BookCon 2018

I discovered BookCon when I was making up my most recent 101 in 1001 list.  I saw it on someone else's list and immediately googled it.  When I saw the low weekend price I immediately texted my sister and told her she had no choice but to go with me.  It wasn't too hard to convince her.  We'd been looking forward to this weekend for month and it was definitely worth every penny!  The weekend went by so fast :( but we really enjoyed ourselves.  I can't wait to see who is going to be there next year (now that we're going to be in NY longer than expected).  Here are the panels we went to and a little bit about each one.

Time Traveling Fantasies Panel: Naomi Novik, Deborah Harkness and V.E. Schwab

This was our first panel. To be honest, they didn’t have the mic’s turned up so I didn’t hear a lot of the first half, but the second half was fantastic. I wanted to see this panel because Victoria (V.E.) Schwab was on the panel and it didn’t disappoint.

Magic and Power Panel: Marissa Meyer, Cassandra Clare, Brandon Sanderson, and Tomi Adeyemi
 This was a great panel about fantasy novels. They discussed their newest books, how they came up with the ideas for their stories, where the inspiration for some of the characters magics came from, and so much more.

 I Read YA: Met and got advanced copies of books from Scott Westerfeld, V.E. Schwab, and Kody Keplinger.  These are some awful pictures of me (thanks sis) but I don't even care - I fangirled so hard!

 Dear Evan Hanson Panel: Justin Paul, Benj Pasek, Steven Levenson, and Val Emmich 
 The creators of the show and the author of the upcoming book talked about how they took a popular Broadway musical and made it into a book. I can’t wait to read it when it comes out!

 The Real Reel: Becky Albertalli, Lauren Oliver, Angie Thomas, and Soman Chainani
 This was a great panel about what it’s like to have your book turned into a movie. They talked about how much control they have over things (note: not much), and what it’s like to see something you created come to life. Also, about the difference between Hollywood and publishing.

PBS: The Great American Read: Glynnis MacNicol, Yahdon Israel, Veronica Roth, and Daniel Jose Older
This was probably one of my favorite panels. The moderator had a bracket and a bowl of books from the Great American Reads list. She picked two books at a time and then each panel member would have to choose a book and defend their choice. The audience then voted by a show of hands. This went on until we had a winner (Harry Potter, of course).

 The Hate U Give Panel: George Tillman Jr., Sabrina Carpenter, Amandla Stenberg, Angie Thomas

 YOU GUYS!!! My sister and I saw Angie Thomas at a panel earlier in the day and really loved her. That coupled with the fact that my sister is a Sabrina Carpenter fan, we decided to stay for this panel (and got really good seats). Between this panel and the PBS one, I got up to get us some food. When I came back I noticed a sign saying no taping during the screening – and a whole bunch of scary guys in suits.  Y’all we got to see the first ever screening of clips from the movie and it was amazing! When I say first ever, I mean the author and the actors saw it for the first time just minutes before us. I freaking can not wait to see this movie! I guarantee this is going to be one of the most important books/movies of our generation

Here are the books I got signed and some of the things I brought home from BookCon.  We didn't get as much as we probably could have because we were more interested in the panels than the free stuff. 

Since the first day of BookCon ended around dinner time, we went out and enjoyed the city for a bit.  I honestly can't remember where we got dinner, but we spent the rest of the time in Times Square.  My sister isn't a big fan of NYC but she does enjoy Times Square.

  

Book Reviews: June

June was a solid reading month for me - I enjoyed every book I read.  I'm so excited to get into all of my books for Erin's Challenge in July!!

As far as enjoyment goes, this book was a solid 4 for me.  The story line was interesting and I really wanted to know what was going to happen to Lena.  I also love that it takes place in the south (near a town we are considering moving to).  My only issue was that I found the narrator a bit annoying and very repetitive.  I also think it could have been a bit shorter.  I'll definitely be reading the next book in the series.
4/5

Honestly, Fredrik Backman can do no wrong. He can pack more of a punch in less than 100 pages than a lot of authors can in a whole book. 

4/5 

My first thought after finishing Cinder was, WHY did I wait so long to start this series?!?  I'm not typically a science fiction fan - there have definitely been sci-fi books that I've loved, but it isn't something I gravitate towards.  This one just blew me away.   One of my favorite things about this book (especially as a YA book) is that the characters weren't all caught up in their emotions.  They made mature choices based on how it would affect the people around them, not just how it would affect their love interest.  Also, Iko is the best!  I already have the next book on hold at the library and I can't wait to see where this series goes!
4/5

This was the first Backman book I was ever hesitant to read.  I loved Beartown and I didn't know if I really wanted a sequel, but I couldn't let a Backman book go unread.  As always Backman came through with a beautiful and emotional story.  I there was several times throughout this story where I was holding my breath and bracing myself.  While I still loved Beartown more, this sequel definitely didn't disappoint and I definitely recommend it! 
5/5