Summer To-Read List

After completing my last final exam on Friday, I can officially say that summer has started. Not only does the arrival of warmer days and longer hours mean it is time to re-read and re-watch Harry Potter, but to finally check out those books that I have been adding to my "To-Read" list all year long.

Here is what I plan on reading over the next few months:

1. Daisy Miller, Henry James

2. Bad Feminist, Roxane Gay

3. Saint Anything, Sarah Dessen

4. Attachments, Rainbow Rowell

5. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver *

6. How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Thomas C. Foster *

7. Beloved, Toni Morrison *

8. Unbearable Lightness, Portia de Rossi **

9. The Return of Martin Guerre, Natalie Zemon Davis ***

10. Paper Towns, John Green

*Required Reading for AP Literature
**Required Reading for Women's Studies and Literature
***Required Reading for AP Modern European History

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BookCon 2015

{Entrance to the show floor}

{If you haven't heard, there's quite a lot of controversy about Harper Lee's new book}

So BookCon was AMAZING. Last Saturday, after waking up very early to board the first ferry to NYC, a friend and I made our way to the Javits Center. Upon arrival, we both quickly decided that if Heaven looked anything like the BookCon show floor, we would be completely satisfied :)

BookCon was a two day public convention held at the Javits Center in New York City. The event is an extension of Book Expo America, which unlike BookCon, is only open to industry professionals. In 2016, both conventions will be held in Chicago from May 11th-15th. 

On the show floor many publishers, including Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, and HarperCollins, had free giveaways and books for sale. Pins, brochures, books, and too many tote bags - were among the many free items I came away with. Links to some of the things I saw, and things I brought home can be found below.

Authors and celebrities, such as Mindy Kailing, Judy Blume, Gayle Forman and Aziz Ansari, were also present to sign autographs and talk to large audiences in panel discussions.

For me, the highlight of the entire day was getting to see John Green at the Paper Towns Movie Panel. The three hours we spent waiting in various lines was so worth it! John Green, along with Nat Wolff (who will play Quentin in the film), the screenwriter, director and musical composer discussed the book's transition from page to screen. The new trailer for the movie was shown exclusively to those in the audience before it was made available to the public on Tuesday night. 

I also got to hear Rainbow Rowell (author of Fangirl and Eleanor and Park) talk in conversation with Tumblr's Rachel Fershlieser. The two discussed the power of the Internet and social media, as well as the book-writing process. I was surprised to learn that Rowell writes all the dialogue of a book first, and that she is just as funny in real life as her novels are.

Attending BookCon was a really awesome experience. It was so cool being surrounded by hundreds of other nerdy, crazy, book-loving people - if I could hop on a plane to Chicago next year, I totally would :)


The Official BookCon App, and this list of tips were incredibly helpful in making the day a successful one. 

{Paper Towns Film Panel with John Green}

{My loot - 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 }

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