There is something incredibly refreshing about going to a place where you are surrounded by books.  This is one of the main reasons why I enjoy going to BookExpo one of my favorite conference.  Being enticed by authors, publicists and editors who are sharing what will be reading for the next year is euphoric.

The New Amy Tan, Where The Past Begins ad met me at the door, it’s due out on October 17th.

Book Expo and BookCon exposes you to fresh new voices and it reacquaints you to those old author “friends” you fell in love with years before.  BookExpo, if nothing else teaches you the power of stories to take you to new places, teach you, empower you and change you.  It is a reminder that you can find new life in every fresh page that you read.

With all of the noise in our world, it is easy to forget the creative places that authors are able to paint with their words.  Whether it’s stories from their imagination or they are recounting the personal experiences that have molded and shaped their lives my experiences at BookCon provide a sea of options I can’t wait to explore and share.

Here are just a few takeaways that I wanted to share.

This year we were graced by the presence of David O. Brown, he was the police chief from Dallas Texas who manage the pressure of dealing with a police force who came under attack by a vigilante shooter last summer.

His presence of mind and commitment to his town and his officers is captured in his new book, Called To Rise.

These new journals from Axel & Ash, The Bucket List and Life Is A Road Trip help you creatively capture your bucket list or the places you want to travel.  Allowing you to highlight everything from your most memorable moments, to your favorite meal.

Both of these books were beautiful by the way and make a perfect gift for just about anyone.  Graduate, couple, divorce, cancer survivor, someone starting over, or someone who just wants to put their plans down in print.

There were also some surprises, the novel that I picked up after the publicist sold me on the story.

I picked The Immortalists up and finished it in a week, despite the fact that I usually stay away from novels.  This new book with a publication date of January 9, 2018 is a page turner.

At BookCon, I met Gretchen Rubin, she has a podcast and has a new book coming out in September called The Four Tendencies, this self-help book helps you identify what tendencies you tend to operate from and then how you can make adjustments to make like more meaningful.

Stay with Me, a book by author Ayobani Adebayo.  In the book we meet an African couple who meet at university and marry.  He promises not to take another wife, but when she had a difficult time conceiving and his second wife arrives at her doorstep with her family.  What will happen and how with this be sorted out?  This is due out on August 22nd and has already been shortlisted for the Bailey prize for Women’s Fiction.

Jen Hatmaker, a gifted writer who is one of my favorites has a new book coming out called, Of Mess and Moxie.  Her book, For The Love, was my first introduction to her work and I have been a fan ever since.  Her book is due out on August 8th, as soon as I finish it I will share my review.  Her writing is fresh and inviting.

Elena Brower’s Practice You Journal,  made my list of book I had to have.  A beautifully crafted hands on book where you can explore feelings, purpose, strength, endurance and purpose.  The book and he author give you the tools you need to embrace life in a full and exciting way.

Being Mary Jane, actress Gabrielle Union is throwing her hat in to the writing realm with her new book, We Are Going To Need More Wine: Stories that Are Funny, Complicated and True.  In the two chapter preview that I received shows she delivered on the promise.  She dove into a number of topics growing up, sex and dealing with life.  Her book is due out in October and it promises to be interesting.

 

Wayne Chaney, from Preachers of LA was signing his new book, Your Miraculous Potential.  In it he helps you navigate your move from potential to passion to action.  I can’t wait to read it, he was really nice and it was great to see him interacting and empowering his fans.

These two were quite the pair, Rohan Marley’s new cookbook, Marley Coffee Cookbook was something I was really looking forward to checking out.  Since most people are coffee drinkers actually putting the extra coffee to good use was a big draw.  Additionally, they had samples of Marley’s coffee, even without sugar it was pretty good, I will be adding it to my grocery list.

Author Jamie Ford was another author that was new to me, although his book is another one that came highly recommended.  His new to be released book, Love and Other Consolation Prizes, a book about a boy whose life is forever changed during his visit to the state fair.  I will post the review when I finish it.   It is due out on September 12th.  

Another new author to me was Kynan Bridges, his book Unmaking the Accuser.  His book was of particular interest to me.  He attacks the challenging effects of slander, gossip and offense, he teaches you how to deal with them, resist them and heal from them.  Another read I can’t wait to tackle.

 

BookExpo provided me with a glimpse of the new books that we can expect to see.  There are really too many to name.  The ones I have listed her are just a few that I wanted to share.  I will share more of them throughout the year as their release dates get closer.  This year, we are going to work really hard to highlight more books for you to read.  Books are a great way to connect with new ideas, people’s stories and to explore new horizons.  They are also a great release from our everyday challenges and from all the digital noise.  Going into a book store or reading the description of a book before you buy it is nothing like hearing from the author first hand or hearing from a die hard fan or an editor who is telling you about the next book you just have to read and that in a nutshell is one of the best parts of BookExpo.