Warning, this post will be a little long, but there's so much to talk about from ALA! This past weekend was such a blast! This was my first time attending ALA, and I hope I'll be able to attend a few more. ALA weekend involved a lot of laughs, tons of book talk, getting to meet some awesome people and really just a lot of fun.
My weekend was complete when I FINALLY got to meet two of my favorite people that I've talked with for the past couple of years- Chrissy Noh and Carolyn with Simon & Schuster!!!! I won't even mention all the fan girliness (I'm not sure if that's even a word) that took place at the S&S booth. I seriously love these two and it was so wonderful to finally talk to them and meet them in person.
I might have also gone a little fan girly on Katherine Tegen, from Katherine Tegen Books. It was such a pleasure to meet her. The sign I'm holding is a joke that author Bettina Restrepo made, because a group of us where totally blown away that we got to meet the person behind Katherine Tegen books, which is an imprint of Harper Teen. She is so lovely.
Another highlight from this weekend was having lunch and meeting Kellie with Walden Pond Press. I adore her and it was so wonderful to finally meet her in person and have lunch together!
Aside from my high lights above, it was so much fun being able to meet and hang out with fellow bloggers.
The weekend kicked off with a big dinner with over 70 bloggers, authors and publishers getting together. Jen w/ I Read Banned Books did an awesome job with putting this together.
Below is: YA Bliss, Stacy w/ Girls in the Stacks, Jen w/ Book & A Latte , Amy & Andye with Reading Teen, Nancy w/ Girls in the Stacks, myself, Yara w/ Once Upon a Twilight.
I had so much fun! It was the best of both worlds getting to hang out with friends all weekend and doing book related stuff.
The best part of the whole night involves my EMBARRASSING moment! So... I thought I was standing behind a friend of mine (this is someone I've known for a few years), keep in mind the place is dimly lit and extremely crowded. I hadn't seen her in awhile so I jokingly hit her on the butt, um yeah, that was NOT my said friend. *go ahead and I laugh, because I about died*. Luckily Megan, my new friend (pictured above) has a great sense of humor, because we're both still laughing about it. The best part of my embarrassing moment, I now have a new friend. I'm still mortified I even did that....
Left to Right: Myself, Amy & Andye from Reading Teen, Yara from Once Upon a Twilight & Nancy from Girls in the Stacks. No, we weren't just acting like 12 yr old girls right before the picture was taken....
Pictured below: Includes the same group of girls, along with Stacy from Girls in the Stacks & Jen from.
I seriously LOVE these girls! It was so much fun being able to finally hang out together. They made the weekend unforgettable!
There's a quite a few bloggers I loved getting to meet whom I've talked with a lot on twitter, blogger and facebook. My only regret is I didn't get a picture with all of them. *waves to you guys* Some of my fav were meeting Melina from Reading Vacation & HD from Reading, Writing & Breathing, Hafash from IceyBooks, and Katie (the other Katieb) from Katie's Book Blog. Stacy & I got a picture w/ HD-
You are NEVER TOO OLD for the Muppets! Girls in the Stacks, Jen w/ Book & A Latte, myself & Ginger w/ GReads
This weekend ended with a fun girls night w/ Girls in the Stacks, Reading Teen, Book & A Latte & Kelsey w/ Reading or Breathing. THANK YOU to Stacy for a great weekend!!
Me w/ Amy & Andye from Reading Teen @ Stacy's house
Honestly, this weekend was such a blast! It was like a never ending girls night complete with meeting new friends, talking with publisher friends, attending publisher events and getting to talk about books. Thank you to everyone who made this an unforgettable weekend!
** I do have some things to giveaway from ALA, some things I've donated to a book drive I'm c0-hosting and the others will be featured in Mundie Moms Birthday Bash next month! I'll give you a teaser, there will be an ARC of Destined by Aprilynne Pike, an ARC of Fracture, and an ARC of BLACK HEART by Holly Black!!
