How I Spent My Weekend

I think I'm still overwhelmed, but I want to catch you (and myself!) up with what I did over the rest of the weekend. After I finished blogging on Friday I went across the hall for a presentation on a major new study that had been done on customer beliefs and feelings towards Internet, chain, and independent bookstores. The first slides went up and I nearly fell off my chair--Brookline Booksmith was one of the independent bookstores included in the survey! I wasn't sure if I wanted to be there for the results, but we did well. Phew! Thanks to all our customers who participated in the survey. I did actually have to sneak out in the middle of the presentation so I could go meet Jonathan Bean. Yes, I was the crazy one who ran across the entire Javits to get a signed book and then ran all the way back to the presentation.

I only spent a bit more time on the floor before leaving for the hotel in Brooklyn--I had to gussy myself up for a party that night. It was thrown by Grand Central Publishing (nee Time Warner) and held at, where else, Grand Central Station. Amy Sedaris was there, and I complemented her on her fabulous dress. I actually didn't even realize it was her until after I had walked away; by then it was too late to backtrack and gush. That's probably for the best.

Saturday morning I spent speed dating with children's authors--twenty tables were set up, eight booksellers at each, and then there were 20 authors who changed tables every three minutes. Yowza! Some of the authors really fed off the crazy energy that was created, though I'm sure they were all exhausted at the end. I was really glad to meet Christopher Paul Curtis, a fellow Michigander (we gave each other the point-to-where-you're-from-on-the-palm salute); Peter McCarty brought his journal and original watercolors to show us how Fabian Escapes developed; Christopher Myers was absolutely hilarious.

The rest of my time is a blur of meetings, autographs, placing orders, and walking, walking, walking. I made sure to leave time for visiting art publishers and sampling what they have coming up (a picture in a catalog just doesn't do justice to so many of these books) and perusing the small presses for titles that I might otherwise never have known about. I also participated in an experiment by Cornell University's Taste Science Laboratory! You can read about the results of their preliminary research from last year's BEA here. I did get a signed copy of My Mother the Cheerleader (I found out Robert Sharenow, the author, is a local guy!), and of Sophia Nash's A Dangerous Beauty, but wasn't able to get everything on my list. Don't feel too bad for me--I found plenty others I didn't even know I was looking for.

It's time for me to put this year's BEA to bed now--it was quite an unbelievable experience and I am so thankful that I was able to go. Now back to our regularly scheduled program...