There were a number of books that I’d heard were being promoted at BEA that I missed out on. These are the top five I’m most bummed about not getting (in no particular order):
- The Passage by Justin Cronin (already pubbed) – I’ve read so many rave reviews of this book (see Presenting Lenore, Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin’?, Books and Movies, Reading Extravaganza, S. Krishna’s Books, A Reader’s Respite, Boston Bibliophile and Book Chatter, for starters), but I was too dazed on my first day of BEA to stand in line to get an autographed copy.
- Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder (already pubbed) – Linda and I tried to get an autographed copy of this one, but they’d run out of books by the time we got there. It was Lenore’s review that piqued my interest in this dystopia: she rated it 5 zombie chickens (“the Ultimate Dystopian Experience”)!
- Half in Love: Surviving the Legacy of Suicide by Linda Gray Sexton (pub date 9/10) – I couldn’t even find the booth of the publisher of this book (Phoenix Books), despite asking about them at the info booth, so I’m not sure Half in Love was actually available at BEA. I read Linda Gray Sexton’s first memoir, Searching for Mercy Street: My Journey Back to My Mother, Anne Sexton years ago, and I will definitely be buying this one at some point.
- Great House by Nicole Krauss (pub date 10/10) – I still haven’t given The History of Love a second try (I couldn’t get into it the first time around), but Great House, which is apparently “a powerful, soaring novel about a stolen desk that contains the secrets, and becomes the obsession, of the lives it passes through,” sounds very good.
- The Wolves of Andover by Kathleen Kent (pub date 11/10) – I slept in rather than go to Kathleen Kent’s signing, which I didn’t feel too unhappy about when I heard she was a no-show. Unfortunately, this did mean that I didn’t get a copy of this prequel to The Heretic’s Daughter, which I loved (read my review).
I'm sure other opportunities will come up for those books! I'm always amazed at publisher promotions long after a book has been printed. I know what you mean though - especially with The Passage - when a book has all that hype, I feel driven to read it and find out what all the fuss is about! Of course, I wasn't so knocked over by The Passage, but still, I'm so glad I read it!
ReplyDeleteThe Passage is on my wish list....it will probably be a good long while before I get it. I hadn't heard of the other ones.....thanks for the info...they sound good.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I'm not the only one who couldn't get into The History of Love. I finished it, but I admit it was somewhat reluctantly.
ReplyDeleteBut I agree with you that the new one does sound pretty good ... maybe I will give that a try, too.
I'm really excited about The Passage. I usually stay away from books that are hyped this much but not in this case.
ReplyDeletePassage and Inside Out were great (thanks for linking)!
ReplyDeleteHere's a list of what I missed out on:
Zombies Vs Unicorns
Rot & Ruin
Dangerous Neighbors by Beth Kephart *sobs*
Grace by Elizabeth Scott
and I am sure many others.
I also missed out on The Passage and The Wolves of Andover. I'm really bummed about that, but I did get some good ones.
ReplyDeleteOpen secret: I'm going to have a giveaway for The Passage as soon as I finish it;) Maybe you will win!
ReplyDeleteAs you might have expected - none of these made my list. Actually, I did not really have a list of books I missed out on - other than The Duff, which Cindy was kind enough to lend me.
ReplyDeleteI can totally understand why you missed some of these...BEA has to be a bit overwhelming!! I would love to read #4. I really enjoyed History of Love.
ReplyDeleteFYI - Phoenix Books went out of business last month. There's a reason you couldn't find them at BEA!
ReplyDeleteI did get The Wolves of Andover, but didn't get the rest.
ReplyDeleteOh, the list of books I missed at BEA keeps getting longer and longer as bloggers put up their reviews! The biggest problem I had - total lack of preparedness. I went in rather willy nilly and just sort of wandered. I did find a lot of gems that way, but I missed out on some really good books.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I didn't get any of these either. I have to admit, I'm not making lists of books I didn't get. I dont' want my TBR to go out of control again!!
ReplyDeleteThat is a bummer!! I'm sure you had to have a game plan to "score" the best ARCs for the hottest books. Perhaps this post will help you out!!!
ReplyDeleteI am looking forward to the Passage this summer. You have so many books to choose from :0
ReplyDeleteI was so fascinated with all the hype that The Passage is getting that I went and bought my own copy. I usually don't go for hype, but this was just one of those times...
ReplyDeleteJill, yours was the only less-than-rave review I could find for The Passage (among the blogs I read regularly). I hope it didn't sound like I was complaining about not getting these books -- I wish I had snagged copies, but it's not like I really need more to read at this point!
ReplyDeleteMissy, I hope we both manage to get our hands on The Passage!
Melissa, Claire at kiss a cloud reviewed The History of Love last year (here) and inspired me to give it another try (although I haven't done so yet). I'm sorry to hear you didn't enjoy it; I'm hoping I just tried to read it at the wrong time.
Kathleen, sometimes the hype is deserved and sometimes not, but I find it hard not to want to see for myself (although, shamefully, I still haven't read The Hunger Games, despite owning a copy)!
Lenore, as you know, I got a (signed) copy of Dangerous Neighbors, but none of the others on your list.
Serena, I'm definitely excited about most of the books I did get!
Thanks for letting me know, Bibliophiliac! But will you be willing to mail that brick to Canada if I win or are you just teasing me?
Tina, as you know I missed out on The DUFF too, so it's handy that Cindy got a copy!
Oh my goodness, Staci, BEA is definitely overwhelming! I'm glad to hear you enjoyed The History of Love.
Thanks for letting me know, Carin -- that does explain why I couldn't find their booth (although you'd think the woman at the info booth would have known that Phoenix had gone out of business)! I just checked on Amazon and apparently Counterpoint is now publishing the book in 2011.
Kathy, I'll keep an eye out for your review!
Trisha, I was prepared for BEA to some extent, but still missed out on books because I felt overwhelmed much of the time!
Amanda, I hear you, although my wish list is perpetually out of control and my TBR pile is huge, so I figure a few more added to the list won't make much difference!
Jenners, a game plan for BEA definitely helps!
Diane, by the way, I saw your daughter's book at BEA, although I don't think they were giving out copies.
Aths, I'll probably buy The Passage too, although I'll wait for the paperback edition as I'm not a fan of hardcovers.