Kindred Spirits discussion

Use this thread to tell us about other bookish things you're doing! Are you hosting/participating in a blog readalong, giveaway, photo challenge, etc that our members might be interested in? This is the place to tell us about it.

Well I'm not sure if this qualifies for this thread or not but next weekend we have C2E2 here in Chicago which is sort of a comic con. In the past they have had some good book related panels and authors attend. This year seems a bit skimpy on the author front I think because the same people will be putting on in the same location Bookcon and to the extent authors are going to come here for a Con they are probably waiting for that one instead. In any case there will be an Epic Reads YA panel on the Saturday which I am going to try to attend.

In the past there has also been a good showing from a few publishers with a bunch of ARCs and first in series being given out free. So fingers crossed there will be a showing from them as well.

Oh, that sounds like fun! I hadn't heard of C2E2 before. Say hi to my friend Margot if you end up going to the Epic Reads thing. You're probably right about people waiting for BookCon for the most part, though--it's interesting that BEA has moved to Chicago after being in NY for so long. Nice change of pace for regular attendees, though, and for those who live in the area.

Are there any books you're particularly looking forward to this year, aside from THE RAVEN KING?

I saw a photo of Margot and Aubrey reunited on Twitter! That panel sounds like it will be excellent, Indiana--do tell us how it goes!! Have fun!

Actually the others that will be appearing for Epic Reads are Danielle Paige (Dorothy Must Die), Kathryn Purdie (Burning Glass), Heidi Heilig (Girl from Everywhere), Sara Raasch (Snow Like Ashes) and Brittany Cavallaro (A Study in Charlotte). I have not read any of them before so it will be good to find some new to me authors. Claudia Grey will also be here and appearing on some panels and I'm curious to attend the Star Wars books panel to hear her speak about those.

Wendy Darling wrote: "Are there any books you're particularly looking forward to this year, aside from THE RAVEN KING?"
Well I'm a huge fan of Anne Bishop's The Others series so one of my I can't wait for reads in 2016 dropped this week and I am very happily reading it right now. But coming out later this year, A Court of Mist and Fury is very high on my OMG WILL YOU COME OUT SOON list. Also Maas's next Throne of Glass book. And the Harry Potter play. And Leigh's sequel to Six of Crows. Oh and The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch. And Rosamund Hodge's new book. So many books to look forward to!

Well I must say I was not impressed with the Epic Reads YA panel. Possibly the worst YA panel I've attended. That probably makes it sound really bad and I guess it wasn't "bad" but I've been spoiled by many fantastic YA panels and panelists so this was subpar compared to others. Uninteresting questions, panelists all talking at once so you can't hear what anyone is saying, when you could hear what they were saying it wasn't that interesting...I skipped out on getting any of their books.

However, I did get 12 free ARCs between yesterday and today. I basically walk past the Penguin/Del Ray table rather frequently throughout the weekend and scoop them up as they put them out. LOL. They also put out first in series to promote upcoming later releases but I had most of those so passed. But a nice combination of adult fantasy, YA, and children's literature. Two of the YAs are both featuring witches so that seems to be a trend.

Also went to a Star Wars books panels which was great fun. Very impressed by Claudia Gray...as in her ability to sound intelligent and interesting and witty on the panel. I haven't read any of her YA novels but might be inclined to check one out after hearing her speak. Got a couple of Jedi Academy books signed by Jeffrey Brown for my nephews. They are low on the literature scale but the illustrations are adorable and I like to mix low brow with classics when giving them gifts.

Oh Indiana, I'm sorry to hear the Epic Reads panel was a disappointment! I've never been to one myself (my friend Margot created/runs the program), but I think they'll be doing stuff at YALLWEST, which I might try to go to this year. I actually don't love a lot of those panel type things or huge signings; it really depends so much on what the author has to say, if the event has any focus/good questions, how well it's run, etc.

