Book Expo America 2012: Welcome!

Hello, from somewhere in Maryland! I’m posting this from the train from DC to NYC, where I’ll be spending the next week for Book Expo! If you’re coming here because I’ve handed you a business card at BEA or you’re visiting from Armchair BEA, welcome and feel free to look around.

This will my third BEA and I think I’ve finally got the hang of this thing. I’ll be posting sporadically during the week, but this is a sticky post to say hello and introduce myself, particularly if you’ve never visited my corner of the Internet before. If you’re looking for new content, either that I’ve posted before BEA or during, scroll down. If you’re looking for more regular updates and to keep track of me on the BEA floor, find me at @homebtwnpages on Twitter and, less regularly, on the Home Between Pages Facebook page.

If you want to meet up at Book Expo, drop me a line on Twitter, or email me (click the envelope icon in the right toolbar). I’ll have my phone (and an extra battery pack!) on me and checking it regularly. If you see me hanging out in an autographing line, please say hello – I love making new friends :).

About A Home Between Pages

I’ve been blogging here for almost three years, since July of 2009, and since that time, my book life has changed pretty significantly. My day job is as an editor at a newswire, and I’m also about halfway done with my Master’s in Publishing from George Washington University. (My professors were understandably very cool about me missing classes this week). I’m also a regular contributor to Book Riot.

All of this means that my day-to-day life is incredibly busy, but the hope is that eventually I’ll be able to make a full-time transition to working in books in NYC.

I read and review mostly literary fiction, though I have pretty broad taste and read everything from YA to memoir to non-fiction to mystery. I do accept review copies, but as I am so busy, I am very selective about what I will take. Take a look at my review policy and the kind of books I read most on my Goodreads page. (And yes, if you ask to see the semicolon tattoo, I’m happy to oblige).

Again, I can’t wait to see old friends and make new ones. See you soon, BEA!

#24in48: Hour 12 Update

We are a quarter of the way through! Huzzah!

How’s everyone holding up so far?

I was up at 8am this morning and so far I’ve finished one book and have started on a second, Defending Jacob by William Landay.

Let me know where you’re at!

Progress
Pages: 154
Books Completed: Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall
Hours: 3.5
My View:

Welcome to the #24in48 Readathon!

It’s midnight which means it is the official start of the inaugural “24 in 48 Readathon” and I could not be more excited!!

I’m a bit handicapped at the moment – my Internet access is spotty and I’m writing this on my iPad. So we’ll do the best we can until I’ve got more to work with.

As I said in the initial post, this is going to be super casual. Read what you can when you can and try to track your time. I’ll be updating here periodically and will likely be more active over on Twitter. I’ll be using the hashtag #24in48 and I encourage you all to track your progress there too.

As I said in my First Line Friday post earlier today, I’m starting with Ender’s Game. And after that, I’ve got a whole stack of books to choose from for tomorrow too:

Plus, since I’m dog sitting for my boss, I’ve discovered a bunch of books on her shelves I’m dying to read as well. There very well might be some shuffling this weekend!

But since this is the Readathon for #readerswithlives as zeteticat so aptly called it, I’m headed to bed to get a fresh start for the morning. See you in the a.m.

Last-minute BEA Tips!

As I wing my way to New York for Book Expo, I wanted to offer a couple of quick tips I’ve learned from my previous two trips.

First: it is absolutely essential to have a schedule worked out with must-dos. The wifi reception in Javits is crap, so I always have a printed copy with me with a pen to add new events/signings and cross off ones I’ve reconsidered, as well as a highlighter to keep track of new must-dos. Also, in my schedule, I’ve double, triple and even quadruple booked myself for certain time frames: don’t feel like you have to only plan on doing one thing during a 30-minute block of time. For many signings, you can jump in line, get the book inked, and still make it across the convention floor for a galley grab or two. And when you’re in the moment, you’ll be better able to gauge what gets priority and make the call with EVERYTHING you might want to do in front of you.

Second: take a look at my Pinterest board for my BEA essentials. I find that I only carry what I absolutely have to on the floor because you’ll easily get overloaded with galleys and other bookish paraphernalia. Everyone says it, but it is that important: wear comfortable shoes! (And bring more than one pair – you never know if a pair you thought was comfortable will give you blisters and you need to switch footwear for the next day.)

