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
The Invisibles by Cecilia Galante
Soundless by Richelle Mead
Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon
Love Lies Beneath by Ellen Hopkins
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!
