BEA Recap This Time Last Week (Day 1)

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I am so behind in writing up my  recap post from BEA but I honestly have to say that I am physically and mentally burned out from the trip. I always have a problem with re-entry back into a normal life. Does anyone else encounter this problem?

I think we are all so high on adrenaline and the excitement of NYC/BEA and lack of sleep that we don’t really realize it at first but it hits on the way back home or even at home.

Anyways lets get on with these recap posts shall we.

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Day one is literally spent traveling. If you travel with me you will discover that I try to get pre-boarding and I always manage to get it. Its not that I don’t like standing in lines but when the line is super long I like to take advantage of a service if its available and it always is.

We pulled out of the Montreal train station at about 10:30 am. The train was packed like it always is and I think its because it was memorial day weekend and everyone was traveling. Thankfully the train ride to NYC was uneventful and we arrrived in NYC roughly around 9pm. We even breezed through customs without a huge delay.

I should mention that I was traveling with Laura from Library of Clean Reads  and i Read Book Tours and her friend Debra and we decided before hand that we were going to share a room.

Our hotel for the next 5 nights was going to be Hotel Pennsylvania. I plan on doing on review of the hotel sometime this week.

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I love the train ride down to New York City because of the scenery so I though I would include some photos I took along the way. I think sunsets are my favorite time of the day.

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When ever I travel I tend to over pack and this was no exception. Here is what I had at my seat. I ended up buying various magazines to read (Oprah, Marie Claire, Glamour, People, In Style, Life & Style etc) because they are light and fluffy reads, I brought my iPad as well because there are games and ebooks on that (and I actually ended up using it more then I thought I would) I brought my iPod to listen to music, some snack food (just because buying food on the train tends to get a little expensive), hand sanitizer, mints, charger for phone/iPad/iPod and my BEA notes that I wanted to go through so I could plan out my trip. Not shown in the photo was water, ginger ale, cue cards, pens and business cards. You know I couldn’t go to NYC without bringing my owl tote bag.

What do you bring with you when you travel?

Meme/Waiting on Wednesday #21 BEA Buzz Book

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“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking The Spine and its spotlights upcoming books that we are eagerly waiting for. I plan on including upcoming releases and books that are already released.

This week I am featuring:

From the acclaimed author of How to Love comes another stunning contemporary novel, perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen.

Molly Barlow is facing one long, hot summer—99 days—with the boy whose heart she broke and the boy she broke it for . . . his brother.

Day 1: Julia Donnelly eggs my house my first night back in Star Lake, and that’s how I know everyone still remembers everything. She has every right to hate me, of course: I broke Patrick Donnelly’s heart the night everything happened with his brother, Gabe. Now I’m serving out my summer like a jail sentence: Just ninety-nine days till I can leave for college and be done.

Day 4: A nasty note on my windshield makes it clear Julia isn’t finished. I’m expecting a fight when someone taps me on the shoulder, but it’s just Gabe, home from college and actually happy to see me. “For what it’s worth, Molly Barlow,” he says, “I’m really glad you’re back.”

Day 12: Gabe wouldn’t quit till he got me to come to this party, and I’m surprised to find I’m actually having fun. I think he’s about to kiss me—and that’s when I see Patrick. My Patrick, who’s supposed to be clear across the country. My Patrick, who’s never going to forgive me.

Welcome BEA Visitors 2015

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Hi Book Expo America 2015 attendees,

Welcome to Cindy’s Love of Books. Perhaps your a blogger, author, PR person or someone I met in line waiting for a drink/food or to meet an author. Perhaps you are a publisher or PR person and I spoke with you at Javits or another event in New York during the week.

However you found me, I’m really glad you did. My name is Cindy and I run Cindy’s Love of Book. You can check out my About Me page to learn all about me and my blog. If you’re interested in a review, check out my review policy. If you’d like to contact me please do so by my emailing me at cindy@cindysloveofbooks(DOT)com or on Twitter @cindyloveofbook.

This is my seven year blogging and I have been loving every minute of it. This will be my fourth time attending BEA.

I look forward to hearing from you wither its to chat, review books or anything else.

To Cindy’s Love of Books readers,

I haven’t forgotten you guys! Cindy’s Love of Books will continue as usual without me. I’ve have reviews and other stuff scheduled to post this week. I will hopefully try to have mini posts from NY and BEA posted nightly if possible although I have to admit I’m not sure I will be able to since I usually try to make the most out of my NYC/BEA trip.

