BookCon 2017 Experience + Haul!

This past weekend was BookCon!! I had such a fun time and am very happy with everything that happened this weekend, so I thought I would share my experience and haul with you guys!

Day 1: Saturday, June 3

I woke up at 4:45 am in hopes of leaving by 6 am, because I wanted to see Connor Franta’s main stage panel and I was anticipating a long line for that. We ended up leaving around 6:45 am instead but it worked out, because there were no lines for any of the main stage panels that day! After getting our badges scanned, my sister and I waited from 8am-10am until we were allowed on the show floor.

Once we got there, I speed walked to the Penguin Random House booth because I got an email that said “First in Line” subscribers would receive some bookish swag! This is what I got!

I then tried getting in line for an ARC signing but the line was capped, so I got in line for Adam Silvera’s in-booth signing in hopes of getting his ARC, “They Both Die at the End”. Unfortunately, I wasn’t one of the first 25 in line so I instead got a free copy of “History is All You Left Me” which I got signed for a friend since I brought my own copy. He is the first author I’ve ever met and I was a little star struck! He was so friendly and it was awesome meeting him (he complimented my dress too)!

After that, I decided to skip a panel I had planned to go to so I could spend some more time on the show floor. Around 1:15 I went to line up for my Rainbow Rowell autographing which was at 1:30, because I thought we could only be there 15 minutes beforehand. BIG. MISTAKE. The line was so big, there was an overflow area! But finally, a little bit after 3:30, I got to meet her!!! Despite the fact that she had probably already signed hundreds of books, she was so sweet and told me she liked my hair! I was so happy to meet Rainbow, she is one of the first YA authors I ever really admired! Also, while I was waiting in her line, my friend managed to snag an Adam Silvera ARC which she gave to me in exchange for getting the book signed earlier! *HAPPY DANCE*

After her signing, I quickly went to Sarah Dessen’s over at the next table. She is another one of my favorite authors, and I was super excited to meet her as well! All of the authors I met were so nice and it was such a pleasure to meet everyone. The only regret I have is not bringing a 3rd book for Rainbow and Sarah to sign (I had 2 for each of them). But don’t get me wrong!! I am so so thankful I got to meet them! I also had tickets for Stephen Chbosky, Nicola Yoon, and Veronica Roth’s autographings but I was unable to make it to them. Luckily, my sister went to Nicola’s in-booth signing and got my copy of Everything, Everything signed there.

After the signings, I headed down to Connor’s main stage panel. It was less crowded than I had thought it would be; we were only about 5 rows away from the stage! It was so awesome to hear one of my idols talk about his work. After that, my sister and I went to the “Book to Silver Screen” panel with Stephen Chbosky, Nicola Yoon, RJ Palacio, and Lauren Oliver.

I couldn’t even see Nicola Yoon or Lauren Oliver 😦

We got there less than 10 minutes before it started and the room was packed, so our seats weren’t the best. We ended up leaving the panel early, because my sister was really tired. After that we headed up to bag check, unloaded our books/swag into the suitcase, and went home. Overall, a very successful day!

 

Day 2: Sunday, June 4

Views from the train!

Sunday was definitely a more laid-back day. My mom and I took the train and reached Javits around 10am. Since I knew I had to leave early, my plan was to spend time on the show floor and then end the day with two autographings. We split up and I walked around a bit – I decided to go to a braid bar that I saw the day before to get my hair done!

I had to include this because if I manage to get my hair into even a ponytail, it’s basically a miracle.

IT LOOKED SO COOL!!!! Plus it kept my hair out of my face for the rest of the day which is a bonus. My mom stood in a bunch of lines to get ARCs from Penguin Random House… if anyone was there, they know how chaotic it was so major shoutout to you, Mom!!!

Around 1:20 I headed to my E. Lockhart signing which was scheduled for 1:45… lesson learned from the day before!
There were only about 10 people ahead of me in line so the wait was not bad at all. It was so nice meeting her; as I left she said “Nice meeting you, Ashna!” Yup. We’re on a first name basis now 😎

Casually chatting about being in the land of book nerds and whatnot. It’s casual.

After that, I went to Jennifer E. Smith’s signing. Luckily, her line was pretty short too. Even though it was a free signing and I already had two books, I bought Windfall as an impulse buy. WHAT A SWEETHEART!! Meeting Jennifer was a great way to end my BookCon weekend. I had to give away my Adam Silvera and Lauren Oliver tickets due to the fact that I had to leave early. I was a bit disappointed about not getting to meet Lauren, but hey there’s always next year!!

I then met up with my mom and it was time to take the train home!

Now onto the haul…

Signed books

• No Good Deed by Goldy Moldavsky (ARC)
• Mean Girls by Micol Ostow (ARC)
• Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon (from home)
• History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera (from home)
• Once and for All by Sarah Dessen (bought)
• What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen (from home)
• Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (from home)
• Carry On by Rainbow Rowell (bought)
• Windfall by Jennifer E. Smith (bought)
• The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith (from home)
• You Are Here by Jennifer E. Smith (from home)
• 21 Proms – signed by Melissa de la Cruz and E. Lockhart (from home)
• We Were Liars by E. Lockhart (from home)
  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

Free books/ARCs

• They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera (!!!)
• Things I’m Seeing Without You by Peter Bognanni
• A Map for Wrecked Girls by Jessica Taylor – I got an extra copy of this which I am trading someone for The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli
• Gilded Cage by Vic James – will be trading for Caraval by Stephanie Garber
• The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden – will be trading for A Short History of the Girl Next Door by Jared Reck
• Dear Martin by Nic Stone
• The Golden Compass + The Book of Dust exclusive print/sneak peek by Philip Pullman
• I’m Just No Good at Rhyming and Other Noodlings for Precocious Children, Typical Youth, and Weirdly Immature Grownups by Chris Harris and Lane Smith
• The Massacre of Mankind by Stephen Baxter
• (not pictured) How to Be a Supervillian by Michael Fry – will be trading for She, Myself, and I by Emma Young

Bookish Swag!

I had also got some Shadowhunters swag (not pictured) which I am trading for The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness.

Some of my favorite items include:

• A Rainbow Rowell themed candle for Levi and Cath – smells like pumpkin, coffee, and chocolate!
• 2 Book Beaus – one I paid for, one I won!
• Beyoncé and Frida Kahlo pins
• Certified Book Nerd pin
• E. Lockhart pouch featuring a quote from Genuine Fraud
• Tote bag that says “Reading is my Superpower”
• Tote bag that says “Totes books”
• Towel that says “Don’t get my books wet”
• Portable charger that says “Power up. Underline more.”
• (not pictured) Boxcar Children journal that my mom bought for me because it was one of my favorite series as a kid!

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I had an amazing time this weekend!!! I’m already counting down to BookCon 2018 which is luckily in NYC again! Thanks for reading, see you next time!

-Ashna

Today’s quote: “I have always imagined paradise as a kind of library.” -Jorge Luis Borges