Freebies (or semi-freebies) I received at the American Librarian Association convention

[Naomi Hirahara]

I went to my first American Librarian Association convention yesterday and the event was a doozy! It was much more sedate than BEA. Really enjoyed it. Now I want to be a librarian.

Here are some of the free (or semi-free) books I received while there:

1) Autographed copy of Sherman Alexie's THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN and a chapter preview of his upcoming YA book, RADIOACTIVE LOVE SONG. Actually I had to pay ten bucks for the former, but it was worth it because I was intending to purchase it anyway. I was surprised that many publishers, both large and small, were actually charging money for books. I thought the convention was strictly for giveaways. Perhaps a sign of the tightening economy?

2) Autographed copy of Ron Carlson's FIVE SKIES. Carlson, the director of the UC Irvine's Writers Workshop, told me that he got his first mystery story published last year in either Ellery Queen or Alfred Hitchcock (I can't remember!). He's working on another mystery now. (Laura Lippman, BTW, had sung his praises on her blog, THE MEMORY PROJECT, earlier this year.)

3) Laurie Halse Anderson's CHAINS. Loved her last YA novel, TWISTED. CHAINS is a historical set during the Revolutionary War. Since I thinking about writing a historical mystery series for younger readers, I'll be perusing her book with interest.

4) Hiroshi Ishizaki's CHAIN MAIL: Addicted to You. One of TokyoPop's translated works. The story centers around a chain mail message that is sent to four teens in Tokyo--you know, the whole high-tech/isolated humans type story.

I expected to see more ARCs and giveaways, but then I went on a Monday. (I even missed out in getting my ARCs for my upcoming middle-grade book, 1001 CRANES, and the anthology, THE DARKER MASK.) Sisters in Crime was there, promoting mysteries. I would highly recommended this convention for mystery authors who write historicals, cozies, and books for younger readers.