My daughter Kristin of Kritters Ramblings helped to get our trip to BEA together this year.  It was an amazing trip that inspired me start blogging.

Monday:   We took the train to NYC.  It was a relaxing, enjoyable trip.  After checking into the hotel we headed over to the Javitis Center.  The Bloggers conference had a session called Demystifying the Relationship between Bloggers and Publishers.  It was very informative and encouraging.  That evening we were fortunate to be invited to a HarperCollins event.  We met some amazing people.

Tuesday:  We got up early to get into line to see all the authors and publishers we had on our lists.  Kristin and I did the divide and conquer game plan.  She picked up a few books for me and I picked up a few books for her.  It was so great to meet authors of the books I been reading.  Waiting in lines gave us the opportunity to meet other bloggers and hear their perspective.  That night we had some awesome New York pizza.  We went to Strand book store ( like we needed to buy books! ).  It was an awesome experience to be in that book store.  We just had to have a bag and I bought a book!

Wednesday:  We went to the Random House Breakfast.  So much fun!  I met and had my picture taken with Nate Berkus ( you’ll see more of this in a later
 blog ).  We were able to talk to publishers and a few authors.  I would love to do this again!  We headed to the Javitis Center.

 Unexpectedly, I was able to meet one of my favorite authors, Karen Kingsbury.  She writes contemporary Christian Fiction.  She signed an ARC ( Advanced Reading Copy ) of The Bridge.  I will review this book.

Although the line was long, waiting for Elin Hilderbrand  to sign Summerland was worth it.  
          

That evening we went to a party for Laura Moriarty’s new book The Chaperone.  This is an awesome book.   From there we went to the Bird Bash.  They threw an awesome party.  I met a blogger and a publisher I hope to see again.

Thursday:  We packed up all our belongings and books.  We headed back over to the Javitis Center for our last day.   Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian were my first stop.   They gave out key chains with a bottle of sun lotion attached.  The bottle said Burn for Burn!  They were fun to talk to.  Then we headed to Penn Station to catch the train home, but first we had to have one more piece of New York pizza.   The ride home was quiet.   We were tired.  When we did talk, we talked about me starting this blog and wanting to come back next year to do it all again.

This blog all started with my two daughters, Kristin of Kritters Ramblings and Jennifer of Underestimatedmom.  They have both encouraged me for some time to blog about the books I read and the other events in my life.  

I have been reading all my life, thanks to the encouragement of my mother.  Now, I am going to share my opinions in hopes of encouraging others to find their genre and read away.



I have been reviewing on Goodreads for almost a year and have enjoyed posting reviews and reading other peoples reviews.

I am a mother of two grown daughters.   Living near both of them has been such a gift.  I am retired from working in the school system.  My husband is an awesome supportive guy.  He travels often and I am fortunate to tag along on selected trips.  Another part of my life is shared with a grand dog and a granddaughter.  Both keep me moving.

Contact me (opesopinions@gmail.com) –  want to recommend (or send) books my way, or if you just want to chat about books and bookie things!