Spending Saturday at BEA 2009

Book Expo America is back in New York(and will stay there for the next couple of years,from what I've heard)this weekend and yes,I will be attending tomorrow. Due to the economy,I'm only able to go for one day and since Saturday is smack dab in the middle of the festivities,that seemed to be the best choice.

This year,I won't be on my own-my sister Stephanie will be accompanying me,due to her status as an author(her first collection of The Original Nutty Funsters strips,A List of Grievances,is available in print and online form)and she has a new comic book out that features another set of characters from her series Cookie Bear(which is not kid friendly despite the cuteness there, but surrealistically funny stuff for grown ups). Getting the chance to share this experience with her is truly priceless.



Many of the talks planned for BEA this year are focusing on the growing digital market for books and how to capitalize on it(ironically enough,the internet and wifi connections at the Javits center are far from top notch,according to a few early reports).

There's also going to be "book blogger signings"-a chance for folks in the industry to meet and greet some of the big lit bloggers out there. I'm hoping to say hello to Sarah Wendell from Smart Bitches,Trashy Books,who will be there along side Jessica Kennedy from Book Reviews by Jess. With any luck,maybe Sarah will sign my copy of Beyond Heaving Bosoms(written with her fellow SB Candy Tan)-we'll see.



The main reason that I attend BEA is for the new book buzz;discovering those up and coming titles that not only can I read and enjoy,but also review and promote here for everyone who checks out this blog. Even with all of the shiny new gadgets and techno bells and whistles being cranked out by the minute,word of mouth is still the strongest seller of books in any format.

Don't get me wrong,I think that embracing the new media is a good thing yet it's too soon to completely overhaul the system. Not everyone can afford Kindles or any other E-Book reader on the market(plus,some prefer not to)or want to read only from their computers. There is still a place on the shelves for the regular old fashioned paperback/hardcover book and while things do need a bit of a spruce,let's not toss the baby out with the bathwater prematurely.

Here are a few glimpses at some of the books that will be talked about at BEA this weekend-first up is Katherine Weber with her tasty sounding novel True Confections due out this December:



Next is A.J. Jacobs,who will have another interesting experimental chronicle in bookstores this September called The Guinea Pig Diaries. Not only was I happy to interview him awhile ago,he's been one of the featured "Ask The Expert" folks on the daytime version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire-pretty cool!:



Mary Higgins Clark(along with her daughter Carol)will be showcasing her new release Just Take My Heart. I've had the pleasure of working at author signings with her and she is a true lady at heart:



Last but far from least is Elizabeth Noble,whose new novel The Girl Next Door is set for a December release. I read one of her earlier titles,The Reading Group,and it was very entertaining,which makes me look forward to this one:





In the end,that's what this is all about,the books. Regardless of genre,language,culture or even form,the written word holds steady in both good times and bad. For some of us,the need to read is as vital as having food,air and water to live on. Hopefully at BEA tomorrow,I'll find that there is more feast than famine available for all of us bookworms out there: