FOR ME - it was NYC first and BEA second

Wow! I have been completely blown away by the posts written by other bloggers about their BEA experiences.

I have to start off by saying that I am a bit of a loner. I LOVE travelling alone and, for the most part, always have done so. I have also worked in the corporate world for over 25 years, many of these spent in Convention halls such as the Javitz in New York City - which is probably one of the big reasons that I made the conscious decision to "do" more New York City stuff than Book Expo America stuff.

Sure, I was going to NYC to attend BEA and I was quite keen on seeing just what the "big deal about BEA" truly was, but the lure of New York City was just too strong - visiting one of my favorite bookstores in the world The Strand, as well as walking around this vibrant city, visiting Ellis Island (this is the first time I have ever done that - despite visiting NYC a few times).

Enjoying Indian foods and just generally soaking up the NYC experience seriously won out over my love of BEA.

This is why my blog posts are probably not going to be as BEA detailed as others were/are. From reading their blogs, I just now learned about a ton of events planned around BEA and at BEA that I wasn't even aware of - tours of publishing houses, dinners with authors, etc. and, of course, meeting with other bloggers.

Which brings me back to my original comment - I am a loner at heart. I don't think I am anti-social, but I am good at being alone and doing things by myself. This is one of the reasons I did not really want to meet up with any other bloggers (except for the ones I went to NYC with - Donna, Avis, Cindy and Linda). Unlike many other bloggers, I don't seem to share a burning desire to get together and discuss all things blogs. Having said this, I love the Montreal Blogger meetings we have each month - but I have noticed that these meetings have become less about books and more about stuff in general - which is fine with me.

I sometimes think that bloggers take themselves wayyyyy too seriously. I mean, there were a lot of blogger events outside of BEA and I frankly wonder why???? I also feel as though, in many cases, the same 10 or 20 bloggers are usually singled out as being "the representatives" for all other bloggers - which I have a problem with. So, as I have told my "Montreal Blogger friends" "its probably a good thing that I don't attend these blogger conventions - cauz with my big mouth - I would NO DOUBT get in trouble :)".

Having said that, I love the bloggers on my blog roll. I don't follow a ton of bloggers, but I do follow some and I love reading their blogs. I guess I am just very selective about the blogs/bloggers I read and I am quite happy with this.

But I digress. I did enjoy my BEA experience - I decided to attend both days - but do only half days as I have to admit that all the walking we did on the Tuesday kind of killed me for the BEA walking on Wednesday and Thursday. I got to meet a few interesting people - among them the rep for Publishers Weekly who talked about wanting to visit Montreal. He was very sweet and gave me two beautiful posters.

I also enjoyed meeting Adam, the publicist I work with from Harlequin Books. Although he was quite busy, he took the time to say "hi" and we talked for a few minutes.

Other random events. I met a very nice author, on the shuttle to BEA - she is planning on writing a novel about healthcare in the US.

Literally bumped into Lou Gossett JR (An Officer and a Gentlemen) who was there to sign copies of his book - he was rounding a corner and so was I and I somehow ended up with my head in his chest :) (I am 5 feet 4 - and he isn't).

Also talked with one of the security guards at the Javitz who was telling me, in French, how much he hates living in the US and is planning on going back home to South Africa at the end of the year. He was quite interesting!

Oh the books - I picked up quite a few books to read and some great swag - see the pictures below.

Oh! almost forgot!!! thanks to Cindy - I also brought back a cold - so, today I am feeling sniffy and miserable!!!