was still great. There were cupcakes, and I got a goodie bag that included my preorder of Reaper, a poster, a button, and the tote bag itself. I got to ask Sabaa a question (what she was working on next, besides this quartet) - she wasn't allowed to say much but what she did hint at is very exciting!

For the main event, Sabaa was in conversation with Everdeen Mason of the Washington Post. Everdeen is very intelligent lady who asked Sabaa some thought-provoking questions, like how the current political atmosphere has influenced her books. You'd be surprised (or maybe not?) to know how much of many current world issues Sabaa wrote into her books. Like refugee crises, refugee camps, cruel dictators, etc. Sabaa is so candid and honest about her political opinions, and I respect that. She isn't afraid to say things out loud. 

I wrote this on Instagram: I was humbled by this event. As an Indian-American girl who loves reading, loves dreaming, but never saw herself in YA lit (or any lit) as an adolescent/teen, I am so grateful to Sabaa for writing from the heart and including a South Asian cast. I am so grateful to her for incorporating heartbreaking, real-world events, like the refugee camps.

But most of all, I am so grateful to her for listening to my story. At the signing table, I told her about my own family's immigration story, how I've always been a dreamer but was pushed into the STEM fields because of my parents (#AsianParents) and because I have no one to fall back on and no financial security. How it's isolating to be an immigrant and/or child of immigrants.

Sabaa listened, understood, and then she encouraged me. She told me to keep dreaming, and to pursue whatever my creative passion is. I almost teared up. Sometimes, you need to hear the words out loud. 

Thank you, Sabaa. For your stories, for your hard work, for representation, for listening. 16-year-old me wished she saw South Asian heroines in stories written by South Asian authors. 22-year-old me is so happy that authors like Sabaa are brave enough for all of us. 

A huge thanks to the amazing staff at Politics & Prose who made this event possible, and special. The event was filled to capacity so there was a long line, but the staff kept things running smoothly and efficiently. I loved the opportunity to attend the meet & greet before the main event, and I really liked being able to get my books signed first because I was a meet & greet attendee! 

And thank you, Penguin, for sending Sabaa to D.C.! I'm so glad I didn't miss the event. =)

Stay tuned for a giveaway (hopefully)! The preorder of Reaper that I bought through P&P was actually my second copy - I didn't need to preorder another copy but I did in order to get access to the meet & greet. So I got that copy just signed (not personalized). I will give it away on Twitter!

Smoke In The Sun Event Recap!

Hello and happy Friday, fellow bibliovores! I'm so excited to present my recap of the Fairfax event of the Smoke in the Sun tour. It was so much fun!

A little background... 

You all probably have realized that I don't go to a ton of book events. I go to the Baltimore Book Festival, but that's pretty much it. The last two years, I've gone to the Nova Teen Book Festival in Arlington, Virginia, since my sister bought a car. Last year I went to the Kristin Cashore event in Fairfax (same B&N as this Smoke event). I've been able to go to more events since my sister bought a car... but only if the events were on weekends (and both NoVa Teen and the Kristin Cashore event were on weekends).

Several weeks ago, Penguin Teen and Renée announced the tour, and I actually squealed when I saw that there would be an event in the D.C./Maryland/Virginia area. But it's a Tuesday! And not in Maryland! BUT. I recently bought a car (literally the same week that the tour was announced), so this ended up being the first trip I took with my car (I consider a trip pretty much anything over 1.5 hours one way). It took over 2 hours to go from downtown Baltimore (where I work) to Fairfax - as Virginia traffic is terrible. My sister came with me and we were initially planning to arrive at 5 PM, grab wristbands at the B&N, and then leave to get dinner. 

But we ended up arriving after 6 PM, which was the start of the meet & greet event. This was a special event that Penguin Teen hosted, for fans that came for 6 PM, to meet Renée and talk in a more personal setting. I hadn't planned to stay for this since I knew we would be starving and would want to eat dinner. BUT we ended up staying, because Renée had been stuck in traffic and arrived around 6:15 PM. 

I'm so glad we stayed. Initially there were about six of us, and then Renée arrived. We got to chat and ask her questions. She told us about her travels, life in Korea, and even some book details about her upcoming projects (but I can't share anything!). 

The best part was that there were cupcakes! Penguin sponsored the event, so the B&N provided the most delicious cupcakes ever.

(I was sitting right next to Renée!!!)

We got pictures with Renée!

The event started at 7 PM. Renée was in conversation with Kami Garcia!

