6 Impressions From a First Time YALL Fest-er

Posted in Fun, Novels, Travel by Maggie @ macarons & paperbacks

Rainbow Rowell!!!!

This time last week I was at YALL Fest, the largest Young Adult book festival in North America (which means it’s probably the largest in the world). It. Was. AMAZING.

I went with my friend Regina and it was our first time at a festival like this so needless to say we were overwhelmed! Later next year, before the next YALL Fest, I will post all about our tips and advice, but for now, let me just enthuse about my 6 biggest impressions/favorite memories from YALL Fest 2014!

Meeting two of my favorite authors

The two authors I was most looking forward to meeting at YALL Fest were Ann Brashares, author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, and Rainbow Rowell, author of Eleanor & Park, Landline, and Attachments (my favorite read of the year so far). I got to meet them both and have them sign some books and I was fangirling like crazy! Ann Brashares’s line was shorter which was awesome because she spent a few minutes talking to each of her fans. She told me so many nice things: that I look like a Maggie, that she loved my hair (and she talked about how her daughter has red hair, too), and she was also really happy that I loved Sisterhood Everlasting (the final, darker, and sadder Sisterhood book). Rainbow Rowell’s line was fast-moving, but she did let us take pictures with her! Dreams come true :)
The panels!
Ok, for anyone who may be going to YALL Fest in the future, do not miss out on the panels!! I absolutely loved meeting Ann Brashares and Rainbow Rowell, but the panels were equally amazing. We got to go to 3 and a half (we came in halfway through one called “The New Romantics”) and it really made YALL Fest incredible for us.
♥ The New Romantics – several YA romance authors including Ann Brashares, Sarah J. Maas (Throne of Glass), and Kiera Cass (The Selection), talked about the most romantic things that someone has done for them, genres they wish they could write, and their most embarrassing pieces of writing.

♥ Hollywood Adaptations – LOVED this panel! All of the authors here seemed so down to earth, especially James Dashner, who is such a goof…I can’t wait to meet him one day.

♥ Closing Keynote – This was a panel with Sarah Dessen (Just Listen, The Truth About Forever) and Ally Condie (The Matched series, Atlantia), but the most entertaining aspect was the moderator, Brendan Reichs (The Virals series), who was absolutely hilarious! It was also inspiring to hear about Ally and Sarah’s writing processes.
♥ YA Smackdown – This is a DO NOT MISS event. Dozens of authors participated in different skits, the most memorable being Hollywood Squares, reading the first lines of famous YA novels, and reading some of their earliest, most embarrassing works. All of this was topped off with a musical performance that concluded with The Rocky Horror Picture Show’s Time Warp.
Realizing authors are just like us
This sounds like an US Weekly article, but it’s true. The panels showed me that most authors are weird (in a good way)! They aren’t polished or “above anyone,” except some of them DO dress like they’re straight out of The Devil Wears Prada (I’m talking to you, Marie Lu <3)
Blogger Dinner
Friday night we were happy to attend a book blogger dinner where we got to meet bloggers from all over the continent. It was such a fun evening! I love the blogging community :)
Connecting with other fans/bloggers/authors on Twitter
THIS actually turned out to be a life saver. We found that the YALL Fest website had a lot of conflicting info, for example, some of the author signings required wristbands which were given out earlier in the day. One of these special wristbands was needed for Rainbow Rowell’s line, and the website said those would be given out to the first 200 people in her line in the afternoon, but actually, they were giving them out in the morning. If I hadn’t been scrolling through Twitter while getting dressed that morning, I would have missed the memo a fan fortunately tweeted. I OWE MY SIGNED RAINBOW BOOKS TO HER! Next year, stay updated through Twitter.
Charleston is a lovely city!

The people there were so nice! The waitresses, the parking garage attendants, even curious drivers were nice to all of us out-of-towners. And the city had so many cute shops and restaurants. I’ll love visiting this city again next year!

I know this post was long! But hopefully it helps anyone who wants to attend YALL Fest next year! I will probably post about this again next fall because I have plenty of advice for first timers!

Veronica Roth and James Dashner were hilarious “frenemies” at YALL Fest :)

I also got to meet Gayle Forman!

Did you attend YALL Fest this year or in the past? What did you think??

11Nov2014

Top Ten Tuesday: Characters I’d Wish Could Have Their Own Book

Posted in Fun, Novels by Maggie @ macarons & paperbacks

This was such a hard post to write! I have no idea why, but I spent so much time wracking my brain trying to think of characters I’d want to see more of. I even had to ask my husband for suggestions ;) But I could only come up with nine! So you’ll have to give me suggestions for a tenth one…

Characters I Wish Could Have Their Own Book (or Spin-Off):

Sloane from Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson – Firstly, I loved this book. It’s probably the second best book I’ve read all year (the first being Rainbow Rowell’s Attachments). Right after I finished it, though, I started thinking about how cool it would to read a sequel or a companion novel told through Sloane’s POV. We don’t see much of Sloane in the book, but we do get to see how interesting and conflicted she is. I would love to know what happens with her after the book ends.

