Hi, bookworms! You may have noticed that I have been extremely absent over the past several days and that was because I was at ALA Friday through Monday! I completely failed at commenting back and blog hopping because I didn’t have my laptop with me, but I’ve come back! I had a great trip, although I did not take a single picture. Whoops!
I arrived in DC on Friday night where Erin (@asthebookends on Instagram) picked me up from the airport and managed to snag us a hotel room with two beds that was essentially a one bedroom apartment with a full kitchen and living room. It was two miles from the convention center, but at the incredible rate we got, it wasn’t such a bad trek.
Saturday morning was a bit of a mess, but we managed to locate parking and make it into the convention center before the exhibit hall opened. We were both exhausted, but did manage to meet Renee Ahdieh and get copies of The Beautiful. I also wanted to meet Ruta Sepetys, but we ended up going back to our hotel pretty early to catch up on some rest. Once there, we went through our hauls for the day, which were AMAZING! That evening, I walked a mile and a half through the National Mall and Chinatown to meet Amber (Du Livre) for dinner while she had a spare moment! It was great to be able to catch up over good food!
Sunday was a full day of walking, books, and signings. I met Brigid Kemmerer (again), Kat Cho, and Erin Morgenstern. Yes, I DID snag a copy of The Starless Sea and I can’t wait to read it! There was a lot of sitting and chatting with friends, new and old. I was able to grab many of the books I’d missed the previous day and also found quite a few new ones I’m really excited for! We headed back around 4 and I got some reading in before calling it a day.
Monday was the last day of ALA and there was a breakfast going on for librarians that Leigh Bardugo would be attending. I was dying to go, but hadn’t purchased a ticket because of the “librarians only” stipulation, although several other bloggers had. Once the breakfast began, a friend told me there were many open chairs and asked if I would be able to attend. I got the confirmation and we RAN to get an Uber and make the 15 minute trip to the breakfast location. Leigh was gorgeous and hilarious as always and there were copies of Ninth House on every chair. It was a Bardugo fan’s dream! After, we moseyed around, I met Tara Sim, and that was about it. I was home by 10 and I can’t wait to do it all again!
You may have noticed that we didn’t do a single touristy thing and that is for one reason: I found the perfect roommate who is almost as introverted as I am and was perfectly happy to sit in the room and read. XD I’m definitely planning on attending next year in Chicago and I really hope I’m able to meet some more of you there!
I am SO EXCITED to get to all of these amazing books! Some were finished copies and obviously most were upcoming ARCs. Wish me luck as I attempt to read every single one!
