Book Haul #95: The #BEA15 Edition

Hello fellow bookworms!!!

Hello friends!!! 
How has your week been???

I was able to get into NYC for a few hours to visit BEA last Wednesday!!! 
All the aches and pains are SO worth the trip!!!

My morning started with a mad dash to the train station! If it wasn't for my sister's mad driving skills, I would have missed my ride, lol! 
I forgot how Penn Stations knows how to smack reality right into your face!
Catching a cab is SO much fun!!! I'm being serious, it's such a thrilling challenge :)
My first stop was to Hatchette's offices to visit THE NOVL for brunch!!!
Got to meet all the lovely ladies that work there and a few authors...
they talked about up and coming books, bookcovers and more!
Another cab ride... to the Javits!!!
Saw all the bookish things! Got a few bookish things too ;) 
I was only there for 2 1/2 hours 0_O
Another cab ride... and, oh my, can I tell you a few stories about Penn Station again, lol!
Train ride was SO crowded and blech... but, again, SO worth it! 

I don't think I'll make it to another BEA again, so I am really happy that I was able to go even if it was for just a short amount of time :) 

I am participating in Stacking the Shelves, 
hosted by Team Tynga's Reviews!!!

*What I received from BEA...

- HELLO, GOODBYE, AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN by Jennifer E. Smith (signed ARC) 
- ILLUMINAE (The Illuminae Files #1) by Aimee Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (ARC)
- ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL by Jesse Andrews (PB)
- PLAY ON (LEWIS CREEK #1) by Michelle Smith (ARC)
- KILL THE BOY BAND by Goldy Moldavsky (ARC)
- UNTWINE by Edwidge Danticat (ARC)
- THE SURVIVAL GUIDE TO BULLYING by Aija Mayrock (ARC)
- A LITTLE IN LOVE by Susan Fletcher (ARC)
- THE MARVELS by Brian Selznick (ARC)
- ZEROS by Scott Westerfeld (ARC) 
- DIARY OF A WIMPY KID by Jeff Kinney (MG/Latin PB)
- JUNETEENTH FOR MAZIE by Floyd Cooper (C/HB)
- MAX THE BRAVE by Ed Vere (C/ARC)
- VIP: I'M WITH THE BAND by Jen Calonita (MG/ARC)
- BEN FOX: SQUIRREL ZOMBIE SPECIALIST AT YOUR SERVICE by Daisy Whitney (ARC) 
- THE BOOK OF KINDLY DEATHS by Eldritch Black (MG/ARC) 

*From Book Trades/Swaps...

- TAKE ME ON (Pushing the Limits #4) by Katie McGarry (HB)  

- THIS SONG WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE by Leila Sales (HB)  

- ROGUE WAVE (Waterfire Saga#2) by Jennifer Donnelly (HB)  

- MAGONIA by Headley (ARC) from Maria Dahvana Headley  

* * * 

A few pics from BEA... 

BEFORE BEA... a quick brunch with the ladies at THE NOVL!!! 

Listening to the bookcover process for HELLO, GOODBYE, AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN!

And then we got to meet Jennifer E. Smith and hear more about HELLO, GOODBYE, AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN, plus about her favorite characters and writing techniques!

Hearing about NOT IF I SEE YOU FIRST!!!

WELCOME TO BEA!!! 

The posters are so HUGE!!!
It's so hard for me to wrap my mind around the process it goes into making them, delivering them, and then hanging them up! I'm not exaggerating when I say that they are HUUUGE!!! The whole Javits is bigger than huge, lol! This was my third time, and it still catches me by surprise!

It was SO wonderful to meet Meredith (blogger @ Pandora's Books, works for Spencer Hill Press and YA Interrobang) and Liza (blogger @ WhoRuBlog and author to HELLO?)!!!
We met at The Novl brunch; and then took a very speedy cab ride over to BEA :)
They are truly the sweetest girls to hang out with! I miss them and can't wait to see their lovely faces in person again!!!

My YA book haul :)

My swag!!!

And some great middle grade and picture books too!!!

AH! And two of my most wanted books of all :)

I couldn't have asked for a better day!!!
Thanks to everyone who made it extra special :) xo

* * * 

Thank you SOOO much for stopping by!!!

Don't forget to leave a comment with your link so I can visit your hauls too!!!

xoxo

Review: NUMBER ONE SAM by Greg Pizzoli (C)

NUMBER ONE SAM

by Greg Pizzoli

Release date: May 13th, 2014

Published by: Disney-Hyperion

Genre: Children's Picture Book

Format: Hardcover, eBook

Format read: Signed hardcover from BEA.

SUMMARY

They're off! 
Sam is the best race-car driver in history - 
he is number one at every race!

But when his best friend, Maggie, shows that she has racing talent of her own, 
Sam doesn't know how to handle coming in second place. 

