Day 1
NEW YORK IS SCARY: Or, I arrive on bus and feel a wee tiny bit out of my element.
I honestly had no idea that four hours on a bus could bring such pain. After one hour my tail bone was all, “WHY?” and I was all (frowny face) “Let me stand up and see if that makes it better,” to which the woman sitting next to me was all, “You’re weird.”
(Standing up, in any case, did not make it better. I have no idea what could be causing the pain. I am 23. I should be able to sit for extended periods of time. Yikes–time to make a doctor’s appointment.)
When I did finally arrive in NYC and managed to relieve my old lady aches and pains, there were SO! MANY! PEOPLE! In my defense, my arrival at Penn Station was on the day of the NYU graduation, so there were about eleventy billion people around. My friends Christine and Maribeth from Long Island had come in to meet me and keep me from, oh, vomiting, so I made it through the day pretty well.
- Where we ate: Toon Thai Cafe in Midtown. Delicious! I had a particularly delightful mojito with lots of fresh mint.
- Poor choice #1: The only hot day of my three days in New York and I wore jeans.
- Bookish adventure of the day: After Christine & Maribeth left, I walked to the Strand. I bought a hardcover copy of Emma Larkin’s Everything Is Broken, a book about the Cyclone disaster in Burma, for half price (!). Yes, I am one of those people who actually bought a book during BEA week. *ducks head*
- The Gershwin Hotel: For $39 dollars a night, there’s not really a lot of room to complain. I do wish they had been more upfront about not having outlets available in the dormitory rooms, but I understand why they’re not provided. More distressing, I had to sleep on a top bunk on a very creaky metal bunk bed set, which made it difficult to a) get in and out of the bed and b) sleep without worrying the whole thing would come crashing down on the poor girl on the bottom bunk. …Other than that, it was fine.
- Birch Coffee: Honestly, everyone should go here. Amazing coffee and ridiculously friendly baristas. I spent a majority of my evenings at the cafe, being cozy and reading. (Do all cafes in NYC serve beer? Can all cafes in Boston do this, please?)
Day 2
PART 1: BOOK EXPO AMERICA: Or, I obtain more books than may be legal in some countries.
- Most Cass event of the day: I lost my phone on my way to the Javits center. I think I left it in the cab. I always lose something, no matter where I go, but to lose my phone less than 24 hours after arriving in New York was a record.
- While Waiting In Line: I met a rather hilarious librarian from Vermont who not only helped me figure out just what was going on, but entertained me for the good half hour we waited to get in to BEA. (Hi, Megan!) I was freaking out about the phone quite a bit by then, so having good company was very helpful.
- Understatements: I picked up a few books. They were kind of heavy.
- Stand out authors/editors I met: Richard Kim & Betsy Reed, who edited the Going Rouge: An American Nightmare, a collection I’ve been meaning to buy/read; Ariel Leve, who made me laugh by getting endearingly excited that she was making a book out to Cassandra, also the name of the character in her book, It Could Be Worse, You Could Be Me; Arlene Alda, who was very sweet, and I managed to avoid having a total “You’re Mrs. Hawkeye Pierce!” fan girl moment; and Marcy Demansky, author of Bad Marie, who remembered me when we met again at the Book Blogger Reception–and the first book I’ve read of all the ones picked up at BEA. (It was very good. Still processing.)
- How Did I Almost Just Forget: I also met Laurie Halse Anderson. My sixteen year-old self is still smiling. (In sad news, I didn’t get to meet R.L. Stine. I hope at least one book blogger did, and I want pictures.)
- Secret Sigh of Relief: That the previously mentioned Ariel Leve is, in fact, not Ariel Levy, who is completely different and not nearly as cool.
- WEIRDEST THING THAT HAPPENED EVER; or, I met Oliver Twist: I was waiting in line at a signing for a memoir about a woman’s scientist father. I had this conversation:
Man: It’s a book I could never write. I didn’t know my father.
Me: …I’m sorry to hear that.
Man: Why?
Me: …It sounds like a very sad story.
Man: No, it wasn’t sad. The orphanage took good care of us.
PART 2: BOOK BLOGGER RECEPTION: Or, I remain horrified about my lost phone and try to not throw up.
- The picture on your left is an approximate rendering of what I looked like at the reception. I think it’s pretty accurate.
- It is quite likely I made bad jokes, said mildly inappropriate things, and had several cups of coffee.
- What I learned: Mingling is hard.
- I also hit a man in the face with my pen. By accident, I assure you! It was very Matrix-y. I would draw you a picture, but I’ve used up my photoshop skills for the day.
to be continued…
