Armchair BEA: Parting Words
(Click the pic to visit the site)
Well, I’m sad that Armchair BEA has ended, but I did manage to snag an amazing book in one of the giveaways – All These Things I’ve Done by Gabrielle Zevin. (Thank you Armchair BEA and Macmillan.) And I hope that everyone who participated in this year’s event had as awesome a time as I did!
So, for my final post I promise I shall try to keep this brief. (Not my specialty.)
Parting Words…
This week went by incredibly fast. I thought I’d spend the entire week moping about the fact that I did not attend the book expo in New York. Every single time I got an automated email from BEA (which I was registered for) I questioned my sanity for deciding not to go.
But when I heard that there was going to be an event for bloggers, and others who were not going to be attending, I was thrilled.
What did Armchair BEA 2011 do for me?
- First and foremost it introduced me to a whole new group of bloggers that I might never have otherwise met.
- It kept me busy creating daily posts that really made me dig deep and think about what I was going to say.
- It made me feel like I was a part of something, rather than like I was just missing out on something everyone else was a part of.
- The giveaways gave me the opportunity to bring home a little something that I wouldn’t normally have had a chance to grab.
- The Twitter party was an absolute riot and added in a little bit of that social element that the bloggers who met up IRL in NY had.
It really meant a lot to me to be a part of this amazing event. I enjoyed stopping by the site several times each day and seeing the new posts, the pictures of the event in New York, watching the vlogs and through the link-ups finding new blogs for me to stalk.
Highlights?
The biggest highlight for me was finding some really amazing new blogs and the bloggers behind them. I enjoyed cross-commenting on the Armchair BEA topic posts and tweeting with them at the Twitter Party.
And I really did like seeing the pictures of the event and the vlogs in a way that wasn’t in a “look what you’re missing out on” kind of way.
Would I do it again?
I would do this again in a heartbeat. And I would also make sure that when I signed up to be an official participant, I would check to make sure that my participation sign-up actually went through before it was too late.
Would I change anything?
If I had to change anything, I would perhaps schedule more Twitter parties (or live chats) throughout the course of the week. The one day was so much fun, and it would have been even more so to have had a few more chances to connect.
The end…
Well, just like they say, all good things must come to an end. And so they shall. It’s even over for those who ventured into New York City to attend the big conference at Javits.
Thank you to all the new people who have visited the blog during the week. It’s been a blast. I’m glad to have met you here and on your blogs. And I’ll definitely be stalking them even if I don’t always comment!
And thank you most of all to the people behind the Armchair for setting this blogger event up, for coming up with such amazing topics for discussion, for hosting those fantastic giveaways (I’m still keeping fingers crossed as some are still TBD) and for having someone at the event keep us in the loop about some of the goings-on. You’ve made this week far more enjoyable than I thought it would be. You guys rock!
(I hope I kept this short enough… I really, really tried!)
May 28th, 2011 at 1:34 pm
well I read it fast so I think it was short!! ^-^
thanks for hosting this over your blog! and if you do it all over again I’ll be stalking you here and over facebook even more so ~beware~-evil latin laugh~ lol!:D
I had fun!
May 28th, 2011 at 1:52 pm
Armchair BEA was a great event; I loved every aspect of the social get together that it provided for bloggers; and so many new books and bloggers that I have found. It was just a blast.
New follower
★ Leila
May 28th, 2011 at 1:56 pm
YOU ROCK, Rachel!
Thank you for this awesome week! 
PS: Your post is perfect! ;D
May 28th, 2011 at 2:31 pm
Yes, to all of those things that is brought me. I don’t normally post everyday, and I definitely don’t post stuff that I really have to think hard about everyday. Wow, it was awesome though!
I definitely plan on doing this again! I’m so glad I participated.
The Twitter party was insane! I loved it. I wish that I could have kept up with it a little better.
Don’t worry, that really wasn’t all that long!
Jennifer of Little Shelf
May 28th, 2011 at 2:50 pm
I agree–more Twitter parties! Those were a blast. Armchair BEA was perfect
Great post!
May 28th, 2011 at 3:58 pm
Awwww…. I wish that I had had time to have participated in this this week! Seriously, I never knew that working full time was this exhausting!
May 28th, 2011 at 7:18 pm
Yay I was able to snag a book as well! The Fox Inheritance by. Mary E. Pearson. It kept me busy as well and didn’t let me get sucked into my sorrow about not attending BEA. Loved the Twitter parties as well. This week was awesome!
May 29th, 2011 at 5:25 pm
Aw, you rock! I’m so glad you had fun. And yes, the Twitter parties were a blast!
May 30th, 2011 at 2:25 am
@Alba – That’s a good thing, I think?!? Unless you just wanted to read it so fast because you were worried it would put you to sleep
Love the evil Latin laugh. It’s so much more sinister than anything these folks in Southern California can come up with!
Stalk away. And if I do go to BEA next year, I’ll be sure to bring something back for you!
@Leila – Thanks for the follow. I’ll be sure to stop by and check out your blog. Thanks for the link! I loved meeting the new bloggers, discovering new books, however, was definitely dangerous!
@Giada – Thanks so much! You rock too
And thank you for commenting and visiting during the week. It’s been a total blast!
@Jennifer – It was fun and challenging to answer those topical discussion posts. Wow! I thought it would be a breeze. Ha!
I’m still trying to get used to that Tweet Chat. I had to end up keeping open 3 different Twitter windows – The Tweet Chat, The hash tag search and then one with my @mentions on it so I didn’t miss anything. I just wish I got there earlier. I missed out on so much!
And thanks, for me this is somewhat short. But looking at it now, it’s still way too long. Must learn how to edit better.
Glad you had a great week.
@Kaitlyn – Thanks! I love those Twitter chat parties. I enjoy participating, when I can, in the YA Lit Chat when it’s not too author/publisher focused. I’ve met some really interesting people on the chat and especially some pretty great authors.
@Avery – Yeah, I’m sorry you missed it. Stopped by your blog to check if you were posting and I just missed you! Read your reviews, but with the whole GFC and blogger comments issues, I’m not sure whether I even said “Hi” in the comments.
Mwahaha! Yes, working full-time is exhausting. It gets no easier. I keep waiting for those months off for summer vacations and then realize there aren’t any.
@Devan – So glad! I had that on my original list of 7, then had to narrow it down to 5. Great pick!
The Armchair was the perfect way to pass the time, although I’m still stalking those BEA photos and IMM’s that are crazy this week.
I’ll be stopping by your blog to check out your final word post!
@Chrisbookarama – Thanks so much. Glad to hear you had a great time at the Twitter party too! Things were flying by so fast I’m not even sure who showed up!