Will he learn what it truly means to be a winner?

MY REVIEW

This picture book easily became a favorite just by seeing it from the corner of my eye while standing in line at BEA. The cover alone instantly caught my attention - the classic look, colors and illustrations reminded me of my own childhood. I just knew that I had to have this book!

NUMBER ONE SAM is about a pup named Sam who is used to always being the best race car driver and coming into first place in all the races. On the day of the biggest race yet, Sam is not worried that he will excel and win the trophy again. His overconfidence keeps him right up front right next to his best friend, Maggie. They ride beside each other right to the end... and Maggie wins!
Sam doesn't know what to do. He's the best racer, how could this have happened? He doesn't even know what to say to Maggie; so he doesn't say anything at all...
And during the next race, Sam has to make an important decision that will cause him to lose again.
Sam has never lost before? What will he do? Can he risk losing again?

Sam will teach our kids what it is to be a good sport, that winning isn't everything and whether you win or lose, your friends will always be there for you. 

Adorable story with the cutest illustrations! I highly recommend this book to everyone that has little ones (preschoolers/kindergartners) and all those who adore and collect picture books - this one is sure to brighten up your day and your bookshelf!

*A signed hardcover copy was obtained at BEA for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

My day at BEA2014 and Book Haul :)

BEA was wonderful this year!
I decided to keep things easy and light since I was going in by myself for the first time on the train - I had never ridden on a train before, and was a bit nervous. So proud of myself ! Finally taking a step in getting over one of my fears! And getting through the day, on my own, and coming back in one piece! This may be silly to most of you, but this was a really big day for me, in so many ways. I can't stop smiling thinking about it all, lol!

I also took my FIRST cab ride ever!!! AND I hailed it all on my own!!!

*pats self on back*

WELCOME TO BEA!!!

LOVED seeing Lauren Oliver's ROOMS on their doors, such an awesome welcome sign!

Too bad her line was too long to get a copy... must remember to sign-up for it at the library.

I got to the Javits Center a bit late, about 8:30ish. Which was actually a good thing because I didn't have to wait on any lines to get my badge or check in my bag. But, I did miss out on the majority of the Harlequin Teen Breakfast. I now know how to plan better for next year!
The little bit of the breakfast that I was there for was amazing, saw a lot of familiar bloggers and got to speak to Julie Kagawa, Jennifer L. Armentrout and Adi Alsaid! So happy I was able to talk to the authors I wanted to the most!

After the breakfast, made a quick trip to the loo! Walked by these amazingly HUGE banner ads for Rick Yancy, Scott Westerfeld, Adi Alsaid and Jodi Picoult, and headed up to the main floor...
I walked around in a daze for the first 45 minutes and saw a few things like...

The DK booth! LEGO STAR WARS!!!

And then finally decided to take a peek at my schedule and decided to go to Jennifer Donnelly's signing for DEEP BLUE :) 

While standing on line, I met a lovely woman who owns a bookstore in Alaska! She was the most nicest person I spoke to all day! I wish I had gotten her card to keep in touch... 

After that, I walked around for a bit, visited Harlequin's booth and saw a Fiat for Adi Alsaid's LET'S GET LOST! I wish I could have driven this home rather than taking the crowded train back home!!!

Walked around a bit more, and visited Macmillan's booth and got a peek at RAINBOW ROWELL signing LANDLINE! Her line was ticketed and I was way too late, lol!

Got to see/meet a few bloggers!!!... the best time to chat is when you're standing in a 'signing line' waiting and waiting... These are the only pics I managed to take! I was in awe, I kept forgetting to take a pic with people, lol!

I met Lauren of Love is Not a Triangle :) 

She was so sweet!
I got to tag along with her to Scholastic's booth for the SINNER book drop
and then to Melissa Marr's MADE FOR YOU signing :)

Also, while waiting for Melissa Marr, I ran into... 

Danny of Bewitched Bookworms and Jenny of Supernatural Snark!
Both girlies also manage Kismet Book Tours :)

After that signing, I decided to take one last stroll around the floor and ran into BILLY IDOL!!!
*White Wedding*

Around this time, I managed to pick up a copy of Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld -
my day was complete! It was time to go home...

Until I ran into R. L. STINE!!!

And then I was definitely done!!!
I ended up leaving a little after 2pm and catching the 3:07pm train home, lol!

Goodbye BEA!!! Until next time :) 

Train ride home selfie :) with Little Elliot tote bag!

Now unto my BEA bookhaul ;)
I was very picky about what to take. I didn't want to take books I didn't know anything about, nor did I want to carry anything more than I wanted to, lol!

A few Young Adult books... 

I received all of the Harlequin Teen books in a tote during their breakfast that morning :)
For the other books, I waiting on lines for, except for Vampires of Manhattan and Afterworlds, I just happen to be walking by at the right time - lucky me!

