I am sitting in O'Hare airport waiting for the inbound flight that will eventually take me home (delayed, of course). I am taking advantage of the lull to post some thoughts and photos from my final day at ALA. Yesterday began with a VOYA Board meeting then moved to the convention floor where I limped through exhibits (blisters on feet, long story) and ran into two of our MLS students who are at ALA as part of an IMLS grant. We had lunch together nd compared foot fatigue. While they headed back to the hotel with all their loot (and I only picked up 2 ARCs), I headed with Sharon Grover, current chair of the Odyssey Committee, to the 2009 Odyssey Celebration at the Convention Center. Pam Spencer Holley (2009 Chair)and Sue Ellen Beauregard (Booklist) awarded plaques to the winners of the 2009 Odyssey audiobooks. Then, as a special treat, 4 of the narrators spoke briefly. Here is Katherine (Katie) Kellgren, narrator of CURSE OF THE BLUE TATTOO. Katie also won three Audie Awards for her work on this audio and won an Odyssey Honor last year as well:





And here is Sherman Alexie enjoying a standing O for his work on the audio of THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART TIME INDIAN.





After the Odyssey, it was dinner with the lovely Victoria Stapleton of LBYR. Three authors read from their works and everyone enjoyed the evening before headikng off to the Printz celebration.

Now I will limp to the gate and (hopefully) catch a nap on the way home. I do also plan to read, someting there, ironically, never seems to be time to do at the library conferences.

I left the hotel at 7-ish and walked over to the Fairmont for my Printz meeting. Along the way, I paused to take a few snaps showing what is going on outside whilst I am inside.




Here is a sign advertising the Art Show taking place this weekend along Michigan Avenue. And in case there was any doubt, take a look at this, American Gothic Texas style




Then, I crossed the river and headed to the hotel.




Between morning and afternoon Printz sessions, I was part of an audio panel with many of my Sisterhood of the Best.Committee.Ever (that's Odyssey Committee to the newer readers of the blog). Here is Connie Rockman listening intently.




And here is the appreciative audience waiting for the session to get underway:




Then, mre Printz. Now I am back in my room to prepare for the Newbery Banquet. I will try to send some tweets and pix from the event.

Ah, Chicago, where it is a balmy 79 degrees (versus the triple digits back home). But things are heating up very quickly here as word about a possible change to the BBYA Committee broke yesterday on Twitter and spread to LJ and YALSA-BK. Alex Flinn and David Gill and the Bookends bloggers (Cindy Dobrez and Lynn Rutan) and some others have already cited chapter and verse about why this is an awful idea. I hope loads of folks show up at the meetings (almost impossible for those of us on selection committees, BTW) and shout it down.

On a brighter note, I got upgraded to first class on the trip in and managed to read THE TREASURE MAP OF BOYS from cover to cover on the flight. Brilliant deliciousness. I loved the first Ruby Oliver book, THE BOYFRIEND LIST and perhaps this is when I fell in love with E Lockhart and her inimitable style. Of course the NBA and the Printz Committee had the great good sense to concur and THE DISREPUTABLE HISTORY OF FRANKIE LANDAU BANKS has been honored, too.



THE TREASURE MAP OF BOYS (Delacorte, July 2009) is book three in the Ruby Oliver saga. It seems Ruby is almost back to square one, living in Noboyfriend land and having trouble with some of her gal pals as well. Her parents seems to remain clueless despite their good intentions (and I love that they name their new dog Polka Dot and get into all the t-shirts and totes and stuff on which one can display a love for a particular breed), and Ruby learns more about her therapist than she really needed to know (TMI, OK?). The tone is breezy and funny but that belies some of the hard truths Ruby faces. The English teacher in me adores the footnotes which only serve to underscore the wonderfully redemptive sense of humor Ruby possesses. Smart, funny, irreverent as needed: this was the perfect book to begin my ALA experience.

Last night I had made plans to have dinner with Ty, a coordinator for a large district south of Houston and a good friend. Ty called and let me know there would be 5 of us at dinner, Floyd Dickman, the quintessential gentleman and scholar was one guest. Jason from Abrams/Amulet was our host and he arranged for a local author to join us. When Ty and I asked what he had written, it turned out we knew his books well. Tucker Shaw, author of FLAVOR OF THE WEEK and CONFESSIONS OF A BACK UP DANCER, rounded out our party. We ate fabulous Italian food and our conversation went in all sorts of interesting directions. So, I am packed and ready to leave the hotel shortly to go line up at the airport. With any luck I will be home this afternoon. I will not miss the snow and slush and ice at all.

So now that we are almost done with our squee-ing over the awards (well, maybe a last one for Laurie Halse Anderson and Kathi Appelt in particular), and I can almost feel my toes again after walking back to the hotel from lunch and then over to the FedEx office to ship ARCs home, I thought I might offer some other tidbits from the conference.

Last night the charming folks of Listening Library took the Odyssey Committee from last year (Best. Committee. Ever.) to dinner. It was as if we had never been apart. Rowdy, sometimes raucous but always coming back to audio, we dished for hours while enjoying some terrific food. Ask Francisca Goldsmith to tell you the story of the FBI and her fingerprints should your paths ever cross. Oh, and be certain to mention "Bob" (complete with the air quotes). Mary Burkey (audiobooker, the best blog on audio. Ever.) showed photos of her new granddaughter. Connie Rockman had photos of the most adorable grandson I have ever seen. I, of course, passed the photo of the newly graduated Cali around, too. We talked about our favorite audiobooks from the past year and, lo and behold, many of them were mentioned this morning when the 2009 Odyssey Committee made its winners public).

The VOYA Board meeting was after the press conference. We met with the applicants for the editor's position and then proceeded to Maggiano's for baked ziti (yum) and then back out in the snow and slush. Dinner tonight with a friend from Houston and then home tomorrow (if the weather cooperates). I have 3 books left for the flight since I did not want to carry any more weight in the backpack than necessary.

I used the department's Eee Book while here (thanks, Holly, for letting me borrow it) and loved having something so compact and lightweight when I was trudging from place to place.

For now, I plan to sit and sip my coffee and try to get warm again as the snow flurries continue to fall outside.