Hopefully I will able to offer little give aways to those who weren’t able to attend BEA this year. I will be looking out for things that I can offer up as give ways to you guys. Any suggestions?

If you need me for anything, you can still contact me through email or Twitter, though it may take me slightly longer than usual to respond.

Have a good week everyone.

Meme/Waiting on Wednesday #20 BEA Buzz Book

waitingonwednesday

“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking The Spine and its spotlights upcoming books that we are eagerly waiting for. I plan on including upcoming releases and books that are already released.

This week I am featuring:

The hilarious new YA from acclaimed author Tina Connolly.
Camellia’s adopted mother wants Cam to grow up to be just like her. Problem is, Mom’s a seriously wicked witch.
Cam’s used to stopping the witch’s crazy schemes for world domination. But when the witch summons a demon, he gets loose–and into Devon, the cute new boy at school.
Suddenly Cam’s got bigger problems than passing Algebra. Her friends are getting zombiefied. Their dragon is tired of hiding in the RV garage. For being a shy boy-band boy, Devon is sure kissing a bunch of girls. And a phoenix hidden in the school is going to explode on the night of the Halloween Dance.
To stop the demon before he destroys Devon’s soul, Cam might have to try a spell of her own. But if she’s willing to work spells like the witch…will that mean she’s wicked too?

Going to BEA 2015

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Its hard to believe its that time of the year again for Book Expo America. Its happening again in New York City at the Jacob Javitis Center. Running from May27th to 29th, 2015. I am not quite sure yet how many days I will be attending BEA as it will depend on what is going on.

Are you going to BEA this year? Please leave me a comment so I know if you are going or not.

Is this your first time or have you been before? For me this will be my fourth time going. I went in 2010 and it was a blast. Although I wish I had known then what I know now because it would have been so helpful.

If your a first time goer I thought I would share some info with you and by no means am I an expert its just stuff that I have seen or has happened to me. Please share any tips you have or may want to know.

1) Comfortable shoes. This is going to be repeated over and over but trust me you will do a lot of walking around NYC and Javitis. I had shoes that I thought were comfy but my first day in NYC I ended up getting blisters which meant I had to rush out and buy sneakers. Funny enough it seemed like I could not get my size anywhere.

2) Pack lightly. This is something I did right I packed enough for the week only and one or two extra tops just in case I went out. I admit I have a bad habit of over packing because really you never know what is going to happen, right? But if you think about the week and what you plan on doing it will help alot.

3) Business cards. You will be handing out cards to all kinds of publishers and reps plus a few bloggers perhaps. This year I will be bringing my new cards because I am now self hosted.

4) Shuttle buses. Every year shuttle bus are provided to BEA attendees. Take advantage of them if you can. Just check where the nearest one is from your hotel. I took them in the morning and they were pretty quick but leaving at the end of the day is another story because you will be in rush hour. Also you should know that there is no shuttle buses running during the day so basically its the morning and afternoon.

5) Getting into BEA. I heard this has been a problem the first year I went. You don’t have to push, shove or cut to get in the show floor. Be patient and wait. Some people have been there way before you. I didn’t see anything because I was attending an author breakfast when the doors opened but I did hear alot of people complaining about this.

6) Snacks and water. Just a heads up eating at Javitis is expensive. You honestly could buy three water bottles for the price you will pay inside plus lunch was super expensive inside as well. I bought a bottle with me and just refilled it and I made sure I had some snacks to tie me over. If your hotel provides breakfast you can grab an apple or banana. I am guilty of doing that. Plan ahead. I heard that there was a food cart outside selling hotdogs so that could be a cheaper alternative to eating inside.

7) Another alternative to shipping. Suitcases aren’t allowed on the floor but you can check it in for a small daily fee (under $5 a day). The section is downstairs. (As you walk in from getting off the shuttle buses) There is always someone there to watch over the suitcases. I didn’t have a problem with leaving my books in the suitcase. It helped when my arms were getting sore. The only thing that confused me at first was because I shared a suitcase with my roommate and was confused by the books at first and wondering if I had the right suitcase.

8) Shipping. There is shipping on site to ship your books home (which I think I will be doing this time but it all depends on my budget) or you can walk to the nearest post office and use them. The only thing with shipping is I heard that some people take it upon themselves to raid other peoples boxes. I know this for a fact because it happened to a blog I follow. So anything that is of value keep it with you. I just think for people to do that is just wrong. Its basically stealing in my eyes. So if you want your books to be save and sound I suggest the suitcase on wheels. Just remember there is no suitcases etc on the show room floor.

