The last 3 and a half events that I wen't to

It's been a while (what, almost a month?!) since I've posted about the book signings that I often frequent. So I thought now would be a great time to play catch up!

A few Sundays ago, I headed on down to Books of Wonder to see John Corey Whaley, author of Where Things Come Back. His book is a little bit unusual in that it has two seemingly unconnected narratives, so Corey opted out of reading in favor of really discussing his book and taking lots of questions from the audience.

John Corey Whaley, if you couldn't tell from the sign in front of him

The event was a little on the smaller side, but it just gave everyone in the audience to ask all of their burning questions. Sadly, I still haven't read Where Things Come Back yet, so I mostly played spectator. But I'm glad I came because I got to chat with my friend Mitali from Alley of Books and a bunch of lovely ladies from Simon & Schuster.

The Tuesday after, I went back to Books of Wonder for Arlaina Tibensky's launch party for And Then Things Fall Apart. Again, I still have not read Arlaina's book, but after listening to her read brilliantly, you can be sure that her book will be read by me at a later date.

the incredibly hilarious Arlaina Tibensky

the typewriter on display is also the one on the book cover!

some very delicious cupcakes that even match the book cover!

Arlaina's launch party was just a bundle of fun, and not just because there were simply divine cupcakes involved (speaking of these cupcakes, please go check out the website of the lovely lady who made them—you will drool). I got to hang out with some of my favorite people: Kelsey from The Book Scout, Mitali from Alley of Books, and author Kody Keplinger. And I met some more lovely ladies from Simon & Schuster (yes, they are everywhere, but wait! there's even more later!).

That Thursday, I went back yet again to Books of Wonder (wow, it must seem like I live there or something). This time is was for a book signing for author Gayle Forman, Aprilynne Pike, Sarah Porter, and Melissa Walker. I had another commitment at the same time, but I knew I had to come to support Gayle and Melissa, who are some of my favorite people ever. I stayed just long enough to hear each author read from her latest book and take these pictures:

Gayle Forman & Melissa Walker

Sarah Porter & Aprilynne Pike

I really wish I could have stayed longer at this event, because I spotted a lot of people in the audience I wanted to talk to. But alas, I had to go. I'm happy I did make an appearance, though, so I could briefly walk among the author circle including Kody Keplinger and David Levithan.

Now, this is probably around the time where you're wondering how I could go to half and event. If you thought leaving early counted as the half, then you were wrong! No, the half comes into play because I was very, very late to Karsten Knight's book launch party for Wildefire at Books of Wonder (I swear, I really don't live there!). So late, it probably wasn't even worth heading to the back to see if anyone was still there.

So, instead of looking around for the featured author like a good little book blogger, I instead staying at the front of the store, blocking people from the cash register, chatting with author Kody Keplinger (who I had come very late with), Sam from Living Little Women (who I had also come with), and Genna from Reading, Writing, and the World of Words. I briefly spotted the star of the evening, Karsten, as he left the store, and I got to talk to one of the awesome Simon & Schuster ladies that I met the previous Tuesday. But in reality, I kind of wasn't at this event at all.

Hence the half.