- TALON (signed ARC) by Julie Kagawa
- MADE FOR YOU (signed ARC) by Melissa Marr
- SINNER (The Wolves of Mercy Falls #3.5) (ARC) by Maggie Stiefvater
- GHOST HOUSE (ARC) by Alexandra Adornetto
- THE YOUNG ELITES (Sampler) by Marie Lu
- DEEP BLUE (Waterfire Saga #1) (signed HB) by Jennifer Donnelly
- THE IRON TRIAL (Magisterium #1) (ARC) by Holly Black & Cassandra Clare (MG)
- VAMPIRES OF MANHATTAN (ARC) by Melissa de la Cruz (New Adult)
- LET'S GET LOST (signed Sampler) by Adi Alsaid
- THE FIRE ARTIST (ARC) by Daisy Whitney
- LIES WE TELL OURSELVES (ARC) by Robin Talley
- AFTERWORLDS (ARC) by Scott Westerfeld
- INVISIBLE (The Twixt #2) by Dawn Metcalf

A few middle grade books... (1 children's picture book)

The author to Number One Sam, Greg Pizzoli, just happened to be signing next to Jennifer Donnelly, I spotted his book while standing on line and I just knew that I had to get a signed copy for my baby boy Sam :) His first signed book! It's SO adorable!!! I hope he grows up to love books just as much as his brothers and I do!

- THE 8TH CONTINENT (HB ARC) by Matt London
- A PLAGUE OF UNICORNS (ARC) by Jane Yolen
- HOUSE OF ROBOTS (ARC) by James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein
- THE QWIKPICK PAPERS: Journey to the Fountain of Poop by Tom Angleberger
- STICK DOG (Sampler) by Tom Watson
- TOTO TROUBLE #2: BACK TO CRASS (Graphic Novel PB) by Thierry Copee
- NUMBER ONE SAM (signed HB) by Greg Pizzoli (Children's Picture Book)

TOTE BAGS!!!

SWAG!!!

And that was my glorious BEA day!

Such a fun experience! It was so well organized and calmer this year - I had gone to BEA 2 years ago and it was so overwhelming and chaotic. And the publishers were even more welcoming and willing to talk and share. And again, seeing so many blogging friends and familiar faces, made it all even better!

Can't wait to go again next year... and hopefully last longer than just a few hours, lol!

The Beehive Book News #7: The BEA Edition!

Good day everyone! I'm so happy to be able to share all of the happenings that have bumbled about around here this week :) Please forgive all of the noises in my vlog - it was quite warm, so you will probably here the air conditioning blasting next to me, as well as the washer and dryer and my stubborn little parrot who was insisting on some attention at that moment, lol! The video is also a bit choppy, I cut out all of the rambling that I tend to do and narrowed down my 30 minute vlog into less than 15! But  I promise, it's all there :) I didn't leave anything out! hee hee... enjoy! 

Here's a quick summary... 

Last week on the blog: 

- My review of Shadow & Bone by Leigh Bardugo 

- My Waiting On Wednesday: Onyx and Cursed by Jennifer L. Armentrout

- Reunited by Hilary Weisman Graham Book Blast! 

- BEA Stuffs! and Wrap Up Post!

What we got at BEA :) 

BEA 2012 :)

Young Adult Books:

Prodigy by Marie Lu 

Cursed by Jennifer L. Armentrout 

Croak by Gina Damico 

Keep Holiding On by Susane Colasanti 

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa 

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater 

Magisterium by Jeff Hirsch 

Undead by Kirsty McKay 

The Dark Unwinding by Sharon Cameron 

The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano by Sonia Manzano 

Skinny by Donna Cooner

Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor 

Days of Blood & Starlight (Excerpt) by Laini Taylor 

The Blessed by Tonya Hurley 

Burn For Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian 

Princess Academy #2: Palace of Stone by Shannon Hale 

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas 

Middle Grade Books: 

Vordak, The Incomprehensible #3: Double Trouble by Scott Seegert 

Captain Underpants & the Terrifying Return of Tippy TinkleTrousers #9 by Dav Pilkey

Goosebumps: Wanted The Haunted Mask by R.L. Stine 

Ghost Buddy #2: Mind If I Read Your Mind? by Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver 

Third Grade Angels by Jerry Spinelli 

STAT (Standing Tall And Talented) #2: Double Team by Amar'e Stoudemire 

The Savage Fortress by Sarwat Chadda 

A HUUUGE THANK YOU TO EVERYONE I MET AND SPOKE WITH AT BEA!!!

Thank you all for stopping by and watching :) 

Please leave a comment, and your links, can't wait to see what you have been up to too! 

Happy reading!!!

PS, I am also participating in "Stacking the Shelves" this week!

