Finally, one of my favorite events of the year, BookExpo 2018, has arrived.
I've survived the first day -- and what a day. The day's events run from 9:30 am to 6:00 and it's a full day. I paced myself this year and didn't try to see every book signing and every panel, though it was tempting. When I arrived this morning the floor of the Javits Center seemed more hectic than I remembered and my thought was that I had no way to make my way through the crowd. But I decided to focus on the first panel of the day -- a discussion of six books scheduled to be published this fall -- and ignore the long lines for book signings and swirls of people. Once again it was a successful strategy for enjoying this event. I got my own rhythm and had great book discussions throughout the day.
One of my favorite parts of BookExpo is meeting authors. One of the high points of today was meeting Christina Baker Kline. She was signing copies of her latest novel, A Piece of the World, which is inspired by Andrew Wyeth's relationship with Christina Olson, the subject of his painting, Christina's World. It's a favorite painting and I am very excited to start reading. Christina Baker Kline is as nice as she is talented. I've been a reader of hers for quite awhile. If you haven't had the opportunity to read this latest book, you may know her work from reading Orphan Train.
Going from the sublime to the less sublime, I met a favorite character from books, the very delightful Wimpy Kid.
Moving now to not sublime at all, but lots of fun, it's the Queen and two of the most beautiful corgis imaginable. They were at the Scholastic booth promoting the latest Mac Undercover book.
I've circled any number of things I want to do tomorrow, but it's also nice to know that I can be open to whatever seems engaging. There will be pictures of tomorrow's activities, but they may not appear until Saturday. I walked 7 miles today and though I'm not feeling it too badly tonight, even another five miles tomorrow may be too much activity to do more than come home, eat dinner and enjoy one of my new books -- until I fall asleep reading.
As ever, thanks for visiting. Take care and have a fabulous Friday.