Follow me!

In effort to organize my life :) , I have created a new Twitter handle to go along with the blog.

Please follow @JilliciousRdg for tweets about books, libraries, and all things literary.

Continue to follow @jillbellomy for musings about food, travels, college sports, Texas A&M, and pugs!  :)

See you in the Twitterverse!  

BEA 2011

Last week we went to New York City for a few days, and I got to attend BEA for the first time!  Book Expo America is the biggest publishing event of the year.  I have always wanted to go and was thrilled it worked out.  

Walking through the enormous exhibit hall filled with all-things-book was a bibliophile's dream!  The publishers all had amazing booths showcasing their new titles.  And, every time you turned around there was a bestselling author signing books.  I just happened into a line in the Random House booth and ended up with a signed copy of adult author Erik Larson's new book, In the Garden of Beasts!  

I admit I was a little overwhelmed by the event and couldn't quite take it all in .... but now I know how to do it, so I guess I'll have to go back in 2012! 

Of course, any time in NYC is a treat.  We enjoyed delicious meals, stops at our favorite spots, and lots of time with our nephew Will, a senior at NYU.  

The Strand bookstore

The Shake Shake in Madison Square Park ... the In & Out of NYC. 
My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

One of my favorite stores in all the world ... Fishs Eddy.  Full of fun, unique dishes & kitchen delights.  

Another favorite, Uniqlo.  It's like a Japanese Gap.  Love their clothes! 

Sarah Dessen in Big D!

The rock star of YA fiction!

The incredible Sarah Dessen came to the Dallas Museum of Art this week as part of the Arts & Letters Live BooksmART series. Ms. Dessen is currently on tour celebrating the release of her tenth novel What Happened to Goodbye (Be sure to read my post about this excellent new novel!).  I had the privilege of introducing Ms. Dessen before she spoke.  What an honor!  I loved the opportunity to talk about one of my very favorite YA authors and her amazing writing. 


The audience was great ... full of teen readers who knew Ms. Dessen's books inside and out!  I was really impressed with the quality of their questions and their knowledge of her novels.  Hands just shot up on Ms. Dessen's book trivia questions (and the questions were not easy)!  These readers were not stumped for a moment!  And, I thought I was a fan!?!? 

The best part of the day was getting to talk to Sarah Dessen for a few minutes before the presentation.  She's such an incredible author and just a really cool person.  I'm pretty sure we are supposed to be BFFs, but I seem to be the only one who knows this.  ;)  Oh, well.  A girl can dream! 

Huge thanks to Katie Hutton, head of Arts & Letters Live, for this very special experience!  Now back to the books ....  

I know it seems this is the only dress I own.  It's actually only the second time I've worn it.  I save it for author stalking opportunities. 




Don't we look like BFFs?  



Back to school!

I am so excited to be starting the doctoral program in the School of  Library and Information Studies at Texas Woman's University this fall.  TWU offers an excellent program under outstanding professors.  It will definitely be a challenge, but I am looking forward to this new adventure and the chance to learn & grow. Better start shopping for some new school supplies! 

Baby Bibliophile Sighting!

This is my friend Michelle's adorable little girl Kate starting to explore the amazing world of books!  Isn't she precious?