Since I scouted out the convention centre instead of going to the blogger social after the Bloggers Conference I sort of knew where I was going this morning.  I didn’t have to hurry in to register right away because the exhibit hall wasn’t officially open until 9:00 and I was already registered from the Bloggers Conference.  So I came in around 8:30 and accidentally stumbled onto a galley drop over at Scott Westerfeld’s publisher for his new collaborative work, Zero.  I wasn’t expecting it but I enjoy Westerfeld’s work so I’m actually quite eager to get started on it.

Again I was very selective about only picking books I have the full intention of reviewing but there are just so many books out there.  Even if you’re as selective as I am, you’ll end up with 20+ books.  Part of the reason is because there are so many YA galley drops and signings.  The publishers know their audience for the Expo and they aren’t stupid; they do cater quite a bit to the blogging community.

The only thing I really planned on seeing today was the Tor/Forge panel because John Scalzi was moderating/interrogating for it.  I discovered some amazing new authors like Seth Dickinson and Ilana C. Myer from the panel.  John Scalzi really is a great interviewer because he makes things funny without making them seem contrived or forced.  I was up front so I noticed poor Ilana Myer was shaking she was so nervous at first but Scalzi put her at ease and pretty soon her personality was shining through.  The real star of the panel seemed to be Seth Dickinson, whose book The Traitor Baru Cormorant sounds amazing. He was hilarious and it’s clear that he’s really thought the political aspect of his world through.  When I learned that he and Ilana Myer were signing I actually stood in line for autographs and got books from both of them.  In the process I learned that this was poor Ilana’s first panel!  Sticking her in front of a full audience at Book Expo America of all places was an interesting decision on Tor/Forge’s part but John Scalzi luckily made her right at home.

After the panel everyone crowded around the authors so I went off to explore the expo more.  By the time I came back John Scalzi was finishing up with a group so I awkwardly asked him for a picture, which is above.  He was really cool about it and I was so excited I could barely form a proper sentence.  So thanks for the awesome picture, John Scalzi!  It really made my day to meet one of my favourite authors/bloggers.

So that was my second day at the expo and my fifth day in New York.  So far, things have been amazing and I’m not looking forward to going home.