Friday Five - ALA Authors

I'm still so giddy about all the authors I saw this past week. So here are five I saw (not including the award winners because it would make limiting the list to five extremely difficult).

1. Judy Blume - Unfortunately I missed hearing her speak, and I missed all three of her signings. However, early one morning, I was browsing the booths, they really weren't crowded yet, but I was distracted by something and almost ran into someone. It wasn't until about a minute later I realized that someone was Judy Blume.

2. Lois Lowry - Wow! Just wow! She spoke about the impact of The Giver and read a couple of chapters on the Live @ Your Library Stage. I was moved to tears by the end of the book, again, despite the fact that the sound system crackled and crowds were meandering by. (Technically, she is an award winner. Yay! But I didn't go to that ceremony.)

3. Kenneth Oppel - He was signing copies of a book that's part of a series I haven't read, but I do love his Airborn and Skybreaker.

4. Barry Lyga - Why can I never think of anything more intelligent to say than "I love your book!"? I loved his second too! Review coming.

5. Patrick Jones - I also heard him speak (and read) at the Live @ Your Library stage. Why haven't I read any of his fiction yet?! He's going at the top of my list of authors I need to read.

Only, between BookExpo and ALA I figure I have about a year's worth of books. And that's if I don't check anything out of the library. I'm feeling tremendous pressure to do nothing but read, ever.

ALA

I'm back, though still trying to get back into a regular blogging routine. I'm guessing that won't happen until after I move, but I continue to try.

So, as usual ALA was a blast, and as usual I didn't do about 50% of what I wanted and felt vastly guilty about it. I know it would have been impossible to do everything I wanted, but still the guilt is there.

I went to a couple of great programs and a few that weren't so great. This is the first year that I've gone to any speakers or awards and the first year for autographs as well. I still freeze up when face to face with people like Lois Lowry and David Wiesner.

The awards ceremonies were by far the best events of the conference for me. Everyone I heard was an excellent speaker. Susan Patron was absolutely phenomenal. Garrison Keillor, though good, made some unpopular statements along the lines that libraries are quiet cathedrals and should remain unplugged. Um, I'm really curious what library he's been in recently. Though I will admit that I remember that feeling of walking into a sacred space at the college library that was the town's only library.

I'm really still giddy about seeing so many amazing people that I can't think about much else.

So giddy, I almost forgot to mention KidLit Drink Night, as arranged by MotherReader. She has a much fuller report than I could manage, since I showed up about an hour late. (I got lost, again.) Still, lots of fun.

Drowning in Books and Loving It

Hi, I have a book problem, as in I have too many. Whew! I feel better just for admitting it. I've been working on this problem for several months now and have actually been somewhat successful in curtailing my acquisition of books. The only books I'm allowing myself to purchase this year are Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and anything by Brian K. Vaughan. And I've been sticking to this, except for the books I needed to read for NYPL Bookfest. Even better, I've actually removed books from my shelves - some sold at used book stores, some given away to teens at the library.

But purchasing books is only part of the problem. My real weakness is free books. Advance reader copies, galleys, promos, freebies . . . whatever you want to call them. I've been lucky enough to attend several conferences over the past few years and at each I've picked up as many books as I can possibly carry, sometimes more, and I always regret it when I'm trying to schlep my suitcase through the airport, but I can't stop. On top of that, every time my dad goes to a conference he brings me back books. Admittedly there are a number of duds, but once in a while you get a gem, like Twilight by Stephenie Meyer*. This causes a problem. There's never room for the glut of books to squeeze into my bookshelves. So tomes are double shelved and stacked every which way, until I don't know what I own. (I recently rearranged everything from genre to alphabetic in an attempt to combat this confusion. It's not helped much.)

Things might be manageable if that were the sum of the problem. Unfortunately, on top of the books I've paid for and the books I've picked up at conferences, I have library books on every surface in my apartment. My eyes are too large for my literary stomach. As I desperately try and keep up with the list of books and authors I'm familiar with the stacks only grow.

So why am I thinking about this now? Books are heavy. I've moved four times in four years, and am contemplating a fifth. (Never fear, this one would be as permanent as any move you make in your late 20s can be.) Also, I'm lucky enough to be going to ALA Annual Conference this summer and know I will be unable to resist loading myself with books. Even worse, this year I'll be driving. No having to schlep books through airports this time, which means no limits. Oh well, at least ALA is after my proposed move date. Bring on the books.

*New Moon got a mention on the Colbert Report last night. Yay!

NY Comic Con

Unfortunately I did not get to Comic Con for the professionals day. (I had a story time scheduled). However, I did make it there on Sunday, along with the teen librarian from Dog Ear. Unsure of what to expect, I was both pleased and disappointed.

We approached the Javits Center with bitter wind blowing in our faces, not looking forward to standing in the line that snaked around the building. Our entrance was speedy, however, and despite the length of the line, the convention did not begin to feel crowded until about noon. The exhibit hall was more and less than I've come to expect from exhibit halls.

Comic Con is clearly a convention for the consumer, and not the professional, at least the part that I got to attend. The exhibit hall was overwhelming dominated by booths in which you could buy something, but do nothing else. This only added to my discomfort with the whole comic industry. Don't get me wrong, I like comics, but I don't need it in three different editions, I don't need to collect anything. I'm not a hardcore fan. I just want the story.

It was a pleasure to hear Brian K. Vaughan speak. Author of Y The Last Man, Ex Machina, Runaways, and Pride of Baghdad. He's the one who got me to read more traditional monthly comics, rather than just graphic novels. I'm continually impressed by how charming and well spoken authors are.

ARCs

I remembered, just a few minutes ago, that my father went to ALA midwinter, and that just maybe he had picked up a few advance reader copies for me. In the past he's come back with stacks and stacks of books. (I always pick up quite a few, myself, whenever I go to a conference.) However, in the not too distant past we had a conversation about the number of books I seem to accumulate and he asked, "Should I not bring back any more books for you?"

I responded, "Only if they're young adult or children's books." Last year he brought be a banker's box full of adult fiction. It all looked wonderful, but I have yet to read any of it. So, now I know I have a handful of ARCs headed my way, and I'm giddy at the prospect. Will he have remembered my words? Will the box include Laurie Halse Anderson's Twisted? As an academic librarian he doesn't know the authors that are a must pick up if the galley is available.

It's not like I don't already have a large stack of things to read, not like I'm woefully behind on my reading. (Only now am I finally getting around to finishing The House of the Scorpion.) Nevertheless, my heart goes pitty-pat at the thought of brand new advance reader copies.

I'll post when I receive the package, and my reactions to the books.