Saturday morning was rough. I mean, it was ROUGH. Abby and I got up early but then we remembered what an awesome day we had ahead of us and it wasn’t so rough being up anymore. We got ready and made our way back to the exhibit hall, where we met up with Julia again. We all discussed what we were hoping to find out and what our plans were for the day, and then the doors opened.

The pace on Saturday morning was much slower than on opening night, so we were able to wander and be more selective in what we were picking up. This was also our prime time to talk to vendors and find out about titles that excited them. We made some good contacts, and we walked away with books many had been telling us to find for a long time (including The Piper’s Son by Melina Marchetta).

We picked up a ton of great books again, and I think we made a couple trips to the mailing center and our hotel room to drop them off and ship them out. A bit before noon, we met up with Drea and Sarah and headed back to our hotel, where we attended the Simon and Schuster lunch which I blogged right here.

Post-luncheon, Drea and Sarah had to scoot to committee meetings, and Abby and I took a run to the exhibits again. We stopped to see Sarah Stevenson sign her book The Latte Rebellion, then we went and saw Melissa Wiley and Mitali Perkins signing for their forwards in the rereleased Betsy-Tacey books (and Mitali knew me!). We did another walk through before seeing Brent Hartinger signing Shadow Walkers and Rebecca Fjelland Davis signing Chasing Alliecat shortly after. Did I mention how great all of these people were yet?

After Rebecca’s signing, Abby and I hit up another book preview, this time for Disney Hyperion. We went over to the Hardrock Hotel for a swank snack and look at a ton of new books coming out in the next few months. In this preview, unlike the Simon and Schuster one, we were read to — each of the reps took a pair of books to read to us, which really helped give a feeling for the books. For your viewing pleasure, here’s a sampling:

Mercy by Rebecca Lim: A fallen angel book with a bit of a mystery is the first in a series by this debut author. This one’s actually out already.

Girl Wonder by Alexa Martin (May 2011): Another debut author for this one — the writing on this title about love and jealousy was tight and easy to imagine. Sounds a little bit like there might be some mean girls in this one, too. I believe the main character has a learning disorder.

Mission (Un)Popular by Anna Humphrey (June 2011): This tween novel features mean girls but has a nice humorous beat to it. The main character is a dorky girl (a trend I noticed in a number of titles).

Perhaps the funniest one they read aloud is one I might pick up despite it being out of my normal reading tastes: Aliens on Vacation by Clete Smith (May 2011). This humorous tween novel is about a boy who goes to spend time at a relative’s place. That place happens to be a hotel where aliens who come to visit Earth on vacation room. The rep read aloud the portion where the main character meets his first alien and it was laugh out loud funny. A great voice and a book that has definite appeal for middle schoolers.

Because we had not yet had enough of the exhibit hall, Abby and I went back after the preview to scope out even more books. We picked up just a few select titles this time, then headed back to our hotel room to ship some books home. First though, I went through the big pile and pulled out about ten titles to pack in my carry on luggage for immediate-ish reading. When I finished agonizing, I slugged everything down to the UPS in our hotel and shipped it off. I think in the end I probably spent about $150 on shipping. We also had a little fun trying to eat an apple in such a manner it would match the one on the cover of Melissa Walker’s Small Town Sinners (Bloomsbury, July). I think I did a good job, no?

After that, we were back up to our hotel room to get ready for one of the most exciting events of the entire conference: an intimate dinner with Lisa McMann. Abby and I both got these mysterious invites and struggled to figure out how well we needed to dress and just how intimate an intimate dinner was. Abby was dressed in no time, since she was already dressed nicely, but I probably spent way too long analyzing what to wear. Fortunately, it was worth it, as I got a lot of comments on my little number (which is totally a fist pump moment for someone who is *not* into fashion in the least). We donned our finery and went downstairs to take a cab to Suite & Tender, where we’d be enjoying our dinner. But see, we lucked out even more than you’d imagine — it was no cab we took. We got to take a town car and arrived in total class.

When the event began, there was a lot of mingling and we did some counting: 20 people total were at this dinner. That included the reps from Simon and Schuster, as well as Lisa McMann, her editor (who was a riot!), and her publicist (also a riot). All that they could keep saying to us was how much Abby and I looked like sisters that evening. While schmoozing with everyone, I noticed a name tag on the table for an attendee that was incredibly familiar to me, but because this person was sitting on the other side of the table, I didn’t get to talk to her immediately. I made a mental note to stop by after.