And then there was the signing! I brought a ton of books. Last year, I got all of my Wrath and Rose copies signed, so this year, I only had to bring my Flame and Smoke copies (ARCs and hardcovers). I also brought my paperback copy of Fanfare (Renée's little-known adult debut from 2011), my hardcover copy of Because You Love to Hate Me (which contains a short story that Renée wrote), and my ARC of A Thousand Beginnings and Endings (an anthology of Asian folklore retellings, written by Asian authors). I also brought my Flame in the Mist tote bag, which Renée very nicely signed!

(She signed everything I brought, but this is the inscription in Smoke in the Sun!)

There was some Flame swag - character card packs! There are ten character cards - two per character (Okami, Ranmaru, Mariko, Kenshin, Yumi). 

And finally, I got to meet my dear friend Lena for the first time! Lena and I have known each other for a very long time - one of the "oldest" bloggers I've followed. We met online as Maryland bloggers, but we've never met in person. Lena initially wasn't going to be attending this event, but she changed her mind on Tuesday, and I'm so glad she did. She is as amazing in person as she is online!

Follow Lena on Twitter and Instagram!

And because I seem to be sharing food pictures in recap posts, here was my dinner from that night! We went to a ramen place called Marumen, close by. It was very tasty (and worth the wait)!

This was one of the best book events I've attended. Thank you, B&N Fairfax for making it so special! The staff at this B&N is always so kind and welcoming. I wish this B&N weren't 1.5-2 hours away! And a huge thanks to Penguin Teen for sending Renée to the DMV area (for the second year in a row - she was here last year, at the NoVa Teen Book Festival!), and also for sponsoring the meet & greet. Thank you, Renée, for doing the tour, and signing all of my books, and being so lovely and inspiring. This was a very special event and I'm so glad I could attend. =)

Renée is still on tour! Check out her remaining events:

Monday, June 11th  |  Lake Forest Park, WA

7:00 PM

Third Place Books

In conversation with Sabaa Tahir

Tuesday, June 12th  | Salt Lake City, UT

7:00 PM

Salt Lake City Public Library

Books sold by The King’s English

In conversation with Sabaa Tahir

Wednesday, June 13th  | Tempe, AZ

7:00 PM

Changing Hands

In conversation with Sabaa Tahir

Thursday, June 14th  | Los Angeles, CA

6:00 PM

Barnes & Noble

In conversation with Sabaa Tahir

Saturday, June 16th  | Menlo Park, CA

3:00 PM

Kepler’s Bookstore

In conversation with Sabaa Tahir

Saturday, June 23rd  | Fearington, NC

2:00 PM

McIntyre’s Books

In conversation with S. Jae-Jones and Roshani Chokshi

Jane, Unlimited Event Recap!

Good morning, friends! I hope everyone had a decent weekend. I was away for most of the weekend and so I was very busy... too busy to have a review ready for today! I may post a review tomorrow, if I finish the book I'm reading. 

Today, I'm sharing my recap of the Jane, Unlimited event from the 23rd, in Fairfax, Virginia!

The Recap:

I live in Baltimore County, so traveling to Fairfax is a little lengthy, and very tricky for someone without a car. But I am lucky to have a very nice sister who was willing to drive me, and carry half of my books (I had sixteen), and stay with me at the event. She had read Cashore's Graceling Realm books too, so this event interested her.

Coincidentally enough, B-Fest was also on Saturday! So we went for 1 PM in order to catch the B-Fest fun. The B&N staff started by introducing the panel of YA authors in attendance - Mary Rand Hess, Jessica Spotswood, Miranda Kennealy, Katy Upperman, and Christina June. 

Mary Rand Hess, Jessica Spotswood, Miranda Kennealy, Katy Upperman, and Christina June.

We all played Ad Libs with a short excerpt from each of their books. And then we did the B&N trivia, which was super hard. My sister and I ended up in a close third place, but we still got some cool prizes, like The Hazel Wood tote bags and a few books. I missed out on Batman, sadly!

Mary Rand Hess, Jessica Spotswood, Miranda Kennealy, Katy Upperman, and Christina June with the Three Dark Crowns crown swag from B-Fest!

Fun fact- Christina June used to be a book blogger! Her blog was Allodoxaphobia and she was part of the YADC blogger group. Now she is a YADC author!

The staff at this B&N were awesome. They were all so nice and engaging. And they were totally cool with me bringing 16 books to the signing. I asked if Kristin Cashore had any limitations and they said she said she didn't, and they said they didn't. I bought a book from the store so I ended up with 17 books. 17! It was a lot. 