I really miss having a place to go to and find what other book-lovers have been up to and what they got for the week :) and this seems like the perfect place to keep up with everyone! 

My Afternoon at BEA (6/6/2012)

Hi everyone! I actually got to go for an afternoon at BEA!!! 

It almost didn't happen, lol! Hubs was procrastinating the drive because of a lot of delays that were going on all over the Long Island Expressway, but we decided to brave it and just see what happens. We did good on time until we got to the Queens Midtown tunnel, lol! It is never fun to get stuck INSIDE of any tunnels, geesh! But once I got to the Javits Center, all was forgotten :) 

It was almost 1pm when I finally walked onto the floor... this place is freakin' huuuge!!! 

Saying I was overwhelmed is really an understatement! I didn't exactly have a plan, just a few notes as to what pubs/books were in which booths, and a few author signing times for just in case :) 

And by pure luck, this is who I found first!!! 

Marie Lu's signing was just wrapping up! I made it there just in time :) 

and the people at Penguin were so nice!

Marie Lu signing Prodigy! 

Next, I found the poster to Finale's reveal at Simon & Schuster's booth :) 

Finale (Hush, Hush #4) by Becca Fitzpatrick 

I met some really awesome people at Simon & Schuster, Egmont, Little Brown and Bloomsbury!!! 

I did some walking around and bumped into Captain Underpants :) 

My kiddos were so happy about this, lol! 

And I also found a promo for True Blood, I had to take a pic for my sister! 

Captain Underpants!!! 

For all you True Blood fans :)

At this point, I bumped into Katherine of The Lady Critic's Library! I had watched her YouTube BEA tips the night before, it was so cool to see her in person!

And then I found the Scholastic booth! and wow, they are the nicest peeps I have ever met!
I spent so much time in here! It was heavenly :)

Scholastic Young Adult 

Scholastic Middle Grade 

While I was waiting on line to see Jennifer L. Armentrout (gasp! I forgot to take a pic! sniff), I got to meet Sandy of Pirate Penguin Reads!!! She is truly one of the most sweetest bloggers I have ever met! I was so happy to have someone to chat and help me find my way for a bit :) Thank you, Sandy!!! 
AND, I got to meet Michelle Madow!!!
She is so sweet, tiny and pretty! I had a fangirly moment and had to get a pic :) 

Michelle Madow!!!
(Author of Remembrance and Vengeance)

I have to admit, I don't do very well in crowds and am claustrophobic, ugh, lol! but it wasn't too bad as long as I was able to keep moving and walking. However, there were TWO frightening moments where people just rushed around me and I just froze - the first time was when they started lining people up for the Rachel Ray cookbook signing! Within seconds the line was wrapping around all over the place...
and the second time, all I saw was people pulling out boxes of Fifty Shades of Grey next to me and women started to run over and were getting all pushy - I don't know if it was a signing or if they were just giving out the books, but whatever it was I just needed to get out of the way, and quick! ha!

I also got to meet Julie Kagawa!!! She was walking around before The Immortal Rules signing! 

Julie Kagawa!!! 

Julie Kagawa and Me :) 

Libba Bray signing The Diviners,
I did not get a copy, but I had to take a pic :)

Once Upon A Twilight :) 

I wasn't planning on going to the actual signing area, but Sandy told me about The Immortal Rules signing was just about to start and I just couldn't pass that up, especially after just meeting the author! While standing on line, I got to meet the lovely Fran of Books and Beyond! She was such a sweetie and kept us company while standing on line... also, while in the signing area, I got to meet Gina Damico and got a signed copy of Croak!... and Susane Colasanti was there too, and I was able to get a signed copy of Keep Holding On! 

Susane Colasanti signing Keep Holding On :)

I had such an awesome first time and am so grateful to have gotten the opportunity to go and meet everyone, even if it was just for 4 hours! How do you all do it for 3/4days?! lol!

Good bye, BEA 2012! Hope to see you next year!

After walking out of the Javits Center, I met up with my Hubs who wasn't feeling very well. 

He was out by the docks all afternoon watching the Space Shuttle get loaded onto the Intrepid... a little piece of history  :)

After I found him we needed to just get out of the city and crawl back home! Ugh, traffic was horrendous, and with hubby not feeling so great, it almost became an interesting ride home... 

but in the end, it was so worth it :) 

I have some catching up to do, so please be patient with me! 

There were two reviews that were pre-posted for the last few days and it seems that blogger ate them up because they're missing (this happened on my other blog too, boo!), so I will be redoing those for next week! 

And yes, I did get quite a few books from BEA too - I'll be sharing those with you on a vlog I'm planning on recording sometime later today (Friday afternoon)! 

I hope you all have had a wonderful week in books too! 

Thanks for stopping by, and happy reading :)