Little John from The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle – This book is actually told through the 3rd person, but it obviously follows Robin Hood’s adventures, and the adventures of his Merry Men after they join the gang. I’ve always had a soft spot for Little John, and I’d like to see what could become of him after the band goes their separate ways.

Captain Wentworth from Persuasion by Jane Austen – I know there are already books from his POV, but I haven’t read any yet. I really want to though!

Neville Longbottom from Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling – I know I’m not the only one who’d love to read about Neville’s adventures after Hogwarts. I feel like his story was only just starting to begin when Deathly Hallows ended.

Ginny Weasley from Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling – Another HP character for this list (she’s also my favorite). I’d love to have a story told from Ginny’s POV during her 6th year at Hogwarts. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were off hunting horcruxes but we know Ginny was fighting off Death Eaters with the remainder of Dumbledore’s Army. There’s so much potential for a companion novel here!

Bailey from Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares – This happens to be my favorite book from the entire Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series. I loved how the Sisterhood’s stories were resolved, but I think it would be wonderful to know what happens to the next generation. It would be kind of fitting with the original origin of the Sisterhood.

Haymitch Abernathy from The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins – I would love to read a prequel to The Hunger Games when we get to discover all of Haymitch’s back story. A lot of it was shortly covered in Catching Fire, but I want more!!!

Lucien from Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson – Another one of Morgan Matson’s characters for this list! She has awesome characters. Lucien is a very minor character, but he was so sweet and interesting! If you’ve read the book you know how his story is kind of just cut off, and I’d like to know what happens after his weekend with Amy and Roger.

Flynn Rider from Tangled – I can’t tell if I’d want to see a sequel with more of Flynn’s adventures or if I’d want to see one that involves his and Rapunzel’s (future) children. But I know there is plenty of potential for a Tangled sequel…Disney’s just making us wait =P (to be fair they did give us the Happily Ever After short)

Ok, which character would YOU like to see have his/her own sequel? Books, television, movies…which fictional character would you like to see more of?

6Nov2014

Famous Tag

Posted in Fun by Maggie @ macarons & paperbacks

I was recently tagged by Hamlette’s Soliloquoy to fill out this Famous People Survey, and I love surveys! This survey was originally created by Naomi @ Wonderland Creek.

The Rules:

-Put up the ‘famous people tag button’ and link back to the person who tagged you
-Answer the questions
-Tag the ten last people who commented on your blog (excluding anonymytes or the person who tagged you)

Who’s your favorite singer/group?

I’m going to be one of those people and say I don’t really have a favorite singer or band. Switchfoot used to be my favorite in high school, and I still love them, but I just haven’t kept up with their newer albums. And my favorite songs change all the time as well.
If your favorite male actor was in the same room as you right now, what would your reaction be?

I would blush profusely and probably stutter A LOT.
Is there a famous person you used to love but (due to something they have done in their life) you’ve suddenly changed your mind?

Yeah. Johnny Depp used to be my favorite actor, but I’ve started liking him less and less.
Name a famous person you like whose name starts with a V.

Vincent Cassel. He played the Beast in the recent French live-action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast. I loved that movie by the way.
What’s one of your favorite red-carpet dresses?

Sandra Bullock is so beautiful, and I love her classic look here.
Who’s your favorite Royal person?

Do they have to be living? Because my favorite monarch is Queen Victoria.
Who’s your favorite child actor/actress?

I always thought Thomas Brodie-Sangster was adorable in Love Actually & Nanny McPhee :)
Is there an actor/actress you actually like their private lives of? (Not sure if that last question was properly phrased.)

There are several: Ben Affleck & Jennifer Garner, Hugh Jackman, Tom Hiddleston, John Krasinski & Emily Blunt, to name a few.
Do you think that the actors/actresses have improved these last 100 years?
I think they act differently, and maybe they’ve improved in some ways, but that doesn’t mean actors in the early days of film were bad (definitely not).
What’s the weirdest famous-people name?
I know there are plenty…but I’m totally blanking right now =P
Do you think you look like a famous person? Which one(s)?

I’ve been told I look like Donna (Laura Prepon) from That 70s Show
Share your favorite famous-person quote.

My favorite poem is “Ode On a Grecian Urn” by John Keats, and this is my favorite line. It has always resonated deeply within me. But another famous person quote that inspires me is this one by Walt Disney:
Who’s your favorite dancer?
I can’t really answer this question…I’m not familiar with very many dancers =/
Why is your favorite actress your favorite one? When did you decide that she was your favorite?

Emily Blunt is my favorite actress, and I think she became my favorite after I saw her in The Young Victoria. I also love The Jane Austen Book Club and The Devil Wears Prada. Plus, I
Have you ever met/seen/been close to a famous person?
Yes, I met Jon Foreman before a Switchfoot concert :)