Book Tour Day 4 Report – Part 2 – Hot Miami Bookstore

Wow.

WOW.

….. we interrupt this LJ post to point out that the author is pretty much speechless at this point because she is so completely blown away by the Books & Books event tonight. Please bear with her….

Freaking – ohmigah – wow.

The world of bookselling changed tonight. Books and Books raised the bar for YA events and proved that if you speak to the condition of teens, they hear you and respond. By combining music and books and an author in a friendly, fun atmosphere, the Event of the Century was pulled off. More than 400 people came. FOUR HUNDRED. Most of them were teenagers. To a bookstore. On a Friday night.

Wow.

Image and video hosting by TinyPic This was the first of FIVE bands that completely rocked the house.

Image and video hosting by TinyPic These are The Corrupters. (See the guy in the Nirvana shirt? He signed his guitar pick for me.)

The other bands were Raffa & Ranier, The Skamatics, Three Beef Burrito, and a couple whose name I can’t find in my notes. And DJ Brian Brooks spun music (from the TWISTED playlist, thank you very much) in between sets.

Image and video hosting by TinyPic Did I mention the 400 people? They came to dance, to chat, to eat free pizza, to win raffle prizes, to hang out with me, and to be a part of a rocking night.

Image and video hosting by TinyPic The music was very good and very loud. Many parents sought refuge in the cafe.

Image and video hosting by TinyPic This is Mitchell Kaplan, who owns the store.

Image and video hosting by TinyPic About 125 people squeezed in to hear my talk, which took place while the bands were trading places.

Approximately one billion books were sold. Maybe not quite that many. But close. And a couple hundred teens saw a bookstore as a great place, and a whole bunch of families affirmed reading as a priority. Countless teachers heard me thank them for using contemporary YA novels in the classroom. I don’t know how much pizza was scarfed. I did not dare brave the starving hoards. Wow.

Thank you Emily, Cliff, and Mitch for simple everything, and thank you Miami for a day I will never forget.

Tomorrow’s events:
Wake up too early. Go to airport. Get on plane. The right plane. Fly to Ohio. Meet the author schlepper du jour.

12:00PM
Signing at Blue Marble Bookstore
1356 S. Ft. Thomas Avenue
Ft. Thomas, KY 41075
859-781-0602

3:00PM
Signing at Joseph-Beth Booksellers
2692 Madison Rd.
Cincinnati, OH 45208
513-731-7770

5:30 PM
Stock Signing at Blue Manatee Children’s Bookstore
3054 Madison Rd
Cincinnati, OH 45209

LATE BULLETIN!!!! It’s going to be Georgetown against UNC on Sunday for the East Championship!!

Sunday laundry list of scattered thoughts & plea for help

I have to record a podcast about TWISTED today. This is a new thing for me. What should I include? Should I just read a couple of excerpts from the book? More? Do you listen to podcasts? Why? What do you want to hear? Where does the word podcast come from, anyway?

We have a new washing machine. It came with one hundred buttons, a graduate degree, and an attitude. I am intimidated. It took me a month to master the coffee pot. But I don’t have a month to develop a relationship with Mr. Whirlpool Fancy-Pants High-Efficiency Kiss-My-Buttons-and-Grovel Washing Machine. I have a lot of clothes that need to be washed because the plane leaves on Tuesday. I am tempted to go to the laundromat or beat the clothes against a rock in the river, but I’m afraid if I don’t confront the snooty appliance today, it will mock me every time I walk past it.

Don’t you hate it when machines sneer?

Georgetown won. North Carolina won. Ohio almost didn’t win and Pitt had a scare. Yesterday’s tournament was rocking with overtimes and close games. Gotta love it.

Check your pet food today!

Thanks to everyone for their kind comments about my mother, the rebel without a cause. She read through all your comments and loved them. Now she is telling everyone in town that she’s famous because she’s on the Internet. Yesterday she promised she wouldn’t die or get sick when I’m on the book tour. You are my witness.

Monday – basketball edition

They didn’t pick Syracuse for the NCAA tournament?

They didn’t pick SYRACUSE for the NCAA tournament??

This is an outrage. Excuse me while I lie on my fainting couch a moment.

::curses stupid selection committee::

Other than that, the brackets are intriguing. If things work out well, we’re looking at a Sarah Dessen (North Carolina) vs. Laurie Halse Anderson (Georgetown) showdown for the East regional championship in a few weeks. If this occurs, I think wagering will be required. What do you say, Sarah?

(Syracuse was robbed, man. Robbed. I wonder if Coach Boeheim will make changes to his noon-conference schedule next year.)

I haven’t decided who my Cinderella team is yet. Any suggestions?

Another reason to love Syracuse, NY

is that we have free wi-fi at the airport. Wo-hoo!

Just wanted to say thanks to Notre Dame for an excellent game last night. They played way above and beyond the call of duty, esp. that freshman guard, Tory Jackson, who is my New Favorite Player on Opposing Team. It was one of the best games I’ve seen in a very long time. At the end, Georgetown won and is in the Big East championhsip game for the first time in a decade. 9pm tonight. HOYA SAXA!!!

I am shutting the computer now to do some brainstorming with paper, pen, and large cup of tea. Have a great weekend, all.

Where are my socks?

Packing and last prep for Michigan today. I am really looking forward to seeing Christopher Paul Curtis, Hope Vestergaard, Marissa Moss, Chris Rascha (can’t find a website for him!), Elizabeth Partridge, David Wiesner, Wendy Mass, Gordon Korman, and Mem Fox.

if you are a teacher involved in teaching literacy, reading, writing, or literature to kids or teens, you really should scroll through the Michigan Reading Association conference offerings. There are hundreds of workshops. They do it up right in the Mitten State.

Thank you, Basketball Gods, for the sad defeat yesterday of Syracuse in the Big East tournament because now I don’t have to freak out about a Syracuse vs. Georgetown game. Georgetown beat Villanova (ha! HA!) and plays Notre Dame tonight at 7pm. I will be glued to the screen.