The Jane, Unlimited event officially started at 4 PM. Kristin came, accompanied by a reporter (whose name I sadly cannot remember!). First Kristin read a short excerpt from the book. Then the reporter asked some questions, and so there a discussion ensued. Kristin is so intelligent and introspective! It was amazing to hear her talk about Jane, Unlimited, her other books, and her life.

Kristin Cashore, reading from Jane, Unlimited.

Then we in the audience got to ask her questions! Some of the things I remember: Kristin is currently revising a new book. She is open to the possibility of writing new Graceling Realm books, though they wouldn't be the next project (or two) in the future. The book she is revising has been influenced by her travels to Iceland. She doesn't think about categorizing her book as "Young Adult" or "Adult", etc. Including sex in her books (specifically, the Graceling Realm books) is more about what the characters would do, rather than what the age level of the book would allow. Kristin isn't interested in doing a lot on social media, because that is time she could be writing or researching. She used to work a "day job" that wasn't writing, and she would try to be as mediocre as possible to stay at the same level and not get promoted. Which is strange and neat!

And then the signing began! There were four of us who were there for B-Fest since 1 PM, so we got to go through the signing first. I asked the other B-Fest early birds to go before me, because of my enormous stack. Behold!

She signed all of them. =) Fun fact: Kristin had never seen a UK ARC of Bitterblue before. So she said to me, "You officially have the only signed UK ARC of Bitterblue!" That was exciting. 

Everyone loved my foreign copies, and my tote bag!

 

Tote bag from Bitterblue publication time. Catalan version of Graceling.

I remember winning two of these during the Bitterblue release week/month events, hosted by Penguin Teen and bloggers. I gave one to my sister and unfortunately my original has since disappeared - it got pretty worn out so I'm sure I had to dispose of it. But luckily, Sara came to the rescue and sent me hers! I am so grateful!

Kristin was so inspiring and lovely, and I'm honored to have had the opportunity to meet her and chat. She is my favorite author and her books are my favorites!

Me, Kristin Cashore, my sister Lily.

I would like to thank Kristin for doing this tour, and for her stories. Thanks to B&N Fairfax for hosting such wonderful events. Thank you, Penguin Teen, for sponsoring this tour. Thank you, B&N, PRH, HarperCollins, etc. for the amazing B-Fest 2.0. And thanks to my sister, who was a real trooper to drive me and carry half of my books and spend the whole day doing "book stuff". She had fun!

Aaaaaand I rounded to the day off with my first pho. Thanks to my sister and her boyfriend Luke for this particular experience (and hosting me for the weekend)!

It was amazing!

That's my recap! Stay tuned for a giveaway, possibly on my Twitter or Instagram. I have a ton of B-Fest goods and an extra Jane, Unlimited ARC that is now signed. =) Have a great week!

NoVa Teen Book Festival/#PenguinTeenOnTour Recap

Hello everyone! Today, I'm recapping my NoVa Teen Book Festival experience! This was the first time I attended the festival, and it was also the first time I attended a #PenguinTeenOnTour stop. I got the combined experience and it was AMAZING!

The Recap:

When the #PenguinTeenOnTour events were released, I was both ecstatic and dismayed to see that there would be two events in the MD/DC/VA area - NoVa Teen Book Festival on March 11th, and B&N Fairfax on March 12th. Mostly I was dismayed, because I have never been able to attend any bookish in DC or VA (and there have been plenty). I'm in uni and I've lived in Baltimore my entire life... getting to DC or VA is pretty difficult when you have no car and no time for public transportation.

But! My sister came in clutch! One day I moaned about how I wish I could go to book events in general, and she asked what event I was looking at. When she saw that the event was in Arlington, she said she would take me and hang out with me there for the day. Best sister ever? I think so!

So I went home from uni on the Friday evening, and the next morning, we woke up really early and headed off to Arlington (~1.5 hours from Baltimore). Road trip! 

After stopping for breakfast, we arrived around 10:15, which was just in time for the first panel - Fantasy!

Alwyn Hamilton, Renée Ahdieh, Wendy Higgins, Peternelle van Arsdale, Mary G. Thompson

Next, we headed to a smaller session! Renée Ahdieh, Lesley Livingston, and Will Walton played The Dating Game. They were asked a series of questions that they had to answer from the perspective of their characters (Shahrzad , Fallon, Tretch). Shahrzad/Renée won!

NTBF volunteer (I can't remember his name!), Renée Ahdieh, Will Walton, Lesley Livingston

GUYS. I was literally feet away from Renée Ahdieh! After the Dating Game ended, my sister kept bugging me to go and talk to Renée, and get a picture with her. Finally I summoned the courage to do so, and I managed not to completely make a fool out of myself! Renée was SO nice! I fangirled so hard (mostly in my head, because I didn't want to freak her out). Ahh!

