BOOK EXPO 2011

For the third year in a row, I had the good fortune to spend one day at Book Expo! Anyone who loves books and their authors will understand this is really a thrill. From the moment I entered the Jacob Javitz Center, I felt that rush pushing me to seek out my favorite authors, and collect as many books as I could. It felt a bit like trick or treating in a very high end neighborhood.  I love meeting people from all over the country while waiting (on very long lines) to get a favorite author to sign my book. One of the first people I saw was Jimmy Fallon. I was too late to receive an autographed copy of his book, but was able to take a quick picture during his book signing.



 Jimmy Fallon at Book Expo

As the day progressed, I was able to have books signed by several authors including Jan Brett, Eoin Colfer and Chuck Palahniuk.  I visited with lots of fun characters, including Olivia, and the Books for Dummies character.

Books for Dummies Character                        Olivia

Chuck Palahniuk was really great. His book signing could have turned into a dangerous situation, since the publishers were not prepared for the throngs of fans wanting an autographed book.  A line was not allowed to form until 15 minutes prior to the signing, and some people had already been circling for about 2 hours.  When the publishers finally allowed a line to form, the people waiting the longest were not necessarily in the beginning of the line. If the fans had been a different population, (say, teamsters), there may have been bloodshed over this poorly planned event.  Lucky for the publishers, "book people" are very kind, and accepted this very unfair situation with tremendous grace! 

Me & Chuck Palahniuk

Overall, it was a great day. I brought back many fantastic books for our library. Some will be added to our collection, and others will be used as summer reading club prizes. I'm hoping Book Expo will be in NYC next year!