9) Be polite and professional. I know this is easier said then done but really what you do will reflect on you and all book bloggers. It takes just two seconds to say “Excuse Me” “Sorry” Thank You” you will be surprised at how far those words can go and mean to someone. Just remember your actions are going to be reflected on us as bloggers. Always say thank you to some who hands you a book or swag.

10) Common sense and courtesy. If you are standing in line please don’t be saving spots for ten of your friends, other people behind you have been waiting just as long as you or cutting into the line for that same reason. Personally I don’t mind one or two but when you text or call them to say the line is moving and the next thing you know 10 additional people are ahead of you. (This has happened to me quite a few times my first year there.) Also if you see one person talking to another (in a line) and one person moves to talk don’t get all in there face and yell them out for line jumping that isn’t cool especially when they say they have no interest in the book. (I witnessed that and sadly I know the blogger that did that) and once I got home I ended up unfollowing that blog.

11) The displays, booths or other peoples boxes in shipping. This one might get me into trouble but just because your at BEA that doesn’t entitle you to just take something from a display or box (either a fellow attendees or in a booth or conference room)without permission. Always ask someone before you take something from a booth. Those boxes are sealed for a reason. As for the shipping area I really think that is wrong for you to go into someone’s box and take what ever you want. Its not your box, that person you are stealing from probably went through alot of trouble to get those books. How would it feel if someone did that to you? Pretty crumby right?

12)Keep the flow of traffic going. Don’t stop in the middle of the isle to chit chat with friends and start pulling out your books to show what you got. Move to the side if you want to do that. I don’t know how many people I bumped into because of that. The isle’s aren’t that big and you have to remember that there is alot of people walking around with bags full of books.

13) Getting around NYC. The best way to see the city is really to walk but if you can’t I have to suggest the subway. Its not as scary as it sounds although I wish the people who worked inside the booths were a little more friendlier and approachable. The subway system can be a little complicated so you should know where you are going. This was the most I ever walked around a city and I enjoyed it. Except when I got lost and no one seemed to know where anything was.

14) Sight seeing. Don’t go to NYC just for BEA get out and do some sight seeing. There is so much to see and do. This year I am hoping to get more sight seeing down and as its looking I know Monday and Friday will be those days for me possibly more.

So if your going have fun and remember going to BEA is a privilege, not a right. Don’t walk in there with entitlement thinking that you deserve to do whatever you want just because you are a book blogger.

Meme/Waiting on Wednesday #19 BEA Buzz Book

waitingonwednesday

“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking The Spine and its spotlights upcoming books that we are eagerly waiting for. I plan on including upcoming releases and books that are already released.

This week I am featuring:

A School for Unusual Girls is the first captivating installment in the Stranje House series for young adults by award-winning author Kathleen Baldwin. #1 New York Times bestselling author Meg Cabot calls this romantic Regency adventure “completely original and totally engrossing.”

It’s 1814. Napoleon is exiled on Elba. Europe is in shambles. Britain is at war on four fronts. And Stranje House, a School for Unusual Girls, has become one of Regency England’s dark little secrets. The daughters of the beau monde who don’t fit high society’s constrictive mold are banished to Stranje House to be reformed into marriageable young ladies. Or so their parents think. In truth, Headmistress Emma Stranje, the original unusual girl, has plans for the young ladies-plans that entangle the girls in the dangerous world of spies, diplomacy, and war.

After accidentally setting her father’s stables on fire while performing a scientific experiment, Miss Georgiana Fitzwilliam is sent to Stranje House. But Georgie has no intention of being turned into a simpering, pudding-headed, marriageable miss. She plans to escape as soon as possible-until she meets Lord Sebastian Wyatt. Thrust together in a desperate mission to invent a new invisible ink for the English war effort, Georgie and Sebastian must find a way to work together without losing their heads-or their hearts….

A School for Unusual Girls is a great next read for fans of Gail Carriger’s Finishing School series and Robin LaFevers’ His Fair Assassin series.