Renée Ahdieh and yours truly. *fangirls*

After the Dating Game session, we stuck around in the same room for the Family Feud session! That was so much to watch. The authors were broken up into two teams, plus several teen volunteers joined each team. I believe the team on the left won!

Left team: Brendan Kiely, Katie McGarry, Nina LaCour

Right team: Alwyn Hamilton, Wendy Higgins, Jaye Robin Brown

You best believe I squealed when I saw Alwyn Hamilton. Yet again, my sister urged me to talk to her after the Family Feud session. Eventually I summoned the courage and ran over before she left for lunch. SHE IS SO NICE! She asked me my name and then she said that she loved "A" names (Alwyn, Amani... hehehe). I told her I had six books for her to sign and that I was sorry and she might get carpal tunnel. She laughed and said that she was very excited to sign everything! (The signing was at the end of the day.) I adore her! And our outfits matched (sort of)!

Alwyn Hamilton and Fangirl Extraordinaire

Next, my sister and I roamed around and got lunch. The official lunch period was 12:30-1:00, but we also skipped the 1:05-1:45 panel. We checked out the tables, including a table with ladies who were creating buttons! Yes, you read that correctly! My sister and I chose images from old magazines, the ladies cut them out, and made them into buttons. It should surprise exactly no one that we both chose Star Wars images - mine is of the Death Star and X-wings (THIS image, actually), and my sister got one of Obi-Wan in Episode III, wielding his lightsaber. The button maker machine is pretty nifty! I might need to get one. Kidding! Or am I...

We bought food from a food truck outside of the school. Food trucks are great! We got baked beans, mac 'n cheese, and pulled pork. 

After lunch, we headed to a 1:55 panel. We really wanted to make the World Building one with Martina Boone, Lisa Maxwell, and Jodi Meadows, but it was full! The room was packed with people. So we went to the Q&A session exclusively with Lesley Livingston and Alwyn Hamilton. About 5-6 people were there, and we all got to ask questions. It was really cool to hear about how Rebel came to be, especially Alwyn's story behind the inspiration - a boy running into a shop and the girl behind the counter hiding him. 

I asked Lesley and Alwyn when their next books would be published (The Defiant, and Rebel #3). Answers: approximately February 2018 and March 2018, respectively. I also asked them what their next projects were. They have a lot of good things to come!

Lesley Livingston and Alwyn Hamilton

Lesley is SO fun and entertaining. I think she miming something death-related... no surprise there! 

After the Q&A, we headed to the Love on the Rocks panel. I got my first peek at Julie Buxbaum! Julie is so sweet. Katie McGarry was on this panel too, and she is such a great storyteller! She told us about a kiss with her next-door neighbor, and a Homecoming story, and honestly I understand why her books have such great romances. SWOON!

Caleb Roehrig, Rafi Mittlefehldt, Julie Buxbaum, and Katie McGarry

We stuck around in the same auditorium for the Reflection panel. This panel was all about perception, and how you see yourself vs. how others define you. This was a really powerful discussion to hear, with such talented and diverse authors (some #ownvoices, if not all!). 

Jaye Robin Brown, Will Walton, M-E Girard, Tiffany D. Jackson

Finally, in the auditorium was the keynote speech. I am so sad that none of the pictures taken from the keynote speech came out well! They turned off all of the lights except the stage ones, and we were too far away to get a good shot. Friends, let me tell you: Nina LaCour's speech was incredible. I don't know if there was anyone who didn't tear up. Her speech was moving and very, very timely. The gist of what she said: it's okay to be who you are (race, sexuality, religion, etc.) -- YOU are okay. I was so moved, and I wish I had recorded it. Nina, I salute you!

Finally... the signing! We were among the last groups to get to the signing (they called everyone by wristband color, which had to do with who was a VIP ticket holder, and what time you arrived to the festival). I got to meet SO many authors! I'll list them: Renée Ahdieh, Alwyn Hamilton, Julie Buxbaum, Jodi Meadows, Lesley Livingston, Lisa Maxwell, Sarah Nicole Lemon... and I got to meet other authors, though I didn't have books for them to sign. 

Here are the books I brought with me, to be signed:

I got ALL of them signed! First, we headed to Renée Ahdieh's line. Hers was easily one of the longest, if not the longest. Renée is such a sweetie! She asked me what my blog was, I told her, AND SHE TOTALLY RECOGNIZED MY BLOG! I almost cried. She was so, so happy to see all of the books I brought (five total), and she gave me a hug. *fangirls*

Here are two of the inscriptions. These are from the two hardcovers I brought!

