I Do BEA, Sadly Without Tequila (Damn Commuting)

BEA was amazing. My fears proved to be crazy and my obsessive planning left me less prepared than the more seasoned attendees. Apparently, it's impossible to over-plan for BEA.

Some of the fantastic bloggers I got to spend time with

Lexie (Poisoned Rationality), Taschima (Bloody Bookaholic), Emily (Red House Books) Sherry (Flipping Pages For All Ages) and Eleni (La Femme Readers).

Yup, that's my lone picture from BEA. I carry a camera for 4 days and take just one picture.

In the course of my travels, I also had the pleasure of meeting

April (Good Books & Good Wine)

Sheila (Book Journey)

Amy (Amy Reads)

Sarah and Jenny (Forever Young Adult)

Heather (Age 30+)

Lyra (Lyra Rose)

Heather (Darkly Reading)

Jenn (Crazy for Books)

and many more. . . 

. . . sorry to all that I didn't mention, my memory is atrocious. This also includes remembering to ask for your business card for situations such as these.

I also got to meet a great many authors. It was a great experience, especially for someone like me who had never met a real, live author in person before. I stalked Jonathan Maberry (I went to all 3 of his signings) and managed be one of the lucky people who got up at the crack of 3:45am to get a ticket to meet Rick Riordan. Since I didn't line up a gazillion hours in advance, I missed my chance at meeting James Patterson. Don't worry, James, I'll find you one day.

I snagged some very exciting books, including Emma and the Vampires and Thin, Rich, Pretty (I think I may have squealed when it was offered to me at the BBC Reception). You can see all of my new, wonderful books on yesterday's In My Mailbox post.

I spent the first 2 hours on Wednesday racing around to my favorite publishers. Having a list of must visit booths was key, as it saved me a huge amount of time wandering aimlessly. Although, I did do a lot of that too.

I considered not going back on Thursday. I was so sore and tired, I didn't think I could make it. I soldiered on, sat down ever chance I got and survived. My right foot is still swollen and sore. I think it may be permanently damaged. Still totally worth it.

I think I did very well for my first time, but next year I will not be taking the ferry. Dealing with the traffic and the walk to Javits (which looks deceptively close on a map) was too much to deal with. I really hope to get a hotel room with some other bloggers, but the train is another viable option. Either way, I can't wait for next year.