Tour De Nerdfighting 2012

What a week! I just got back yesterday from New York, and the highlight of the trip was Tour De Nerdfighting (which was my reason for going.) I don't really have any friends who are interested in the things I like, so it was amazing to be in a theatre full of people who not only love the Vlogbrothers, but also love Harry Potter, Doctor Who, Charlie McDonnell and so much more. While waiting for our books to be signed, there was a lot of singing and general merriment. 

While I thinking that normal books signings only feature a reading, questions and the actual signing, this tour also had shocking, singing, Rick Rolling, tutus and just so much awesomeness. 

After the actual 'show' there was a lot of waiting around, but luckily Maureen Johnson was there and I got her to sign my book and pose for a picture! If you don't know what she looks like, I'm the one in The Great Gatsby t-shirt. 

And then afterwards I got to get my books signed by John and Hank, who were so wonderful. John said he liked my shirt and I after talking to him I was so dazed that I couldn't think of a single thing to say to Hank. The book itself is amazing and I'd recommend it to everyone. While I'm suffering from post holiday exhaustion, I'll try to hurry with my review and posting some other book related photos from my trip. 

Banned Books Week

Today kicks off Banned Books Week! From today until October 1st, people all over the world are celebrating our freedom to read what ever we want. The books above are some of my books that are frequently challenged or banned. After taking this picture, I did some more research online and realized that I forgot so many other books. Books like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Golden Compass, The Lord of the Rings, The Giver and A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein are also banned in some schools. You can see a larger list of banned and challenged books here.
What banned book will you be reading this week?

Sarah Dessen Book Signing

On Wednesday I went to Sarah Dessen’s book signing at the Eaton Centre Indigo in Toronto. She was really lovely and sweet and it was an awesome experience! It was also my first book signing and I leant two things: show up early and always bring a receipt if you bought your book before hand.

Stuart McLean and the Vinyl Cafe

Back in early June, my family went camping in Orillia, Ontario for the weekend. While there, we saw a poster in a bookshop for Stuart McLean and the Vinyl Cafe live on stage at the Orillia Opera House (above.) The Vinyl Cafe is a radio show on CBC. It features new Canadian music, essays and stories. The most popular stories heard on the show are about Dave and Morley, a fictional couple that live in Toronto. Dave has a knack for getting into trouble and works at a record store called the Vinyl Cafe. These stories are featured in a collection of books.

I bought tickets to the show for me and my Dad and we went last night. It was amazing and hillarious. After the first act my face hurt from laughing. When you go to a recording, two shows are recorded, with an intermission in between. The stories are brilliant. The most popular is "Dave Cooks the Turkey," and you can listen to that here.  Skip to 00:38, or it will skip to the next podcast, for some reason. 

It was cool to hear these stories being told live, but it was also amazing to be in a theatre full of hundreds of people who just want to hear the stories that they love. Some of these stories mean a lot to people, and some of the holiday stories are a part of a lot of people's Christmas traditions. Overall, we had a great time!