What a DAY, man

So, all sorts of hawtness today.

For one, our Ms. Veronica Roth has posted a little bit of a DIVERGENT tease on her blog here. Seriously, go look. SO hawtness. We'll be posting more on this little teaser next week.

For twos, Lisa Desrochers' debut novel, PERSONAL DEMONS hits the shelves today and it's super hawt because it's about two hawt dudes and a kickass girl. It's one of the best YA

paranormals I've ever read, and I'm not just saying that because Lisa's agent is my gal pal Suzie Townsend. It's because it's so good that I read it in one sitting then thought about how hawt Luc is for days afterward. Who is Luc you may ask? Well, you'll just have to read to find out. To win some PERSONAL DEMONS swag, enter these contests: Confessions of Suite 500 (yay swag!), or EPIC CONTEST (iPod shuffles anyone??).

For trice, we have an Omg, DUFF! winner--woohoo! This will now be

dubbed the DAHC, the Designated Awesome Hawt Contest. And the winner is...Erin! Erin, please email us at nclitblog(at)gmail(dot)com. Here's her comment:

Erin said...

I'm so excited to read this book! I've heard nothing but good things about it! Really hope I win :D
http://twitter.com/erin_forbees

For last, don't forget to enter Sara's hawt Brooklyn Book Festival contest--the winner gets a copy of Mitali Perkins' BAMBOO PEOPLE. It sounds fantastic! (she snagged me a copy too, so looks like I've got something good to read over the weekend....)

And...um. Hawt.

The Brooklyn Book Festival

So I am a recent New York transplant. I moved to the east coast from the Southern California suburbs. There are so many things I’ve loved about New York so far: restaurants open past nine; cupcakes; being able to get everywhere on the subway; Central Park; weekend brunches; more cupcakes. But the thing I love most is the dedication this city has to books.

Yesterday, a group of people (including Suzie Townsend, Mer Barnes, and the awesome FP/NC interns) and I went to a sprawling, panel-packed, outdoor event called the Brooklyn Book Festival. In the rain. “Too bad about the weather,” I thought on the way over. “I bet a lot of people will stay home.”

Ha.

I had only heard stories about the BBF. I knew it was a big festival, and a much-anticipated one. But I could not have imagined just how awesome it would be.

After wandering through the various booths,

and admiring the surroundings,

I went with literary agent Roseanne Wells to a panel on the food movement in Brooklyn called "Brooklyn's Cookin'"; it featured several very talented chefs with new cookbooks out, and with restaurants in Brooklyn that I now need to eat at.

From left to right, we have Frank Falcinelli (The Frankies Spuntino), Ramin Ganeshram (Sweet Hands: Island Cooking from Trinidad and Tobego), Amy Besa (Memories from Philippine Kitchens), and Frank Castronovo (also of The Frankies Spuntino).

Following that was another panel, this time a YA (a favorite genre for both Rosie and I) called "Happily Ever After?" that focused on characters who are forced to relive their pasts and come to terms with haunting memories after committing terrible acts.

This one's from far away, I know, but that's Lauren Oliver (Before I Fall), Jenny Han (It's Not Summer Without You), and Sarah Shephard (Pretty Little Liars) up there! Moderated by Kirsten Miller (The Eternal Ones).

After more book browsing, and after popping into a few more panels, we called it a day.

But not before a snagged a book for you lovely readers.

Bamboo People by Mitali Perkins is up for grabs today! Just leave a comment on this post by the end of the day Wednesday, and we’ll have the winner up on Thursday.

If you don’t win this one, no worries! I’ll be sure to bring back more books next year. Can’t wait!

-Sara