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Book Expo Canada!

It's that time of year again!

This was my second time going to the Book Expo in Toronto. Last year we went in on the train and didn't really take bags with us, and didn't really realize exactly what it was going to be like at all. We only stayed for a couple of hours, and then had to leave because of sore feet, sore hands, and a migraine (lucky me).

We were completely unorganized last year. We didn't know who was going to be there and we didn't have a plan. (By the way we = Tara and myself) I'll be completely honest and say that all we were interested in was free books, it didn't even matter what the books were, we just wanted them.

This year? Not so much. Of course we wanted free books, but we wanted free books that we'll actually read. So we were a bit more discerning. We actually ended up with more books than last year, but they're also better books.

The authors that were scheduled this year were much, much more to my liking than those from last year. Actually, last year I'm not sure there was really anyone there at all that I was DYING to meet. Whereas this year I had 4 on my list of absolute must sees. And there were a few others we thought "yeah, if we have time."

So the four I really wanted to see...in order of their appearances.

1) Sheri McInnis who wrote Devil May Care. I picked it up at work one day because... well, probably because I liked the cover (yes, that makes me a bad bookstore employee), and I totally loved the book. I Reccomended it to everyone for weeks afterwards. And would still do so!

2) Jaclyn Moriarty who wrote Feeling Sorry for Celia and The Year of Secret Assignments. Both are teen books, but I loved both of them a whole lot. In fact, if I ever have to suggest a teen book to people, Feeling Sorry for Celia is one of two I always suggest.

3) Jennifer Weiner who wrote Good in Bed, In Her Shoes and most recently Little Earthquakes. The latter will be released in September. Which I am super excited about. Actually...what I'm most excited about is that she brought advanced reading copies with her, and so I can read it now!!

4) Louise Rennison who has written Angus, Thongs & Full Frontal Snogging, On the Bright Side, I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God, Knocked Out by My Nunga-Nungas, Dancing In My Nuddy Pants and Away Laughing on a Fast Camel. Angus.... is the other teen book I recommend to people when they need one. In fact, I suggested my cousin Becky read it last summer when she was here visiting and as soon as she did, she dragged her mom off to the store to buy her the rest of the series.

There were other authors as well of course. Diane Schoemperlen was signing advanced reading copies of her latest book which is a tribute to all those lost on 9/11. Every single person is listed in this book and there is a little tribute about each of them there. I really can't wait to read it, but in small bits. She was overcome though when a lady introduced herself as a 9/11 survivor, the two of them had a nice chat through their tears.

I also met some really fantastic authors of childrens story books. A few had completely run out of books, but they told me about them, so I'll know to watch out for them when they come into the store.

Oh, and we went to see Rebecca too. She is an author that lives in our hometown who has written a cookbook which is incredibly popular. She is super nice, and really I think everyone needs her cookbook. So, if you're reading this and you don't have a copy, buy one! She's done several autographings at the store I used to work at and always does incredibly well.

And really, there were just so many fantastic authors there this year I can't remember them all. Will Ferguson was very nice, and quite chatty. As was Philip Margolin. I didn't get into the humongous line to meet Gordon Korman, but like I said, the line was huge and it lasted forever.

So all in all it was a fun day. I have three rather large bags of books, which I will have to dig through once I've got the energy to do so. And once I've finished reading Little Earthquakes.

I know Tara and I had a great time. And I think Mel, Megan & Amy also really enjoyed themselves (they did the mad dash around this time). So, Hooray!

Simon & Schuster were great this year. We got Sheri's book in hardcover, AND they gave us both two copies of Little Earthquakes to take home :D

Louise Rennison was completely fabulous. Very glam, and totally hysterical. It was great to meet her. Things she said reminded me a lot of things my friends in the UK say, which is always fun. Thank goodness they'd already trained me to understand them!

And really...that was that. Tara has a camera which should contain some pictures to post here. But, I don't know when I'll get them from her. So, stay tuned!

And in the meantime...Happy Reading! Oh wait...it's me that's got all the reading to do, isn't it? ;)

Grown up wisdom

I realized last night as I was securing the place up before I went to bed that I don't really feel like I live here. I mean, I've been here now for almost a month, and I feel comfortable here. I'm not worried about being here alone, or leaving it when I go off to work or wherever, but last night it occured to me that it hasn't actually sunk in that this is a permanent situation.

I feel like I'm playing house. We boxed everything up, packed it into the truck, moved it in, and I've been setting things up the way I want them, putting things where I think they belong, etc.. But, for some reason it doesn't seem like I'll be here forever.

Which is strange.

Actually, it's probably not so strange. I imagine that everyone who is in their own place for the first time probably feels something similar. After 28 years of living with one or the other of my parents (and for a while both), it just seems incredibly strange to be here on my own. I think it may have a whole lot to do with not being accountable to anyone but myself.

For instance last night, I came home from work at 9:30 and then made hamburgers for dinner. Because it was raining I didn't use the bbq, which would have made the most sense, and the least amount of dishes. After I was done, I just left everything sitting. I didn't clean up, and I didn't have to worry about anyone being upset that I didn't do it.

Of course, I cleaned it all up as soon as I got up this morning, but that's not the point. Actually, my parents would probably have been really happy if in the past the first thing I'd done after waking up was immediately clean up the kitchen.

Other strange things that I've been doing? Who knew you had to wash the dish cloth? And, did you know that just because it's summer you don't automatically have to have the air conditioning on? And the lights? They don't need to be on if you're not in the room.

Yes, now I'm being facetious. But, I'm also concerned about my hydro bill.

Sam's Wedding

Mostly, I'm just going to post a couple of pictures, just because. So, enjoy. Or don't, whichever you prefer.