Let’s start with the food. It was….incredible. We all began with a ceviche-like palate cleanser, and then we had a few choices for meals. I went with a butternut squash soup with a white chocolate drizzle, one of the most delicious pieces of grilled chicken on top of home made mac and cheese, followed by a lovely piece of cheesecake (and maybe a bite or two of some lemon ice cream from the extra dessert they accidentally brought). Delicious!

While we dinned, Lisa talked about her book, as did her editor. It was nice to hear both sides of the writing and editing aspects of the book, and it made me more excited to read Cryer’s Cross. Both talked about the goals of the book and the readership that it will appeal to. Then we all talked what book and movie we would take with us if we were to be deserted on an island forever.

It was probably two hours into the meal when I saw the person I wanted to talk to getting up, ready to leave the dinner. I was about ready to jump up from my seat and approach her, but lucky me — she came to me first!

So a little back story here: when I first began library school and subsequently this blog, it was this particular person who inspired how I thought about books. I did a project in my very first library class about science fiction books — a genre with which I had little familiarity at the time — and her book became my guide to learning how to be a good reader and reviewer. It’s her openness to read a variety of things and pick out who it would work for that guided my initial reviewing beliefs and still helps me think through books today.

Needless to say, meeting Diana Herald, the woman behind genreflecting, was one of the best moments of my trip. It was wonderful to put a face with a name, especially since we’ve talked before. Not only that but she tweeted the kindest comment EVER. I mean, words can’t explain how special this was!

Shortly after she left, most of the other guests at dinner left, and it was Abby, myself, the kind folks at Simon and Schuster, as well as Lisa and her editor and publicist. Lisa begged to sign a book for me, and because I had one already, I didn’t want to be greedy….but then I said sure. But oh! That wouldn’t be enough. Abby suggested that, like her, I have my finger nails signed. So, I did. This left everyone there in stitches, and Lisa’s name, unlike Lauren’s, actually fit perfectly on ten fingers. We had a lovely conversation about some of our favorite books and authors while she scrawled each letter onto my nails.

After the nail fun, Lisa made us go with her into the bathroom, just so we could see it because it was apparently a very fun bathroom. It was trippy – a unisex bathroom with walls made of rocks. Weird.

Abby and I headed out, getting a cab back to our hotel, and spent the rest of the night marveling over new manicures. Since I was leaving early Sunday, I had to begin packing all of my goods for the next day. But she and I still stayed up late and talked, something we never have a problem with.

But don’t worry — when Sunday came, I had time to stop by the convention center for just a few more minutes to pick up a handful of titles other people suggested I seek out, including The Pull of Gravity and Hooked. Those made it into my carry on, as well.

About 9:30 am on Sunday, I said my teary goodbyes to the wonderful people I had the chance to spend the last couple of days with, and I may or may not have received about eighteen hugs from my roommate. This was one of the hardest goodbyes I’ve had in a while.

That would be where my post could end naturally, right? It would if my weekend didn’t get even more awesome. When I got to the airport, it took forever to get through baggage and security, but I want you to know it was well worth it. While waiting for my flight, I heard that it had been oversold and they were offering $300 and the cost of a one-way ticket in vouchers to whoever would give up their seat. I found out the next flight home would get me in only a couple hours later, so I offered.

Friends, I made over $500 in travel vouchers, meaning my flights to future fun are completely set. I spent the extra few hours in the airport reading and writing on the free wifi, so the wait wasn’t even painful.

Midwinter was one of the best conferences I’ve ever been to, and I was so fortunate to have been given the opportunities I had to meet and mingle with people — the things that are the heart and soul of these events. I was loaded down with books I’ll read and share not only on my blog but with my teens at work through giveaways and our summer reading program. Again, a huge thanks to the publishers, the authors, and the lovely librarian bloggers I had the chance to spend time with for making this such a great and memorable event.

And since you’ll ask: I started two books almost immediately — Small Town Sinners by Melissa Walker (which is so different from her previous titles and an excellent readalike to This Gorgeous Game) and Glow: The Sky Chasers by Amy Kathleen Ryan (which was hand sold to me by two people and so far is bizarre but in a very good way).