Book Expo America 2013 Tips

(View from my room, last year.)

Hey hi hello.

So, are you attending Book Expo America this year? If you are, and this is your first time, I have a couple of bits of advice that I wish I'd known ahead of time last year. I was so starry-eyed about heading to the Big Apple and doing book stuff that I didn't think about a lot of these things. Plus, there are some things you just don't know unless you go. So, read through them if you want and I hope they come in handy! They are listed in no particular order.

• For a fee, you can pay to check your bags of books and pick them up before you leave. It was so much easier than carrying them around all day. This service was available last year so I'm hoping it's back this year. There is also a postal service to box and mail your books home, in the Javits Center.
• Do not wait until the last minute to use the restroom. The lines are ALWAYS long, no matter which one you go to or when.
• Bring a bottled beverage and a snack with you. Standing in lines for hours upon hours leaves little time to go and find food without losing your place in line. There is a great cafeteria to grab a full blown meal, too.
• Always act professional. It is a professional expo with lots of publishing professionals, not a smörgåsbord of books.
• If you really want to wear cute shoes, bring a change in your tote bag or backpack (or whatever.) The Javits Center is HUGE and there is a lot of walking involved. Wear something that won't leave you crying after the first hour.

That's everything that comes to mind, at the moment. If you have any additions, please feel free to leave them in the comments section!

Catch Up Post

In which I pronounce my name

The Young Adult Connection is going to England!

Yes. I'm wicked excited. I can hardly stand it. It will probably be somewhere around July/August. I haven't been back to Europe since we moved to America, well over a decade ago, and I've never been to England. Someday I want to see Ireland and Scotland too, but this trip will probably not be long enough. And the best part is? I get to see my English friends!

<3

I thought it would be fun to write a blog post about traveling, even though it isn't directly related to books. I will probably read on the plane though, so there's that, right? But seriously. Traveling is something I can't not do. I'm obsessed with it. If I can't take a big trip somewhere far away, then I'm planning more local jaunts to New York City or Boston or even back down to Virginia, where I lived for six years. (If you listen closely, you may catch the occasional southern accent.) Part of my obsession with travel is that I love flying. My dad was an airplane guy for almost 25 years, so I really grew up on them.

Living in Germany made it so easy to travel around to other countries in Europe, so I've decided to compile a list of the places I've been, in and out of Europe.

Iceland (Lived there for two years.)
Germany
France
Belgium
Italy
Netherlands
Switzerland
Austria
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg

That's all I can remember. And soon I get to add England to that list!

I've also lived in a small handful of American states, including:

California
Washington State
Virginia
Maine

Besides those, I've also driven across the country with my family twice, stopping along the way to see tons of amazing sights. You know what I haven't seen yet, though? The Grand Canyon. I really want to! Who's with me? I'd also love to see Yellowstone and Florida, because I've never been there. Mostly I want to go to Disney World. I've only ever been to Euro Disney, where my fuzzy little kid brain was confused as to why Mickey Mouse wasn't speaking English.

If you could go anywhere in Europe, where would it be? Do you have any suggestions for England?