In the mornings, I always grab an iced coffee (cream and sugar!) and bagel from a street vendor on my walk from the Subway to Javits. There are always several parked in the few blocks on the way and it’ll cost you a couple bucks rather than the $8-$10 a stop at Starbucks will cost you. I have tickets to the Breakfast events every morning, but I sit in theater seating in the back with my own iced coffee and bagel, avoid the higher ticket price, and usually end up with a better breakfast anyway. If you have the option this late in the game, it’s a much better alternative. And yes, the Breakfast events are totally worth it if you do theater seating.

Speaking of getting overloaded, decide before you get there on Tuesday how you’ll be handling the galleys you pick up. For the last two years, I put a tote bag or rolling suitcase in bag check and then came back over the course of the day to add to that bag. I will still probably do that this year, but rather than carting all of those galleys/books home on the train in my suitcases, I plan to mail most of those books home from the post office. We’ll see how well that works out.

Here’s a piece of advice that I swore I would follow after my first year at BEA, but proved much harder to stick to than I thought: only take books you know you’ll read! I am guilty of being overly optimistic about my reading and reviewing capabilities and many books from BEA have gone unread. I know I’ll struggle with this again this year, but if I can’t take my own advice, maybe you can instead.

There are lots of events happening in New York during Book Expo, as part of New York Book Week, and if you find something that interests you, make an effort to go. There’s some great things happening at the NY Public Library and several local bookstores are having readings and parties. Even if you don’t have anyone to go with, you won’t regret stepping outside your comfort zone and attending a real NYC book event.

Along those same lines, make an effort to get to at least one local indie bookstore. There are so many great ones in New York and you can do a search for one near your hotel on IndieBound.

Finally, don’t be afraid of down time. There were always times in the afternoons after a day at Javits where I felt like I should be out exploring NYC or hanging out with other bloggers, but what I needed most in that moment was a disco nap to keep me going for the evening of parties or some quiet time to myself. If you let yourself enjoy those rare moments of down time, you’ll be much happier by the end of the week.

That’s it! Those are my best tips – I hope it helps, and I look forward to seeing everyone there!

Looking ahead: Book Blog UNCON

We are officially 5 days away from the Book Blog UNCON, which I posted about here. I’m getting really excited for this DIY conference, and looking at the list of attendees, some I know and some I’m dying to meet, I know it’s going to be a great day.

The organizers of the UNCON have asked attendees to come up with suggestions for sessions, that either they could lead or that they’d like to explore more in discussion. I’ll be honest, I was feeling a little like I don’t have much to add since this blog has been on an informal hiatus since I started grad school, but the more I thought about it the more I realized I do have things to talk about. So here are a few sessions I feel like I could contribute to and that I would love to explore in more depth.

• SEO, Social Media Branding and Why It Matters: As my day job is as a Customer Content Specialist for a news distribution agency, much of my 9-5 life directly or tangentially revolves around optimizing content. I can talk a little about what SEO means and how bloggers can employ tips and tricks to improve their search engine visibility. I also want to talk about establishing a presence on multiple social media sites like Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter and Google+, and how it’s relevant to SEO. If anyone else has any Best Practices ideas, this would be the place to bring them.
• I also wanted to discuss blog/life balance and how people maintain enthusiasm for blogging when life gets overwhelming. This session could also include strategies for productivity or time management, or how you know when its time to take a break. Also, relevant to this discussion is managing relationships with publishers and authors when you’re stepping back from blogging and reviewing.
• I don’t know that this is something I could lead, but if there’s someone there that can talk about migrating from WordPress.com or Blogger.com to WordPress.org and best strategies for going self-hosted, along with blog design, CSS and more, I’d be really interested in pulling out my laptop and actually starting the process of switching over.

Even if these topics don’t make the planning board, there are so many great suggestions for sessions that I’m sure there will be no lack of take-away ideas.

Will you be at the Book Blog UNCON? Are you interested in coming? It’s not too late to register (for free!) – you can do that here: http://bookbloguncon.wordpress.com/register-for-the-uncon/

Keep your eyes peeled the rest of the week for more Book Expo America posts!

