I didn't go to BEA...so I have no photos of towering stacks of books, authors, restaurants or special invitations to publisher parties...heck...if I ever went to BEA I would be the person wandering around the Javits Center like a lost soul. Savvy bloggers would cut in front of me in line and I would probably let them. I don't even have a Blogger Business Card...is there such a thing?
It's not that I have never been to NYC...we have...dozens of times...we can take the Acela and be there in an hour...we have favorite restaurants...we usually stay at the W near where the Farmers Market is...we go to shows...always have lunch at Union Square Cafe...and slip into P.J. Clark's because it's our tradition. We try to find time for Balthazar's...another gem. We have eaten at Daniel Boulud's famed restaurant...spent an entire day at the Natural History Museum...and walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. I want to go soon to walk the High Line...and eat shaved ice in the heat...because of a show I just saw on the Cooking Channel. One of my favorite things in the world was eating hot sweet peanuts from a vendor in NYC at Christmas time...and a hot dog on the stairs of the Natural History Museum right before an IMax dolphin show.
I look at everyone's BEA photos with interest and if I am totally honest with me...envy...especially when I see all those books...it seems as though everyone gets hundreds of books...literally hundreds...people seem to spend a lot of time mailing books home to themselves.
But...I can't imagine myself ever going to an actual BEA...it just seems overwhelming...too much to take in...too much going on...exhausting...for me...any way...it kind of reminds me of school...in a weird way. I could see myself being excited about going but once I saw crowds and lines...slipping away and going back to my room or to Soho or Greenwich or a bookstore...that's more me...or a least it's the me I think I am.
So...the BEA posts are finally winding down...I am dealing with my envy...sort of...especially for anyone who got this book...sigh!
Buona Lettura!
I'm crazy jealous of all the BEAers. :) I've never been to New York and the thought scares me a little, to be honest. I'm sure I'd find it all overwhelming, too. But my goal is to go in two years, when my kids are a bit bigger and I can leave them all behind without too much trouble.
ReplyDeleteI want to go to BEA but not for the free books. I want to go meet authors and bloggers. I want to attend parties and bump into authors I love and respect. I want to hear about upcoming books. I want the connections.
ReplyDeleteOne day. *le sigh*
I haven't seen any BEA updates except for one. I think they are all recovering right now.
ReplyDeleteYou should go to BEA at least for the day one time! I didn't get that book but heard a lot about it and want it some kind of bad!
ReplyDeleteI think next year for sure! I really want that book!
DeleteI feel your pain, Patty. I wish I could do this, but...nope.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of that Holly black book, but it looks creepy good. I've never read a Holly Black book. I don't think I'll ever go to BEA unless I become an author myself. Too packed, too many people. I still have several shelves of books I haven't read yet. No BEA for me...I think...Lol...I girl can change her mind, ya know!
ReplyDeleteI went to BEA in 2008, when it was in LA...and that was mostly to sign my book Chasing Stardust. I went through a few lines and didn't take any more free books than I could carry out in a rolling suitcase. Going to a shipping place was more trouble that I didn't want. I was pretty overwhelmed....and I like to think I'd do better if I "knew" other participants, like other bloggers, and I would enjoy going to Adriana Trigiani's home in Greenwich Village....but who am I kidding? I am basically an introvert who will avoid the crowds and slink off. Which I did after my signing and a few others' signings.
ReplyDeleteI don't like crowds. Crowds make me nervous...lol.
I have been envious of all the BEA pictures too! Like you- I have been to NYC numerous times. It is a little over an hour by train. I am not a big fan of crowds, but I think going to the BEA would be exciting. Of course- I might have to get away from the crowds for a bit. ;)
ReplyDelete~Stephanie