The beautiful, beautiful BEA book haul. Originally I was planning on doing my first ever video blog but I quickly realized that I can’t say nearly as much as I want to about each book without putting together a two hour production, so I’m going to break things down into a few regular posts.

Part 1- The books I HAD to have
Shadow Bound by Rachel Vincent
This is probably my favorite ongoing series right now. Shadow Bound came out a week or so before BEA and it was torture not to just go out and buy it, but for my patience I got a signed copy and a brief chance to say hello to one of my top four all time favorite authors. Love, love, love! I am currently rereading Blood Bound so that I can go into book 2 with the highest possible level of appreciation.

Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore
I didn’t even realize Bitterblue was going to be at BEA. I feel like a horrible book person. Once I found out though, I was on top of things. This is the only solo book I waited in a significant line for. An hour and twenty minutes, two free books and some cool new blogger friends later I got my signed copy and was doing a mental happy dance (at BEA we play things cool. Book professionals don’t happy dance… but they should). Part of me can’t wait to read this and part of me really isn’t ready for this fantastic series to be over yet. I have a strong urge to go hug this book.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
I had only just read this book in April but I fell head over heels in love. I borrowed someones copy and taken it to Cuba with me and knew I needed to get a copy of my own. I’m not sure if I’ll be reading the preview of book 2, it would probably be a little too much like torture, knowing I can’t have the rest but needless to say I’m super happy to have a copy of this book. Big thanks to the wonderful people at the Little, Brown booth who put up with my hovering.

Part 2- The books everyone is talking about

Venom by Fiona Paul
Two of my roommates were lucky enough to get themselves over to a Penguin party where they heard a lot of great things about Fiona Paul’s debut, Venom. It is apparently the penguin YA title to read this year. Once I heard that and that that the book is set in Venice (heh, cool word play) I had to take my chance to get a copy. This was probably my last big find of the entire week and we ended up forming the front of the line for the final Penguin YA book drop because we were all tired and ready to put our feet up for awhile. Read Venom!

Skinny by Donna Cooner
I was lucky enough to get a seat in the BEA YA Editor’s Buzz panel which is where I first heard about Skinny. This is the story of the voice inside many of our heads, always present and telling us how we’re just not good enough. I was lucky enough to get a signed copy which I’ll probably be reading right away as I know I have more than a few others I’ll want to share this title with.

The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer
On Wednesday morning I attended to the Children’s author breakfast which was really fantastic. While Lois Lowery was an absolute tear-jerker, the big thrill for me was seeing Chris Colfer up close and personal. Very funny and charming guy. Apparently, he had been putting The Land of Stories together in his head for years now and it was very cool how he showed us the process of turning his childhood drawings into a reality. I’m sure most debut authors don’t get the same kind of pull in the design phase, but like he said… he’s that kid from Glee! Either way, I’m looking forward to reading this one and loving my new Land of Stories tote bag.

Stay tuned for more BEA book posts including Non-Fiction titles, exciting YA titles and a little bit of everything else.