BEA 2012, Day 2, Highlight: A Treat for the Gentleman Gamer

It was another fine day at BEA at the good old [nasty] Javits Center. What a wonderfully crowded day filled with celebs [I saw Rachel Ray and Tim Gunn signing with incredibly long lines] and packed with industry folk and more advance reader copies than you could possibly fit in a tote bag.


I left galley light today, having quite enough to read and get caught up on, having only grabbed a forthcoming thriller from Mulholland Books [an imprint of Little Brown & Co.], BREED by Chase Novak -- which looks creepy and delicious and includes a Stephen King bursted quote on the cover, a pretty good endorsement. I very much look forward to getting into that one.


Some of you may or may not know, I have an alter ego, a late night gaming persona whom likes to mix his exciting videogame playing with spirits of a civilized type; a mashup of the cultures of gaming and imbibing, and for this guy it works out quite nicely. It all started one cold winter day when my wife found me playing SOCOM II with glass of port wine. She said all that was missing was my smoking jacket. And the Gentleman Gamer was born.

Celebrating the 50th Stuart Woods novel, and his main character, Stone Barrington, the good folks at Putnam gave away mini bottles of Knob Creek whiskey, Stone's drink of choice. It was a classy giveaway, and even though I'm not a whiskey drinker per say, this Gentleman Gamer is not beyond mixing a little whiskey with his late night Fallout sessions--soon to become Skyrim sessions. It's the little things after all.

I realize I need to quickly mention the other books I picked up, which I plan to do after the final day of BEA tomorrow, as I might, beyond anything that I can control, grab even more books while at the show. What can I do, it's a disease.

I did leave feeling very positive about the state of things in the book world. Sure there are still some hardships across the industry, but I also saw enthusiasm and the desire for many to have their books [whatever the format] find that elusive new reader.


The sad news of the day, the passing of Ray Bradbury, was something I was crushed to hear. Throughout the day, people across the floor could be heard talking of his great legacy. Certainly a loss, but what an impressive lineage he has left behind. 


On to tomorrow.

My BEA 2012 Day 1 - Favorite item of the day

 My first day at Book Expo America was great fun. I worked with my fellow colleagues at the DK Publishing booth and when able, ran around to scout bound gallies and other giveaways. I ran into friends, old coworkers and business partners and saw several big name authors walking around (like John Grisham and Dennis Lehane).


I wanted to write about my favorite giveaway of the day, which Little Brown & Co. gave out promoting the new Lemony Snicket book. Instead of the tried and true tote bag (of which I did grab a few,  a side effect of working in the book world), LB was giving away this neat faux-leather briefcase, which zipped up and included a bunch of promotional items including a preview of the book, "Who Could That Be at This Hour?" with cover and scattered interior illustrations by renowned comic book illustrator, Seth. The case also included a calendar, pen--with sliding octopus feature--and a boxed bar of soap, with The Lost Arms imprinted on it.


It was one of the hot items of Day 1 of BEA, and I thought a really nice promotional package, and an important reminder to us all as we continue to plunge into the digital age, that it's still nice to see a publisher put together a really fun printed promotional kit. 

 I also grabbed a few books, which I'll talk about soon after I make it through day 2 (and 3) perhaps so that I can write up a whole post on the books I grabbed over the course of the show. Fun fun...