Books – Page 2 – Kristian Beverly

ABA Children's Institute

December 18, 2019December 28, 2024Kristian BeverlyLeave a comment

The whole reason for our traveling was to attend the ABA (American Bookseller’s Association) Children’s Institute. It was all about Children’s Bookselling and the importance of literacy.

There were panels and lots of book signings.

It began with an icebreaker, and attendees could dress up as their favorite characters. I dressed up as Jane from Dread Nation!

A little boy won the contest and some of the Real Adults around me whispered that the boy didn’t realize who’d given him the prize. I had no idea who the judge was and said so.

It was Henry Winkler and I will never live it down.

The next night began a huge book signing. At these signings publishers give out advanced reader copies, which are books that have not come out yet but are made available to generate buzz.

I told my mom that Henry Winkler was at the conference and she said to get something signed by him for her. I did one better. Not only did I get his book signed to her, I took a picture with him. He was very nice.

I watched Ann Patchett speak. She signed a copy of her picture book, Lambslide.

I also watched James Patterson.

On Saturday night, Scholastics had a party with themed food and more books.

This was a highlight. I loved The Hunger Games.

I met Sharon Robinson, Jackie Robinson’s daughter.

I really enjoyed this conference. It was nice to meet booksellers from all over the world and to catch up with friends!

Some of the advanced reader copies and books that followed me home. Thank god we drove instead of flew or some other means of travel. We had a lot of books to bring home.

BEA aka Book Expo America

May 31, 2019December 28, 2024Kristian BeverlyLeave a comment

Yesterday I went to BEA, or Book Expo America. In the context of this blog, it could also be described as Book Breyerfest. So imagine Breyerfest–but with books.

Book Expo America is the largest annual book trade fair in the United States and in the past few years taken place in New York City.

I went with my boss, Michelle. This was our first time attending it. We opted to take the train in because neither of us wanted to drive in the city. Nor did we want to fly. NYC is only 3 hours away from Harrisburg so the train made sense. My sister marveled at why I was taking a suitcase if I was going to be in NYC for only a day. But how else could I carry books home? And trains allow you to have numerous bags–checked and carry on.

We arrived in NYC around 9:30 and walked to the Javis center.

The sky looked pretty ominous the whole day, but there was nothing ominous about the inside of the building.

Once you stepped inside, you entered book wonderland.

BEA is the precursor to BookCon. BEA is for industry professionals–like editors, agents, booksellers, and book media professionals. BookCon is for everyone previously mentioned and readers outside of the industry. We grabbed our badges, which had VIP since we’re ABA members (American Bookseller Association). This gave us access to a special lounge with comfy seats and cool stuff like that.

There were posters promoting upcoming releases. This book sounds p-h-e-n-o-m-e-n-a-l.

Rick Riordan presents is such a cool imprint.

Yes to this one.

There were banners everywhere.

We arrived at the center early so we could check our luggage and meander around for a bit. We met up with a local friend and watched some of a panel about cross platform books.

After that we waited with others for the opening of the trade show.

Once the doors opened, everyone scattered. The publishers-like Penguin, Macmillan, and RandomHouse-had booths. Graphic novelist and Scholastic also had spots.

Everything was decorated and organized so nicely.

There was a wall devoted to books that shaped your life.

Close up.

Publisher booths were decorated with covers of upcoming or bestselling titles.

Another pretty wall.

Some publishers handed out sheets that told attendees the times and titles of books they’d be handing out. The bulk of the books handed out were advanced reader copies, or copies of books that are meant for promotion and aren’t to be sold.

At the end of the day my suitcase was full. I made it to the train station just before it began to pour.

It’d been a spectacular day filled with networking and listening to editors buzz about their choice books in the upcoming year. I’d totally do this again.

This is my final loot! I have a lot of great books to jump into reading.

2016 In Review

January 1, 2017December 28, 2024Kristian Beverly16 Comments

2016 is ticking down to usher in 2017. I took a couple thousand or so pictures so here are some of my favorite pictures from the past year.

Now to books.

This was the last book of 2016. The Space Between by Brenna Yovanoff.

Last year I read 100 new books. This year I managed to hit 55. Even though I didn’t hit as many as last year, I still read some great books. So out of the 55, here are the best ones.

Throne of Glass series by Sarah J Maas.

This is a new adult fantasy series with a strong female protagonist (she’s a talented assassin with a taste for the finer things in life. I really enjoyed these and can’t wait for the next one.

Next up is It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover.

I was still on the cruise when it came out and the second I got home I went to buy it. I wasn’t disappointed. It’s a contemporary hard issues new adult book that stayed with me long after I read the last page. The author’s note at the end made the novel even more real.

My last favorite book of 2016 was also by Sarah J. Maas. It’s A Court of Thorns and Roses series.

It’s another aew adult fantasy set in a really cool world. When Feyre goes hunting to try to feed her family, she kills a wolf. Not long after a creature comes to demand retribution and Feyre is sucked into the world of the Fae. I loved the characters in this and again, Maas created a strong female protagonist.