Review/ Spring 2015 Debut Fiction Sampler

Review/ Spring 2015 Debut Fiction SamplerFormat: eBook
on March 2015

The Penguin Random House Library Marketing Spring 2015 Debut Fiction Sampler is filled with fresh new voices that will appeal to all types of readers—from literary fiction devotees to coming-of-age fans to thriller fanatics and more.

Be among the first to discover this spring’s hot new authors! This is a great resource for building your personal TBR pile, but also makes a perfect Readers’ Advisory tool.

SPRING 2015 DEBUT FICTION SAMPLER

The Silver Swan
by Elena Delbanco (Other Press, May 2015)
The Ghost Network: A Novel
by Catie Disabato (Melville House, May 2015)
House of Echoes: A Novel
by Brendan Duffy (Ballantine Books, April 2015)
Hausfrau: A Novel
by Jill Alexander Essbaum (Random House, March 2015)
Muse: A Novel
by Jonathan Galassi (Knopf, June 2015)
The Library at Mount Char
by Scott Hawkins (Crown, June 2015)
The Star Side of Bird Hill: A Novel
by Naomi Jackson (Penguin Press, June 2015)
Bradstreet Gate: A Novel
by Robin Kirman (Crown, July 2015)

When I was in Netgalley I had noticed this Spring 2015 Debut Fiction Sampler so I went ahead and downloaded it because I am always looking for new and exciting reads especially when it comes to debut authors.

There is fifteen sneak peeks in this sampler. Each sampler includes the cover and a sneak peek. I love when publishers come out with these sneak peeks because as a book lover, reader and reviewer you always want to know what is going to hit the shelves before they hit the shelves.

I have no idea if these books will be available at BEA or not but I know they have been added to my every growing wish list.

These sneak peeks are just enough to get you into the book and checking to see when they will be released.  Here is the ones that peeked my interest:

From a real-life ambassador’s wife comes a harrowing novel about the kidnapping of an American woman in the Middle East and the heartbreaking choices she and her husband each must make in the hope of being reunited.

When bohemian artist Miranda falls in love with Finn, the British ambassador to an Arab country, she finds herself thrust into a life for which she has no preparation. The couple and their toddler daughter live in a stately mansion with a staff to meet their every need, but for Miranda even this luxury comes at a price: the loss of freedom. Trailed everywhere by bodyguards to protect her from the dangers of a country wracked by civil war and forced to give up work she loves, she finds her world shattered when she is taken hostage, an act of terror with wide-reaching consequences.

Diplomatic life is a far cry from Miranda’s first years in Mazrooq, which were spent painting and mentoring a group of young Muslim women, teaching them to draw in ways forbidden in their culture. As the novel weaves together past and present, we come to see how Finn and Miranda’s idealism and secrets they have each sought to hide have placed them and those who trust them in peril. And when Miranda grows close to a child who shares her captivity, it is not clear that even being set free would restore the simple happiness that once was hers and Finn’s. Suspenseful and moving, The Ambassador’s Wife is a story of love, marriage, and friendship tested by impossible choices.

Charlotte Silver dazzles with a ruefully funny coming-of-age novel that follows two recent Bennington grads who are determined to make it in the Big Apple.

Bennington College, founded in 1932 as a suitable refuge for the wayward daughters of good families, maintains its saucy reputation for attracting free spirits. There, acres outnumber students, the faculty is composed of fading hippie and clothing is largely optional. Or, as J. D. Salinger put it in Franny and Zooey: a Bennington-type “looked like she’d spent the whole train ride in the john, sculpting or painting or something, or as though she had a leotard on under her dress.”

Cassandra Puffin and Sylvie Furst met in high school but cement what they ardently believe will be everlasting friendship on Bennington’s idyllic Vermont campus. Graduation sees Sylvie moving to New York City, where, later on their twenties, Cassandra joins her. These early, delirious years are spent decorating their Fort Greene apartment with flea market gems, dating “artists”, and trying to figure out what they’re doing with their lives.

The girls are acutely and caustically observant of the unique rhythms of the city but tone deaf to their own imperfections, which eventually drives a wedge between them. Equal parts heartfelt and hilarious, Bennington Girls Are Easy is a novel about female friendships—how with one word from a confidante can lift you up or tear you down—and how difficult it is to balance someone else’s devastatingly funny lapses in judgment with your own professional and personal missteps.

