This was my second year at Book Expo America (BEA) here in New York City. It seemed bigger this year, and this was probably due to what looked like a consolidation of all of the companies onto the main floor of the Javits Center. It was a lot to cover in the one day I was available to go to the convention but I made sure to wear my walking shoes.

BEA is a great convention since it not only brings publishers, libraries, teachers, booksellers and the media together, but it also helps to promote reading using both digital and traditional means. I will say that there was definitely an increased amount of reading gadgets at BEA this year as opposed to last year. There were also some booths this year with companies geared to helping smaller, independent publishers get their books formatted for e-readers. Since those have become so popular these days with Barnes and Noble’s release of the nook and Apple’s release of the iPad, I’m sure they will be helpful to quite a few independent publishers!

One thing I learned while at BEA was that it’s the 50th Anniversary of To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. There was a big booth dedicated to this where you could sign a guest book with your feelings on the book that was being given to Harper Lee herself. You could also tape a quick spot that will appear on the website, and as an incentive to be on camera, you would receive a special anniversary copy of the book. I did participate in that and I may show up on the site if you keep your eyes peeled. They also plan to host special events at libraries and bookstores around the country to celebrate the anniversary and you can find this info on the official site as well.

I enjoyed talking with the publishers that I did, and learned about some awesome books that I shall be hopefully reviewing soon for Gaming Angels! I also have to say that after the expo I’m beginning to want an e-reader of some sort, primarily for travel though. I don’t think I could ever part with my hardcovers and paperbacks.