nomadreader

Last year, I had a fabulous time at the Empire State Book Festival. It was the event's first year, and it's Albany's moment to shine in literary circles. One day a year, writers, librarians, bloggers and book lovers make the trip to Albany from New York City and around the northeast. As someone who spends a lot of time advocating how fantastic Albany is, it breaks my heart to miss the festival this year. The worst part: my new apartment  is mere steps away from the Empire State Plaza. It's the one day a year I can walk out my front door and arrive at a state-wide book festival in two minutes, and I'm out of town. Where am I? I'm in Philadelphia for the ACRL conference (Association of College and Research Libraries). ACRL only holds its conference every two years, and it's my first time attending. As a new academic librarian currently seeking permanent, full-time employment, the choice was easy: ACRL. And I'm having a fantastic time in Philadelphi...

Yesterday, while most of you were busy reading for twenty-four hours, I was at the first ever Empire State Book Festival right here in Albany. If you followed the conversation (#esbf) on Twitter at all, you hear many first-time visitors exclaim about Albany's unique downtown architecture. Yes, here in the fourth-oldest city in the country, a modernist mall, including an Egg-shaped theater, was built. The festival itself was wonderful. Mr. nomadreader and I decided to have a leisurely morning, so we missed Gregory Maguire's keynote. Maguire grew up here and went to college here, so he's quite the local hero. The first panel we went to was the graphic novel/comic book panel. While some interesting points were made, the session completely lacked organization and the panelists seemed to have no idea of who their audience was. This festival was organized by the New York Library Association and drew librarians, booksellers, voracious readers and authors. There were six panels ...

It's time for Dewey's Read-a-thon again! The spring read-a-thon will be Saturday, April 10. It begins at 8 a.m. Eastern time. For all of the details, visit the read-a-thon's blog and sign up! I had a lot of fun with my first read-a-thon in October, and I'm looking forward to participating again. I won't be reading most of the day this time, however, as the read-a-thon is the same day as the Empire State Book Festival . It's the first ever Empire State Book Festival, and I'm thrilled to have such a fantastic collection of authors and events right here in Albany. The festival will be 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., but I'll try to read a little before I go and read until I fall asleep when I get home. Have you done the read-a-thon before? Are you doing it this spring? Are you going to the Empire State Book Festival?

Welcome to Tuesday Book Day! Every Tuesday, I'll remind you about the books being released I've already reviewed and those I'm eager to read. I also inform local readers of upcoming literary events around Albany, New York! New release I loved: Linda Fairstein's twelfth mystery novel featuring Alexandra Cooper is now available. If you're a fan of this series, I know you'll read it, but this mystery is a fantastic one to begin with even if you haven't read the rest of the series. The topic, political corruption in New York, is even more timely now than when I read it in December. My full review is here . Linda is also currently on a media and book signing tour . Literary Events: You already know all about the  Empire State Book Festival  on April 9 & 10. On March 16, Pulitzer Prize winning editorial cartoonist Jules Feiffer will be at the University at Albany as part of the New York State Writers' Institute .  Know of other area literary...

Welcome to Tuesday Bookday, a brand new feature here at nomadreader. Every Tuesday, I'll remind you about the day's book releases I've already reviewed and those I'm eager to read. I'll also inform local readers of upcoming literary events in and around Albany, New York. New Release :   Lauren Oliver's debut novel, Before I Fall , is out today. It's a young adult novel about Sam, who is having a Groundhog Day-like experience as she relives the day of her death. It's always February 12 for Sam. My full review is here . You can also follow Lauren on Twitter . Literary Events: You already know all about the Empire State Book Festival on April 9 & 10. Masha Hamilton, author of 31 Hours , will be in Clifton Park on Friday, March 5 at the Clifton Park/Half Moon library from 10:30 a.m. to noon for an author talk and book signing. On Thursday, March 4, University at Albany's own Lydia Davis will give a seminar at 4:15 p.m. and a reading ...