Remembering the Rumpus & Maurice Sendak

On May 8th, the literary world lost a wonderful storyteller and illustrator, Maurice Sendak. Alongside Roald Dahl, Sendak was the loudest voice of my childhood imagination. And like Dahl, he was often described as not only telling stories to entertain, but to be honest with children. He didn’t bullshit them. He once said,

I don’t believe in children. I don’t believe in childhood. I don’t believe that there’s a demarcation. ‘Oh you mustn’t tell them that. You mustn’t tell them that.’ You tell them anything you want. Just tell them if it’s true. If it’s true you tell them.

What better endorsement for a children’s book writer than that? Children can smell bullshit from a mile away and he would have none of that. I’ve been trying, since he died, to figure out how best to blog about the impact his work had, but I keep coming up short. Why is this?

I think most of the reason is that his words are so engrained that it’s hard to separate out and measure the loss. As an example, his short book, Pierre: A Cautionary Tale is part of the family lexicon. My mom and dad, my aunts and uncles, my cousins…we all know that if we dared to say, “I don’t care!” it would immediately be met with the response, “Do you know what happened to Pierre when he said ‘I don’t care?’ He got eaten by a lion!” I’m 28 and it STILL happens.

I cannot buy books for friend’s who are pregnant without including a copy of In the Night Kitchen (for boys) and The Sign on Rosie’s Door (for girls). In my mind they are part of the essential children’s library and I always make it my mission to include a copy no matter what else is on the shower gift registry. Inevitably, someone else will give Where the Wild Things Are, but I prefer the stories that are lesser known.

The Sign on Rosie’s Door is by far my favorite of Sendak’s work, and I even bought myself a new copy after I discovered my childhood copy had been given away to a younger relative. If you’re not familiar (or even if you are), I highly recommend watching this video of the incredible Meryl Streep reading the book (and doing ALL the voices) at Maurice Sendak’s 80th birthday tribute.

For me, Sendak’s genius, fully on display in Rosie, is the ability to juxtapose the power and transformative nature of imagination with the reality of being a kid. There is no threshold between the two and as Sendak once said himself, “Children do live in fantasy and reality; they move back and forth very easily in a way we no longer remember how to do.”

What is your favorite Sendak? Have you also been jonesing like I have to go buy up his whole catalog?

Also, how much do you love this Sendak story:

“Once a little boy sent me a charming card with a little drawing on it. I loved it. I answer all my children’s letters — sometimes very hastily — but this one I lingered over. I sent him a card and I drew a picture of a Wild Thing on it. I wrote, “Dear Jim: I loved your card.” Then I got a letter back from his mother and she said, “Jim loved your card so much he ate it.” That to me was one of the highest compliments I’ve ever received. He didn’t care that it was an original Maurice Sendak drawing or anything. He saw it, he loved it, he ate it.”

End of Read-a-thon Wrap-up

Sooo how did you guys do yesterday??

I have to say, I think this was my most productive read-a-thon ever. I really made an effort to read the whole time, and I’m happy with the progress I made, especially over the later half of the day. I was able to stay up until 3am, which I think is close to a new record for me during a read-a-thon. Only during my first one was I up later. I think I probably could’ve stayed up later but I have plans today that involve being outside and craft beer and food trucks and I need to be functional for that.

I also got some books crossed off my TBR list that had been lurking, and according to Goodreads, I’m now two books ahead of schedule for my goal of 52 for the year.

Here’s the final end-of-event meme:

1. Which hour was most daunting for you? The last one, hour 19. I was definitely feeling sleepy by that point.
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? The Masque of the Red Death was really a fast read and I tore through that right when it counted and I needed a high-interest book to keep me motivated.
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? Honestly, I was kind of disappointed in the lack of cheerleader comments I got. I don’t think there were any official cheerleaders until the very end, and I had to ask for it. I didn’t realized how much I rely on that motivation, when I get an email notification that someone’s commented on the blog.
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? This is a personal thing, but I think having one blog post and updating it throughout the day worked great for me. Its been tough for me to figure out a system that works best for regular updating, and that doesn’t clog people’s feed readers. I think this might be the way to go from here on out. I also liked that I set out 3-hour intervals to stop and post updates. It wasn’t always right at 3 hours, but it seemed to work well enough. I didn’t feel like I was missing out on something by reading too much, and I also felt okay about putting the book down and taking a break because I’d planning it out.
5. How many books did you read? I read 3 full books, and almost half of a fourth.
6. What were the names of the books you read? Why Be Happy When You Can Be Normal?, The Masque of the Red Death, Home and Gold.
7. Which book did you enjoy most? Surprisingly, I think I liked Home the best.
8. Which did you enjoy least? There wasn’t a single book in my stack that I didn’t love, but Why Be Happy When You Can Be Normal? was probably the slowest of all the books I read. It was still a wonderful read though.
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? I wasn’t a cheerleader.
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? Very likely, and one of these days I’d like host a mini-challenge.

Read-a-thon – Let’s Do This!

Note: I’ll be updating this same post all day so as to not create more posts in people’s readers. New updates will be on top!

Hour 20 – UPDATE #6

Well, it’s 3am and I think I’ve had it. I have to admit though, book #4 – Gold by Chris Cleave – is so good that I’ve been fighting sleep for the last half hour because I just want to read a little bit more. I do actually need to be functional tomorrow, so with that, I’m shutting down my read-a-thon for the night. Hopefully I’ll be back before 8am to do one final update, but considering that’s only 5 hours from now, I’m not holding my breath. I hope everyone had as successful a read-a-thon as I did.

Here’s my last update before I hit the sack:

Books: Why Be Happy When You Can Be Normal?, The Masque of the Red Death, Home and Gold (and some Angela’s Ashes on audio)
Pages: 764 + 45 minutes of audio
Update: I’m cooked. See everyone in the a.m.

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Hour 16 – UPDATE #5 + Rereading Mini-Challenge

I love this pace I’m keeping up, but the sleepiness is starting to hit me. But I’m back because I’ve finished book #3, Toni Morrison’s Home. Wow, what an incredibly powerful and utterly quiet book. I’m definitely going to need some time to process that one.

My mom has officially called it quits for the night, but even though I’ve finished my third book of the day, I’m feeling great, and I’m tempted to start my fourth, rather than pack it in.

Here’s where I’m at:

Books: Why Be Happy When You Can Be Normal?, The Masque of the Red Death, and Home (with a little bit of Angela’s Ashes on audio thrown in.
Pages: 622 + 45 minutes of audio
Update: I’ve decided to do a mini-challenge as a way to wake myself up a bit!

The Blue Stocking Society is hosting this hour’s mini-challenge and they’re asking about books we most enjoy rereading. I have to admit, I’m not a huge rereader. I always have so many new books on my TBR list that sometimes it feels like a waste of time to go back to books I’m already familiar with. That being said, rereads do have a cozy blanket-like feel to them, and wrapping yourself in something familiar like that can be so comforting. Which is probably why all my favorite rereads are books I loved as a kid: Matilda or The BFG by Roald Dahl, the Alice books by Phillis Reynolds Naylor, Jason and Marceline or Who Put That Hair In My Toothbrush? by Jerry Spinelli. It’s also probably why, at some point in the near future, I’ve got a reread of all seven Harry Potter novels planned. Sometimes you just need that cozy blanket feeling, right?

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Hour 14 – UPDATE #4

I’ve just finished up my second book of the ‘thon. I’ve got chocolate chip cookies in the oven and I’m just about to start Toni Morrison’s Home.

But first the mid-event survey (even though I’m a touch late):

1. How are you doing? Sleepy? Are your eyes tired? I’m actually feeling really great. Not sleepy at all, but I do think I’m going to have to move to a different spot soon. My reading chair is getting cramped.
2. What have you finished reading? Why Be Happy When You Can Be Normal? and The Masque of the Red Death
3. What is your favorite read so far? I really couldn’t choose. Both books are fantastic and so incredibly different from each other, there’s no way to compare.
4. What about your favorite snacks? Earlier this afternoon, I had garlic hummus with pita and orange peppers, but I’ve got cookies fresh from the oven and those just might win.
5. Have you found any new blogs through the readathon? If so, give them some love! Sadly, not a lot of blog hopping this time around. Maybe as the crowd thins a bit, I’ll poke around some new ones.