Next, we moved on to Alwyn Hamilton's line, which was equally as long. Alwyn's reaction to my enormous stack of books was PRICELESS! She was so excited! And to think, I had two more copies of her books that didn't arrive in time for the signing. Gah!

Yes, this is me:

.@Alyssa_Susanna totally made my day bringing this stack of REBEL and TRAITOR to @NoVaTEENBF. pic.twitter.com/7N2G9I57az

— AlwynHamilton (@AlwynFJH) March 12, 2017

And then we went to Jodi's table! Jodi knew I was coming because I wanted to make sure it was okay if I brought my ARCs of The Orphan Queen and The Mirror King. I have hardcovers of Jodi's books, but they have already been signed. Jodi is incredibly nice and not only signed my ARCs, but she let me have a little fun with her amazing cloak!

And then I went to Julie Buxbaum's table. I'm a little disappointed in myself because I didn't realize that Julie would be at the festival until Friday night, when I was already home... and my copy of Tell Me Three Things was at my apartment. Oh well! It was extremely lucky that an ARC of What to Say Next arrived at the house just days before the festival, because I took that with me.

The coolest thing - when I told Julie my blog name, she recognized my blog! SHE RECOGNIZED MY BLOG! She was like, OHHHH I KNOW YOU! I almost expired on the spot! Check out her inscription in the book below:

Julie Buxbaum and incoherent blogger/fangirl

1. Enjoy!

2. I <3 Eater of Books!

3. You rock!

*fangirls some more*

The lovely people at Abrams sent me an ARC of Done Dirt Cheap a few weeks ago, and I decided to take it with me. Sarah Nicole Lemon was extremely nice and totally cool with signing an ARC. When I was talking to Renée as she signed my books, Renée told me that I would love Done Dirt Cheap. So I'm even more excited to read it! Hopefully next week. =)

Sarah Nicole Lemon and majorly-cheesing-blogger

Of course I got a picture with Lesley Livingston! And I brought my ARC of The Valiant with me. Guys, these authors are so great and literally do not care about the fact that I brought some ARCs for some of them to sign. In fact, Lesley thought my ARC was so cool because it had the gold slip over the cover - something she had never seen before! She was pretty fascinated. :D I love Lesley's vibrant personality!

Lesley Livingston and currently speechless blogger

I didn't post inscriptions from Jodi's, Sarah's, or Lesley's books (or from the majority of Alwyn's or Renée's that I brought) because I don't want to clog up this post with inscriptions! But trust me, I'm treasuring all of them. I appreciate the time these ladies took to sign my books!

But wait! I didn't just meet authors at the festival - no, I got to meet some bloggers/readers, and a publicist. I met a Penguin Teen publicist, which was so cool. Renée pointed me in her direction, and the publicist and I chatted for a few minutes. She was great!

I almost screamed out loud when Cat (@KainesCat) called my name. I'm so glad she did! I had seen her earlier with her beautiful ARC of Flame in the Mist, but she was in a line, so I didn't get her attention then. Guys! Cat is so sweet! And she let me hold Flame in the Mist and I might have gone to heaven for a minute. It's such a big and beautiful ARC! Cat, you are so kind. Thank you for getting my attention! I'm so glad to have met you. We officially met through Susan Dennard's street team (Waterwitch Babes for life!), and now we've met in person. 

Aaaaand, I got to meet fellow Jodi Meadows fan, Sarah Harvey! Sarah (@appifanie) and I are in Jodi's Facebook group. She walked up to me and introduced herself, and I'm glad she did! She is extremely nice and I loved chatting with her. =)

Left picture: Cat and girl-who-almost-jumped-Cat-for-Flame

Right: Sarah and super-happy-to-meet-a-OQSG-member fangirl

So, that was my Saturday! Huge thanks to the authors for being so kind and patient with so many people (probably hundreds) bombarding them. Thank you to the NTBF organizers, sponsors, and supporters. A personal thanks to my sister, who drove me to the festival and also took all of the pictures, and put up with my fangirling and shenanigans. You all know how I am never able to go to these amazing bookish events in DC and VA? Well, this was only possible thanks to my sister. Shout-out and major thanks to her boyfriend for housing me (and her) for the weekend. I love hanging out with both of them, so that was an added bonus to an incredible day.

Before you go!

Keep an eye out for my 1,000,000th pageview post - I'll have several giveaways in celebration, and one will include prizes from this festival. 

Tell me: have you been to a #PenguinTeenOnTour event, this year or in the past? Of those featured in this post, which author would you like to meet the most? Are there any upcoming events in your area that you're excited about?