Sunday Salon: The SIBA Edition

 Good morning friends!  I am saloning to you today from Naples at SIBA.  This is definitely one of the highlights of my year...to meet authors, to talk to publishers, hearing about new and interesting books.  It is Nirvana for a book geek like me.  

 Talking about the details of all the goodness here is probably going to happen in another post, but there are so many wonderful books I'm excited to read.  See, this is my problem!  I had 32 reading priorities before I came down here, and now I have 50 more.  At a time when I'm reading one print book a month!  Ack.  

I just have to tell you all that the BEST thing about this trip was finally meeting Rhapsody Jill.  I have bared my soul to her, been mentored by her and have had a gazillion book discussions with her...online.  Now I have met her for real.  Which is really really cool.  We bonded over exercise at 5am!  And ice cream.  That goes together, right?



Highlight numero dos.  At a little happy hour soiree last night, where we had to play humiliating games to win tickets to win authors to take to dinner...Heather O' Roark gave me a wide-eyed deer-in-the-headlights-type look, and whispered "celebrity in the HOWS".  I turned around and who was there?  Beautiful, pixie-elfin Emily St. John Mandel.  Author of three amazing books (Singer's Gun).  We barged right in on her conversation with someone, and proceeded to adore her.  And she.  Is.  Adorable.  She was embarrassed by our attention, and was so modest.  She is participating in an event today, and I hope to talk to her some more.  




Highlight de trois.  Those humiliating games we played?  Like sliding an oreo down my face into my mouth without the use of my hands?  Or picking up grocery bags with my mouth?  It won the bloggers the opportunity to take Karen White and Wendy Wax to dinner.  (If you recall, the bloggers took Wendy last yearn at SIBA, and Heather F and I took Karen et all to dinner at the UCF Book Festival.  So we were all well-acquainted.)  Karen and Wendy are writing mentors as well, and therefore we were all able to relax and enjoy our buffalo mozzarella, our whole wheat pasta dishes, Nutella pizza and wine.    

So next week is BBAW (Book Bloggers Appreciation Week).  I had every intention to participate fully in this annual event, but didn't appreciate that it came right on the heels of SIBA.  So.  I will be doing an Interview Swap on Tuesday, but other than that, you probably won't be hearing from me.  Something has to give.  I shall be attempting to catch up with my life.  I think after I get home from SIBA, I will be home for good for the short term.  

I am still reading "Wilderness of Error", a true crime book about three murders that happened in 1970, and the miscarriage of justice that occurred for decades after.  Wonderful book, but I think I'm going to set the record for the longest time it has taken me to read a book ever.  I need to lock myself in a closet.

On the brighter side, I'm plowing my way through Tana French's "Broken Harbor", and I love it from the bottom of my heart.  I wish I could, like, EAT this book.  I should be finishing this one next week sometime.  This is what audio, and reading in general, is all about.  

So today, the final SIBA event is called The Movable Feast, where over lunch, authors spend 10 minutes or so at each table before moving to the next table.  It is fun and exciting to get a chance to spend this time with so many authors.  After this is over, and we have hauled our books to my car, I'm thinking...a massage?  The beach?  I will return to reality tomorrow.

Hope you all have a wonderful relaxing Sunday, full of reading.  Does anyone have anything special going on?