Reading something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue
Just wanted to leave a note that all is well — thank you for all the emails! I have spent the last few weeks reading for the Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers Literary Awards (Cybils), where I am a second round judge for graphic novels. I read 14 graphic novels for the Cybils — half for middle grade and half for YA (photo finish!), and our committee submitted our decision this morning; so now we all just have to wait for the awards announcement this weekend.
NYT Bestselling YA author E. Lockhart was in the country this weekend on her book-signing tour, and I was glad for the opportunity to meet her, because her books had been keeping me awake in the middle of the night over the past week.
E. Lockhart’s list of bestselling books include the acclaimed “We Were Liars,” the Printz Honor book (+CYBILS Best YA Novel +National Book Award nominee) “The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks,” “Fly on the Wall,” “Dramarama” and the Ruby Oliver quartet: “The Boyfriend List,” “The Boy Book,” “The Treasure Map of Boys,” and “Real Live Boyfriends.”
Nearly 2,000 Filipino fans turned out for New York Times bestselling authors Veronica Rossi, Tahereh Mafi, and Ransom Riggs at the book signing tour held by National Book Store this weekend at the Glorietta Activity Center and Ayala Center Cebu.
Veronica Rossi is the author of the “Under the Never Sky” trilogy,” with the books “Under the Never Sky,” “Through the Ever Night” and “Into the Still Blue”; Tahereh Mafi penned the “Shatter Me” trilogy, with the books “Shatter Me,” “Unravel Me” and “Ignite Me”; while Ransom Riggs is best known for his “Miss Peregrine” books, currently with two installments, “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children,” and “Hollow City.”
After signing thousands of books in their back-to-back events, I was lucky I got to catch them for a quick chat today at the Writer’s Bar at the Fairmont.
Continue reading “Veronica Rossi, Tahereh Mafi, and Ransom Riggs (+giveaway!)”
An author’s signature increases the value of a book. Signed first editions, especially by famous authors, can cost an arm and a leg (the Holy Grail of the moment is a signed first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, at £8,000 to £10,000), and while there are no hard and fast rules in book valuation, a signed copy is more valuable than an identical unsigned one.
For me though, the potential value of the book is secondary; the biggest thrill from getting a signed copy is being able to come into contact with the author (or illustrator) of the book, whether directly (through the rare book signings that happen in this part of the world) or indirectly (e.g. rummaging through the bargain bins and hitting paydirt!).