Total Pages: 519 + 45 minutes of audio, listened to Angela’s Ashes while running errands.

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Hour 11 – UPDATE #3

Wow, I’m just speeding along. This stopping-every-three-hours thing seems to be working well for me, but as we move into the evening we’ll see how well that keeps up.

Since I last checked in, I’ve read 240 pages in Masque of the Red Death and I’ve got about 70 pages left to go. But first a quick errand before dinner! I hope everyone is having a great read-a-thon and I’ll be checking in soon.

Book: The Masque of the Red Death
Pages: 440
Update: I’m so happy I decided to switch to YA before tackling Toni Morrison. Home is a short book, but I needed an easy read between that and Winterson’s memoir. No mini-challenges, but I’m really feeling like I’m on a roll, and I’m not missing them that much. Let’s up this errand doesn’t mess that momentum up.

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Hour 8 – UPDATE #2

I did it! Finished my first book, and right on schedule. And what a great read!

I’m taking a short break to do some cheering and then I think I’m moving on to Masque of the Red Death. How great is this cover, btw?

I need something quick and dirty before I jump into another heavy read, like Gold by Chris Cleave or Home by Toni Morrison.

Book: About to start The Masque of the Red Death
Pages: 200ish
Updates: My mom has officially joined the Read-a-thon party. She’s curled up on the couch with Divergent and, while I normally listen to quiet music while I read, sometimes the best kind of soundtrack is the whisper of mutually turning pages :). I’m definitely going to be feeling the sleepys soon though, so perhaps a change of scenery to the porch is in order.

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Hour 6 – UPDATE #1

Well I haven’t updated as frequently as I’d like, but I did take a break at the 3-hour mark to shower, clean my bathroom, and throw my sheets in the wash, though I did the last two with a book in my hand (multitasking FTW!).

I’m also being really selective about the mini-challenges and have so far only entered one, aside from the intro post.

Here’s how I’m doing so far:

Book: Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?
Pages: Since I started, I’ve read about 120 pages. But clearly I’ve done a lot of other stuff too. I’m expecting to finish before I check in next time.
Updates: I’ve moved venues, from my apartment to my parent’s, and even stopped for some lunch (all while reading, of course – I wasn’t driving!) I’m going to try to put in a solid 90 minutes of reading and be back at 3pm EDT.

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I’m actually starting Read-a-thon right on time this morning! I even set an alarm and everything – I’m so dedicated :).

This is the fourth or fifth read-a-thon I’ve done, I can’t even keep track anymore, but I’m looking forward to getting a lot of reading done.

I’ve got my first book ready, and I’ll be making my way downstairs for some coffee soon (as soon as my allergy meds kick in). I’m starting with Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? by Jeanette Winterson, since I’m already knee-deep in it.

To kick off read-a-thon, I thought I’d post a quote from that book:

So when people say that poetry is a luxury, or an option, or for the educated middle classes, or that it shouldn’t be read at school because it is irrelevant, or any of the strange and stupid things that are said about poetry and its place in our lives, I suspect that the people doing the saying have had things pretty easy. A tough life needs a tough language — and that is what poetry is. That is what literature offers — a language powerful enough to say how it is.

It isn’t a hiding place. It is a finding place.

With that as my inspiration for the day, let’s start with the Hour 1 intro:

1. What fine part of the world are you reading from today? I’m reading from Washington, DC, within spitting distance of the Capitol.
2. Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? I’m most looking forward to Home by Toni Morrison. I’ve got an egalley that is calling my name.
3. Which snack are you most looking forward to? I love taking a break and making cookies during read-a-thon, but I stick to the premade dough so I can do it one-handed with a book in the other. I’ve got Tollhouse mini’s ready to go!
4. Tell us a little something about yourself! I’m getting my Master’s in Publishing, and I’m about to start my third semester. It’s a ton of work but for a publishing/book nerd, I couldn’t be happier that I decided to go back to school.
5. If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to? As I said before, I’ve done several read-a-thons now, and one thing I always struggle with is balancing the mini-challenges, tweeting, updating my blog, cheering and then somehow an hour’s passed and I haven’t read a single page. This year, I’m going to check in online once every three hours, for 15-30 minutes, and that way it’s on the schedule and I don’t feel overwhelmed or like I’m neglecting my fellow read-a-thoners or my blog.
   