Journeying from Queens to Brooklyn to Seoul, and back, this is a fresh, contemporary retelling of Jane Eyre and a poignant Korean American debut

For Jane Re, half-Korean, half-American orphan, Flushing, Queens, is the place she’s been trying to escape from her whole life. Sardonic yet vulnerable, Jane toils, unappreciated, in her strict uncle’s grocery store and politely observes the traditional principle of nunchi (a combination of good manners, hierarchy, and obligation). Desperate for a new life, she’s thrilled to become the au pair for the Mazer-Farleys, two Brooklyn English professors and their adopted Chinese daughter. Inducted into the world of organic food co-ops, and nineteenth–century novels, Jane is the recipient of Beth Mazer’s feminist lectures and Ed Farley’s very male attention. But when a family death interrupts Jane and Ed’s blossoming affair, she flies off to Seoul, leaving New York far behind.

Reconnecting with family, and struggling to learn the ways of modern-day Korea, Jane begins to wonder if Ed Farley is really the man for her. Jane returns to Queens, where she must find a balance between two cultures and accept who she really is. Re Jane is a bright, comic story of falling in love, finding strength, and living not just out of obligation to others, but for one’s self.

For readers of The Tiger’s Wife and All the Light We Cannot See comes a powerful debut novel about a girl’s coming of age—and how her sense of family, friendship, love, and belonging is profoundly shaped by war.

Zagreb, 1991. Ana Jurić is a carefree ten-year-old, living with her family in a small apartment in Croatia’s capital. But that year, civil war breaks out across Yugoslavia, splintering Ana’s idyllic childhood. Daily life is altered by food rations and air raid drills, and soccer matches are replaced by sniper fire. Neighbors grow suspicious of one another, and Ana’s sense of safety starts to fray. When the war arrives at her doorstep, Ana must find her way in a dangerous world.

New York, 2001. Ana is now a college student in Manhattan. Though she’s tried to move on from her past, she can’t escape her memories of war—secrets she keeps even from those closest to her. Haunted by the events that forever changed her family, Ana returns to Croatia after a decade away, hoping to make peace with the place she once called home. As she faces her ghosts, she must come to terms with her country’s difficult history and the events that interrupted her childhood years before.

Moving back and forth through time, Girl at War is an honest, generous, brilliantly written novel that illuminates how history shapes the individual. Sara Nović fearlessly shows the impact of war on one young girl—and its legacy on all of us. It’s a debut by a writer who has stared into recent history to find a story that continues to resonate today.

Freedom Oliver has plenty of secrets.  She lives in a small Oregon town and keeps mostly to herself.  Her few friends and neighbors know she works at the local biker bar; they know she gets arrested for public drunkenness almost every night; they know she’s brash, funny, and fearless.

What they don’t know is that Freedom Oliver is a fake name.  They don’t know that she was arrested for killing her husband, a cop, twenty years ago.  They don’t know she put her two kids up for adoption.  They don’t know that she’s now in witness protection, regretting ever making a deal with the Feds, and missing her children with a heartache so strong it makes her ill.

Then, she learns that her daughter has gone missing, possibly kidnapped.  Determined to find out what happened, Freedom slips free of her handlers, gets on a motorcycle, and heads for Kentucky, where her daughter was raised.  As she ventures out on her own, no longer protected by the government, her troubled past comes roaring back at her: her husband’s vengeful, sadistic family; her brief, terrifying stint in prison; and the family she chose to adopt her kids who are keeping dangerous secrets.

Written with a ferocious wit and a breakneck pace, Freedom’s Child is a thrilling, emotional portrait of a woman who risks everything to make amends for a past that haunts her still.

In this enthralling and atmospheric thriller, one young family’s dream of a better life is about to become a nightmare.

Ben and Caroline Tierney and their two young boys are hoping to start over. Ben has hit a dead end with his new novel, Caroline has lost her banking job, and eight-year-old Charlie is being bullied at his Manhattan school.

When Ben inherits land in the village of Swannhaven, in a remote corner of upstate New York, the Tierneys believe it’s just the break they need, and they leave behind all they know to restore a sprawling estate. But as Ben uncovers Swannhaven’s chilling secrets and Charlie ventures deeper into the surrounding forest, strange things begin to happen. The Tierneys realize that their new home isn’t the fresh start they needed . . . and that the village’s haunting saga is far from over.

House of Echoes is a novel that shows how sometimes the ties that bind us are the only things that can keep us whole.

I love how this books are all different from what I normally would read. I can’t wait to get these books and read them. Do any of these peek your interest enough to pick them up and read?