Thursday, July 2, 2015

ALA San Francisco June 2015 - Event Recap & Giveaway

Crystal and I (Arlene) are excited to share our adventures from this weekend’s annual ALA Convention that was held in San Francisco, CA. This is our third annual event attending together, and we had a blast hanging out all weekend. We’ve been book buddies for close to seven years, but unfortunately we live states away, so to be able to meet once a year and pick up right where we left off is always a treat.

Our weekend adventure started off on Friday, June 26th at the San Francisco International Airport where our planes landed within minutes of each other, so we met at baggage claim and quickly hurried off to grab our rental car and tour the lovely Financial District in San Francisco. The entire weekend included meeting with publishers and authors, finding cool diners to eat at, and touring the city during our downtime. If my walking app is anywhere near accurate, we averaged about 8 miles of walking a day!
Friday night was the grand opening of the exhibit floor, where we got the chance to talk to publishers and authors about up-and-coming releases and pick up some summer and fall Advanced Reader Copies (ARCs). The most advertised releases this year were Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, as well as Circus Mirandus by Cassie Beasley, which I was lucky to get a copy of each.
 
At this three day event, there were several authors we were excited to meet, including Suzanne Young, Erin Bowman, Virgina Boecker, & Amy Lukavics. (pictured below)
During our weekend adventure, Crystal and I, as well as a few fellow book bloggers gathered before the book convention opened to talk endlessly about our current and upcoming book reads. We were excited to hang out with Cristina from The Girl in the Pages, who was attending ALA for the first time. We also had a chance to chat with some librarians and repeat ALA attendees we’ve met previously. Some of the people we missed though were Hannah from The Irish Banana and Rachel from The Readers Den. We missed you! The morning book chats are my favorite part of the experience… every single time! However, this year we have a few other moments to share…

Funniest moments of the weekend… well really these are moments where Crystal felt it was okay to laugh at me…
Driving into the city and the crazy navigational app woman couldn’t decide what street I should turn right on… After a string of curse words, I just made a last minute decision and miraculously got us to Pier 39 and Fisherman’s Wharf.

Practically falling and breaking my neck trying to maneuver my baggage through the terminal. I decided to rent an airport cart, load my baggage and make a run for Platform 9¾. I’m sure Crystal would have enjoyed seeing me crash into a wall… LOL

Most memorable moments of the weekend…
The death-defying cab ride from the convention to the hotel… We decided to use our rental car for the rest of the weekend.

The Pride Parade and celebration in the city made us feel like we were a part of history in the making.

A civilian dispute, which we were not a part of, happening across the street from Mel’s Diner where we were enjoying an early breakfast that ultimately resulted in an ambulance, two fire trucks and three cop cars arriving to the scene.

Overall, the entire weekend was a huge blast. We each got some exciting ARCs that were on our book wish list, so let me share that with you. As always, I targeted dystopia and contemporary books and Crystal went for weird and creepy. So here’s our list:

Crystal’s Stash
Daughters Unto Devils by Amy Lukavics
The Accident Season by Moria Fowley-Doyle
Slasher Girls & Monster Boys by April Genevieve Tucholke & others
Dreamstrider by Lindsay Smith

Arlene’s Stash
The Rose Society by Marie Lu
The Invisibles by Cecilia Galante
Soundless by Richelle Mead
Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon
Love Lies Beneath by Ellen Hopkins

We are both excited to read the books we were lucky enough to receive, so as we publish our reviews be sure to stop by for any ARC giveaways we post.  However, that won't stop us from offering a giveaway to our followers in the spirit of coming back from a great ALA book event. 
So be sure to enter for a chance to win a $15 shopping spree to either Amazon, B&N, or The Book Depository!  This giveaway is open to wherever TBD ships.
Good luck! 

31 comments:

  1. I don't have a book that I'm looking forward to in the fall. I haven't been following anticipated releases.
    nikilsend(at)outlook(dot)com

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  2. I am looking forward to Illuminae! I can't wait for that book!

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  3. Soundless sounds exciting..

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  4. Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon and Dreamstrider by Lindsay Smith

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    Replies
    1. I got a copy of this one at ALA! Looking forward to it also!

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  5. The Rose Society, Ice Like Fire, Dreamstrider... There is so many good books coming out!

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  6. Winter by Marissa Meyer sounds great!

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  7. I'm sad I didn't get to join you this time! You and Crystal seemed to have whacky, wonderful fun! :)

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    1. We had a great time. We missed you though!

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  8. I'm most looking forward for Six Of Crows! Thanks for the giveaway :D

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  9. Looks like you guys had a wonderful time. I wish I can go one day. I'm so, SO excited for Darken the Stars by Amy Bartol. Until Friday Night by Abbi Glines and The Next Together by Lauren James. Thank you very much for the giveaway.

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  10. Soundless by Richelle MEad and the second girl online book by Zoe Sugg.

    Megan @ http://readingawaythedays.blogspot.co.uk

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  11. Sounds like you had a fantastic time! Thanks for sharing!! Ummm... I'm gonna have to say the next Kate Daniels book by Ilona Andrews :)

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  12. I'm most looking forward to reading The Revolution of Ivy by Amy Engel! :D

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    Replies
    1. I'm looking forward to this one too. I asked the publisher about it and they didn't' have any ARCs available yet. :(

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  13. Looking forward to Six of Crows!!

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  14. Soundless by Richelle Mead and Winter by Marissa Meyer. Looks like you had a great time in SF.

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  15. Soundless by Richelle Mead :)

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  16. It was great seeing you guys at ALA! Thanks for all of the advice, and hopefully we'll meet up again at another bookish event!

    -Cristina @ Girl in the Pages

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    1. It was great seeing you too Cristina! See you at the next event. :)

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  17. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, Passenger by Alexandra Bracken and Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff.
    Thanks for the giveaway! :)

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  18. Six of Crows, Return to the Dark House, The Raven King....... There are many! Thanks for the giveaway!

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  19. Winter by Marissa Meyer
    Thanks for the giveaway! :)

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  20. I am glad it looks like you guys had fun! I am really looking forward to Winter and Queen of Shadows :)

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  21. (Alisha Sienkiel in raffecopter)

    Winter by Marissa Meyer!!!

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  22. The beauty of the space and food get 5 juicy stars. The place was built with class! I'm no critic, but this place makes you appreciate design and aesthetics. I went to two events at party places in the Bronx. Both times, I had a great experience.

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