BUT free ARCs are always great, hah. And presents for nephews! <3

I really like Claudia Gray online, so it doesn't surprise me to hear that. In response to a ridiculous post supposedly examining a damaging trope in romance books (which identified REBECCA as a romance, btw), she wrote this amazing thing on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MissWendyD/status... I haven't read her Star Wars book, and sort of felt so-so about the first Firebird book, but I really liked the first few Evernight books in her vampire series.

And yes, this is such an amazing year for for both children's and adult lit! I'm sort of overwhelmed with how much greatness that is coming out just this spring, I can't even think about summer/fall/winter yet. Fun times.

I go to a lot of conventions and author appearances so I'm really spoiled for quality panels and speakers. So its made me rather picky :) Looking forward to some good panels at Bookcon in May.

But one thing that came up at this panel that I am so tired of hearing...."YA didn't exist when I was growing up." This from authors my age or younger in response to what they read when they were teenagers. This always baffles me because I found plenty of YA novels to read in the early 1980s when I was a teenager. Still have some of them now and after rereads find they still qualify by today's standards as YA. Maybe I just had access to exceptional bookstores and libraries? But its come up often enough at this point that its not isolated.

I was a teenager in the 60's and there were definitely YA books out there, they just didn't call them YA books yet. And I grew up in a very small town.

Indiana,
I agree with you about the fact that there was YA back in the day. I've taken courses on YA literature and there's always a segment of the course focused on literature written for young adults in the 60s, 70s, etc. I think Rosemarie is also right--they didn't call them YA. The term "YA" the way it is used today I think is fairly new...

You know I can't really remember what term was used in the bookstores/library I went to as a teen. I don't really remember the term YA being used but somehow I knew what section to go to and it was certainly separated from younger grade books. But I just pulled two books I have from my teens off my bookshelf to see if they give any clue. One is an Avon Flare Original Novel published in 1982 and on the inside it bills itself as "Flare Original Novels for Young Adults". The other is a Dell Fiction novel from 1977 and it bills itself as "Compelling Historical Fiction for Young Adults". So I guess YA was a term being used by publishers for books aimed at teens by at least by the late 1970s.

But regardless of what it was labeled, it did exist. I guess why the "YA didn't exist in the [70s/80s/90s]" answer always bothers me is it seems to indicate a lot of teens didn't have access to those books in those eras and missed them. And it means those authors I enjoyed as a teen aren't being recommended (and as a result remaining in print today) so they can be enjoyed by a new generation.

Well BEA (Book Expo America) starts here in Chicago tomorrow so the Book People are arriving from all over and there are oodles of book related activities going on. Tonight I met up for cocktails with the ladies who run the Forever Young Adult website who are in town for BEA. Such a lovely group! (With local YA book clubs all over the US and elsewhere for anyone looking for some kindred spirits in their own locality.)

Also going on in Chicago this week is the annual Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America convention. They are having a large booksigning free and open to the public on Friday night. I'm looking forward to getting my copy of Uprooted signed by Naomi Novak.

Then on Saturday we've got Bookcon here in town which I am looking forward to and totally afraid of! I'm hoping to get my copy of A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah Maas signed but if not shall look forward to seeing her on some panels along with many other YA favorites.

A very bookish week here in Chicago!

Have a good time, Indiana. Your to-read list will probably grow exponentially!

Thanks Rosemarie, I fear it will! I am afraid I cannot resist free books and I get swept up in the frenzy for them and the next thing you know I have 30 more books on my TBR pile. I still have all the ones I got last month at C2E2 and I haven't gotten anywhere near them.

My daughter worked for a major Toronto bookstore for a number of years(Indigo) and attended a few book festivals, always coming home with a number of free books. Many of them are still at my house, even though she moved out years ago. In fact many of the books she purchased(with her discount) are still here. Some of them were quite enjoyable reads. One of them, a Canadian book called The Birth House by Ami McKay was enjoyed by my two daughters and myself.

Indiana,
Have fun meeting Naomi Novik! That's so great that you can go and have your book signed. I loved that book and really need to get my hands on some of her other work!