Back in June, I got to attend the American Library Association Conference in Washington, D.C., with a bunch of other locally based bookstagrammers. It was a wonderful event and a book lover’s paradise because in addition to various sessions for the librarians, there were loads of publishers in attendance showing off upcoming books and giving away ARCs of them. We were all excited.
I was stunned and a little overwhelmed on the first day, so although I attended on the Saturday and Sunday and got bags so full of books that I felt as if I was lifting weights all weekend, I didn’t get as much as other attendees, some whom carried along small suitcases for their books. It was a great event, and I’m so glad that I attended.
Well, anyway, here’s what I got:
(I totally just screenshot my own photos off IG. Does anyone know how to download your pics from IG when they are bunched together in one post?)
Books
From Hachette (Orbit Books)
The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter (pub. July 16, 2019)
Queen of the Conquered by Kacen Callender (pub. November 12, 2019)
I’m excited about this one because the author is from the Caribbean. I actually reached out to Orbit to request a copy, but no one responded, so I was glad I got a copy at the conference. Well, I almost didn’t get a copy because I missed the allotted time when the author was there, but I got lucky. The person at the booth was very nice and gave me one of the final copies there.
The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep by H.G. Parry (pub. July 23, 2019)
From Seven Stories Press
All City by Alex DiFrancesco
Like a Thief in Broad Daylight: Power in the Era pf Post-Human Capitalism by Slavoj Žižek (pub. September 17, 2019)
From Soho Press
Sarah Jane by James Sallis (pub. October 1, 2019)
From Penguin Random House
How to Be an Antiracist By Ibram X. Kendi (pub. August 13, 2019)
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead (pub. July 16, 2019)
I was standing in line to get this signed hoping to afterward jump in the line for the new Erin Morgenstern book, Starless Sea. But by the time I got to the Morgenstern line, it was capped 😦 so I missed out on getting an ARC copy signed. I was so disappointed. It was bittersweet because I was glad to get Whitehead’s book and to chat with him a bit as he signed my copy.
A Tear in the Ocean by H.M. Bouwman, illus. by Yuko Shimizu
I love the cover, so I had to get it, and the author was there so she signed it too! I think I got a little polar bear figure from her as well. It was so cute. I placed it on my bookshelf. I was pleasantly surprised that the illustrations in the book are by Yuko Shimizu. I love her work. She illustrated the covers for J.Y. Yang’s Tensorate series, a silkpunk fantasy novella series.
Birdie and Me by J.M.M. Nuanez (pub. February 18, 2020)
More from Penguin Random House
A Cosmology of Monsters by Shaun Hamill (pub. September 17, 2019)
The True Bastards by Jonathan French (pub. October 8, 2019)
I actually DNF’d the first book, but I picked up a copy of the second book because I intend to give the first another try before I give up on it.
From Bloomsbury:
The Beast by Ally Condie & Brendan Reichs (pub. October 1, 2019)
The Promise of Change: One Girl’s Story in the Fight for School Equality by Jo Ann Allen Boyce & Debbie Levy
From Cinco Puntos Press:
House of Purple Cedar by Tim Tingle
From Bellevue Literary Press:
The Bear by Andrew Krivak (pub. February 11, 2020)
I’m looking forward to trying this one because it’s blurbed by both Marlon James (one of my fav authors) and Jessmyn Ward, whose work I’ve read. I met the author, who was really cool to talk to, and got it signed. I believe the story is dystopian.
From Simon & Schuster:
The Story That Cannot be Told by J. Kasper Kramer (pub. October 2019)
Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield
The Good Thieves by Katherine Rundell (pub. August 27, 2019)


From Tor:
Sisters of Shadow and Light by Sara B. Larson (pub. November 5, 2019)
Fate of the Fallen by Kel Kade (pub. November 5, 2019)
The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz (pub. September 24, 2019)
The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis (pub. October 1, 2019)
From Akashic Books
A Tall History of Sugar by Curdella Forbes (pub. October 1, 2019)
Comics & graphic novels
From Image Comics
Image is one of my favorite publishers for comic books, so after getting over my shock on the first day of how many publishers were at the conference, I made it my mission to visit their booth on the second day to get samples and see if they have anything I’ve never heard of but would like to read. I picked up:
Street Angel: After School Kung Fu Special by Jim Rugg (illus.) & Brian Maruca
Little Bird, Chapter 1: The Fight for Elder’s Hope by Darcy Van Poelgeest, illus. by Ian Bertram
It was recommended to me by someone at the booth.
Redneck, #1 by Donny Cates, illus. by Lisandro Estherren
Southern Bastards, #1 by Jason Aaron, illus. by Jason Latour
Image Comics 2019 catalog
I picked it up because Maika from Monstress is on the cover and I love Sana Takeda’s illustrations.
Dead Reckoning is a graphic novel imprint of the Naval Institute Press that focuses on military history, military biography and memoir, general history, and tales of the high seas. I didn’t know about them before, so I picked up a catalog. I’m not big on stories about war and such, but the cover art got me curious.
Activist: A Story of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Shooting by Lauren Hogg, illus. by Doonald Hudson
“This is the fifth in a series of graphic novels written by young adults for their peers.” Hogg seeks here to help raise awareness about gun violence.
Green Lantern Legacy by Minh Lê, illus. by Andie Tong
We Are Here Forever by Michelle Gish (illus.) (pub. July 30, 2019)
From Lion Forge
Watersnakes by Tony Sandoval (illus.), transl. by Lucas Marangon
Haphaven by Norm Harper, illus. by Louie Joyce
The Castoffs, #8 by M.K. Reed & Brian “Smitty” Smith, illus. by Wyeth Yates
Witchy by Ariel Slamet Ries (pub. in September 2019)
I picked up these two to sample them. I do like the artwork in Witchy, so I might check my library for the full version


