A Thousand Lives Lived: BEA 2016 Recap: Day Three

BookExpo America 2016 Day Three: May 13

Well, here we are, at the time of the year where I have to say goodbye to my gorgeous recap of BEA. Okay, there's one more post tomorrow, but today I will be discussing the last and final day of the convention that makes my life complete.

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I think that Friday was the best day throughout my whole Chicago trip. I got to spend time with new friends (sorry, Mom) and got the best books out of the whole three-day convention. I finally understood how BEA worked this year, and I understood the crowds and how to get the books I wanted the most, and how each publisher worked. All that time the two days before spent on waiting in line for Replica especially during galley drops where I actually had no chance of getting a copy because I was last in line, I could have been somewhere else, knowing that Friday was the day!

I was extremely anxious that morning because of: A Torch Against the Night, Gemina, Replica, Heartless, Passenger, The Sun is Also a Star and The Amateurs. I NEEDED THEM. My life depended on them. I barely ate breakfast (but I had to fuel up!) because I thought I wouldn't get them.

OH YEAH, HARLEQUIN!

Speaking of Harlequin, it was also the day where I had a chance to meet JLA and all of the other Harlequin Teen authors of 2016! I was number 83 in line, and there were only 100 tickets being given out. I GOT TO MEET ELEANOR HERMAN, JLA, AMY LUKAVICS AND MANY OTHERS. It was just the best way to get books and feel special. It was nice chatting with others in line, as well!

JLA AND I. EEEGH!

A nice tip for future BEAers: wait until a ticketed author is almost finished with their signing and try to snag a spot in line without a ticket! I constantly missed ticket giveaways in the mornings because I was never at McCormick early as other crazy bookworms, so I never got the chance to meet Marissa Meyer because of that. I did get to meet Danielle Paige and Meg Cabot even though I did not have tickets! Danielle Paige was so sweet and I went nuts when my friend Melanie and I snagged a spot in line towards the end of her signing. I already had a book, so I just brought it over and got it signed by her. We had a full-on discussion about The Wizard of Oz, and my, I LOVE HER.

HI DANIELLE!

I GOT REPLICA. GUYS. I learned HarperCollins' galley giveaways the hard way, by trying to go in every line every time. Melanie and I, as well as Kristina from Gone Pecan and Rosie from The Literary Hedonist all were close to the front—I think I had the third spot, and the first five all got COPIES OF ALYSON NOEL'S UNRIVALED. EEEEGH. That honestly was luck, and saved me time from actually having to wait in line for it afterwards. I would've wanted to meet Alyson, though!

Another case of pure luck? Being at the Middle Grade Editor's Buzz, I was coming out of the room where nearby at a table, A Torch Against the Night was lying down there. WHAT?! GUYS—THE LINE FOR THAT BOOK A FEW HOURS WAS CHAOTIC. MY LIFE WAS MADE. It was just one copy, so I took it, obviously. I wish I met Sabaa Tahir too, but here is a photo of her (she's flawless!)

For those of you who were wondering about Veronica Roth and Crave the Mark, which, in case you didn't know, is her new book that will be released in January 2017, they were samplers. Meh. She was signing, as well as Laini Taylor, who was promoting her upcoming novel, Strange the Dreamer, which also was being given out as a sampler. Of course I grabbed them both, and I understand that lines would be chaotic for finished ARCs. Also, I imagine that some people would try to sell them online. Boo.

Honestly? I got every book that I NEEDED to get from BEA this year, excluding Heartless by Marissa Meyer. I would sell my soul to get a copy of that, but it's fine, I'll pre-order it because I love Marissa's writing anyway. I had a close encounter with snatching a copy, but it didn't happen. The Amateurs by Sara Shepard was one of the last books I got, and I also had the chance to meet Sara!

GOT A SECRET CAN YOU KEEP IT SWEAR THIS ONE
YOU'LL SAVE... BETTER LOCK IT IN A POCKET...

At the time of this signing, my mom was at the Gemina giveaway, and I was so surprised that she got it! There were about two hundred people in line I can imagine (maybe I'm over-exaggerating), and then Jay Kristoff made a surprise appearance and the whole exhibit floor was jolly. Ew, that's cheesy, I know. BUT IT WAS GREAT. Those were one of the most happiest moments of my life. Seriously. And who could forget about Jay Asher hot chocolate from his newest, What Light?

Sabaa Tahir's line. Whoa.

After Sara Shepard's signing, I got extremely depressed. It was the end of BEA! Three days of continuous roaming, laughs with my mom, new friends who I will have to wait to see until another year in NYC (hopefully!), books, an atmosphere of books and just a good time came to an end. I strolled around McCormick as it got empty with my mom, and I swear that a tear roamed down on my cheek. Meh. I had to snag a few photos of McCormick before I left, and it was sad. Terrifying. Meaningful.

I say this after every time I travel somewhere (but that's because my dad keeps taking me to amazing places), but Chicago is my new home. You'll see why after tomorrow's final post where I talk about BEA overall, the University of Chicago and tourism. I'M SO SAD NOW EVEN THOUGH IT'S JULY AND I SHOULD BE OVER THIS. MEH. WAH. I CRAVE BOOKS AND MORE BOOKS EVEN THOUGH I HAVE TONS AND TONS.

Oh, and my haul! I literally almost forgot. WANT TO SEE IT?!