I’ll be updating this one post all day, so CHEERLEADERS, please leave comments here; I appreciate the support!!

Oh Hey, Read-a-thon!

Somehow, the spring 24 Hour Read-a-thon completely crept up on me this time around. But I’m super excited that it’s falling in the scant two weeks between my Spring semester and Summer semester at school. (Yes, my summer semester starts on April 30th.) I am absolutely participating – in fact I had plans for tomorrow and canceled. That is dedication, people.

Because I’ve had so little time to prepare myself, things are going to be a little less formal around here. I’m not going to be able to read for charity this time around (though I may change my mind), and I’m not really setting out with a list of books set aside for read-a-thoning.

Oh who am I kidding? I’m definitely starting with a list of some kind. This is what I’ve got on the docket as options.

This time around, it’s going to be all about the pleasure of the read. I’ve got a good selection from across genres, with some faster reads throw into the mix of the more hefty books. I really wish I could read all of these in the next day, but I don’t think anyone is that fast!

I’ve got some chores to do in the a.m. but that’s what audiobooks are for right? And then its going to be breezy for the rest of the day. My mom is even going to participate, though she’s not doing the full 24-hours. I’m going to escape my buzzy group house and take full advantage of her air-conditioning and full fridge.

I’ll be updating throughout the day, with a sticky post up top, so come say hi!

A Different Way of Doing Things: Book Blog UnCON

Perhaps you’ve heard of this small thing that’s brewing as an alternative to BEA Blogger Conference? The Book Blog UnCONFERENCE is the brain child of Jeff of The Reading Ape, and some prodding by a few other people, including Rebecca at The Book Lady’s Blog (and me, which mostly consisted of Twitter messages that just said, “YES!”).

I had the pleasure of attending the first two Book Blogger Conferences before they were bought by Reed Exhibitions, who runs Book Expo America. As a new blogger, the first year, I found the conference to be helpful and educational and I met some fellow bloggers that I never would’ve met or read otherwise. I didn’t know much about book blogging and having the opportunity to make connections with publishers, authors and fellow bloggers was a dream come true. I wasn’t taking review copies at that point, and I’d never thought that I’d have the audience to support such a leap. But here we are two years later, and I’m at a totally different place in my blogging.

I’m trying to actually make a career of this publishing thing – hence the Master’s in Publishing – and my scope of blogging is much broader. I feel privileged to have the connections in the industry that I do, but I also think I’ve got a long way to go.

At last year’s Book Blogger Con, I was less excited about the actual sessions, and more psyched about the connections I was making. One of my favorite moments from BBC: hanging out in the hallway with a bunch of fellow bloggers – some I knew and some I was just meeting for the first time – and discussing something totally unrelated to any formal session that was happening in the rooms around us. And those connections were far more impactful to me individually than some of the sessions BBC ran. Not because of the quality or topics of the sessions, but because I was at a different place with my blogging.

After some hullabaloo with registering for this year’s BBC, which included the powers that Be asking for blog stats, not publishing session topics or speakers and not making the BEA/BBC registration part clear, I was feeling very jaded by the whole shebang. I was not the only one. Jeff decided that we could totally host an alternative, one that is attendee driven, topic-focused, and organic. And the UnConference was born.

While it’s still in the planning phase, there’s a lot of excitement. The Center for Fiction has graciously offered up space for free, which means that registration for bloggers is free. A crucial part of making the UnCon successful is getting people to come, to suggest sessions, to just be their generally awesome selves.

Jeff noted this point on a follow-up post here that I want to reiterate. This is NOT a revolt or a protest, and its not directed at any one person or decision made by BEA/Reed. Its a matter of wanting to attend an event that’s by bloggers for bloggers, that takes our collective knowledge and puts it to work. We’re going to have plenty of time to interact with publishers and authors during BEA, but our needs and wants as bloggers are unique and we want an event just for us.

If this sounds like something you’re interested in attending, register HERE and follow the UnCon on Twitter for updates.

I’ll post next week with some conference session ideas I have, but please sign up and spread the word!