BEA Day 2, same mistake all over again! “Oh, I got so many books yesterday, that’s just fewer books to carry today, right?” Um, HAH! No, I came back with, if anything, more books than the first day. (And I am by no means complaining about that, I’m just wondering why my brain can’t handle reality.)
The morning was spent in carefully planned out signing lines. We had it down to an art; show up early for this line so you can be first and then have time to slide over to this other line which starts at the same time… It was a good system. Everyone was chill and I got to meet up with some great people while waiting in line, we chatted and chattered and had a grand old time.
And then…the mob happened. One publisher decided they were going to drop tickets for all their afternoon signings all at once, then they were wholly unprepared for the mass of people who showed up an hour early to wait on them. They just absolutely refused to “let” us line up, and when we all stood in a row anyway, they told us we weren’t “the official line.” “Okay,” we thought. “That’s fine. We’ll be the unofficial line until they officialize us.” Unbeknownst to us, another unofficial line thought the same thing, and as the drop time neared both lines became aware of each other and…well, it got pretty tense there. We lost all semblance of a line and formed a mob instead, each group trying to edge out the other. Then the publisher decided to move the mob to the other side of the booth and officialize us over there. It was an absolute rush with everyone trying to make it to the proper place first – they kept telling us not to run, but if you slowed down you would’ve been run over! – and I am still not entirely sure what happened or how that weird final product came about. All I know is I showed up an hour early and yet ended up in the last 10% of the line. So I gave up and went to my room to take a nap. Seemed like the mature response. The author I wanted will be back tomorrow, anyway.
Long story short, officialize your lines! It makes everyone happier.
I will say this, even though that mob was the most intense moment of they day, book people are hella polite because I didn’t see anyone get nasty. There was jostling and rushing and lots of complaining, but no outright arguments that I saw. Book people are the best. 😉
After going to dinner with the absolutely lovely Bekka and Angie, they went off to the Fierce Reads party (I will be invited next year; third time’s a charm!) and I went to stroll down Michigan Avenue. Because, really, a trip to Chicago just isn’t complete for me unless I get to hit up the American Girl store and soak in a bit of my childhood.
Most of what I loved today was getting to meet other bloggers in line, including but not limited to: Mishma, Vee, Octavia and Shelley, Ashley, Angie, Bekka, Kristen, Raychelle (my secret sister!!), Dani (my other secret sister!), Jessie, Wendy, Sabrina, and Nikki.
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