From Oni Press
I watch a lot of booktube (haven’t been keeping up with it much lately), so I did a double-take when I saw Margot Wood (often posting on IG and YouTube for Epic Reads) there. She was very nice and we chatted some about blogging, booktube, and writing and such. She also gave me these:
Oni Press Spring 2019 catalog
Okay, she didn’t give me that one; I picked it up. But since it’s in the photo, I’ll mention it here.
The Black Mage (pub. October 29, 2019)
I received an ARC copy. Apparently, it’s Own Voices and explores racism in a fantasy setting. I’ll have to read it soon. I’m so intrigued.
Spectacle, #1 by Megan Rose Gedris (illus.)
Kim Reaper, #1: Vampire Island by Sarah Graley (illus.)
The Tea Dragon Festival by Katie O’Neill (illus.) (pub. September 17, 2019)
A Quick & Easy Guide to Queer & Trans Identities by Mady G. & J.R. Zuckerberg (illus.)oooooo
Emiline: Knight in Training by Kimberli Johnson (illus.)
And there again is another publisher’s catalog. This one is the Soho Press Fall 2019 catalog. I picked it up because I love the cover and really thought it was a comic book until I read the words and realize it’s a catalog. I’m keeping it anyway because I love the colors. The cover is for the novel Orpheus Girl by Brynne Rebele-Henry which will be pubbed October 8, 2019. It’s about a girl who’s caught in an intimate moment with her best friend, Sarah, and is sent to re-education camp to be made heterosexual.


Others
Rivers of London, Vol. 1: Body Work by Ben Aaronovitch, illus. by Lee Sullivan
Who Did It First: 50 Scientists, Artists, and Mathematicians Who Revolutionized the World by Julie Leung, illus. by Caitlin Kuhwald (pub. October 15, 2019)
This is just a sample of an illustrated picture featuring 50 pioneers in various fields. I like the illustrations, so I got the sample to remind myself to check it out when it’s published.
That’s a lot for this #bookhaul.
Let me know if you’ve read any of these books.
Great haul! You really got a lot of variety. Now you know to bring a [rolling] suitcase with you the next time you attend an ALA conference!! Sorry you missed meeting Erin Morgenstern and getting a copy of Starless Sea but I’m drooling that you got Nickel Boys and a chance to chat with Colson Whitehead – I’ve only read two books by him (The Underground Railroad and Sag Harbor) – but he’s definitely someone whose work I intend to read more of. I’m curious to know how things like working in a bookstore and attending the ALA Conference have impacted your reading life and understanding of bookish things – maybe a future post!
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Lol! IKR! Lol! I’ll have to do like I did for BookCon. I attended it when it was in Chicago. I flew back with my carryon and schoolbag full of books. They stopped me at the TSA checkpoint because they thought I was carrying something else other than books. The security dude attempted to search all the books and eventually stopped. lol!
Oh, that makes me even more interested in trying Whitehead’s book. He’s a really cool dude.
Great idea for a post! I’ll consider it for a Saturday post. I haven’t done one of those in ages. Thanks for the idea! 🙂
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LoL The image of the TSA guy getting frustrated while searching your books gives me a perverse satisfaction😂!
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Thoses events looks like a lot of fun! Not being from UK nor US I love finding out about different bookish events out there. SO MANY BOOKS!! 😍 Lot of them has such pretty covers too, gonna check out a few links and add them to my virtual tbr, eheh (btw- you put the wrong link for “The bear”)
Aww i’m sorry you couldn’t catch Morgensten’s signing, but atleast you got to talk to the other author! Hopefully you’ll have a chance to catch her again xx
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Yes! Check out the links. And thanks so much for telling me about the wrong link. I fixed it. I didn’t notice that happened.
Yea, I hope I do get to meet her one day. 🙂
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Looks like you picked up a wonderful array of books from ALA! I’ve always wanted to go to that conference. I can’t wait read your thoughts on some of the books you picked up in future reviews.
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It was such a fun experience! I’ll go again when next it’s in my area.
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Amazing haul! So many books! I love the variety. Some of those comics look pretty interesting.
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Thanks! Now I need to find somewhere to put all the books. I’m totally out of space
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Oh wow, THAT’s a haul!!
‘The Rage of Dragons’ – of course that title immediately got my attention. AND OMG IT SOUNDS SO EPIC!! On my list it goes, thank you 😀
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Lol!! IKR! I think it’s gonna be really good.
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A Tear in the Ocean looks so good! I noticed that one right away. I’m sorry you missed getting a signature from Erin its really too bad. 😦 I think you can get Witchy on Netgalley if you want. I got it myself as an ARC. You want to buddy read The Good Luck Girls? I have the ARC coming in the mail to me. I’m totally ready to jump into something new with you Zezee. I know you’re busy right now so don’t stress. I hope you enjoy all of these books. ❤️
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Oh cool!! I’m up for that. Let me know when your copy arrives.
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YAY! I’ll let you know then. ❤
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Wow, awesome haul! I’m really excited about The Rage of Dragons and The Good Luck Girls😁
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Thanks! Those look like they will be great ones.
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Wow you’re so lucky to be able to attend a conference like this!!! Excited to hear your thoughts on Once Upon a River.
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Yea! I was surprised and happy I attended.
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AAAAAAH! THE RAGE OF DRAGONS!!! GIVE! GIVE! 😀
I’d love to know what you think about it, as I’m really excited for my copy to arrive!
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Can’t wait to get to it!!
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