Whist I’m at YALC during the weekend, I’m going to try and aim to write blog posts like this for each day that I’m there so I can keep you guys updated on what I did during the day, what authors I met and so on…

Also, when YALC has finished (thinking about that right now is making me so sad), I’m going to be posting a YALC 2018 review of some sorts, so I can share my overall thoughts with you on what I liked, and what I didn’t like (but I’m hoping that there won’t be any negativity!)

Anyway, it’s currently Thursday night and I’ve had my first full day in London. YALC don’t technically start until tomorrow but I decided to get here a day early so that it gives me chance to settle into the hotel, get used to my surroundings and to get some book shopping done!

 

 

I left home this morning to catch the train to London at about 11 o clock, so it wasn’t an early start for me which I was super happy about. I AM NOT A MORNING PERSON! Catching the train from where I live to London Marylebone is so easy because it’s just one straight journey. I don’t have to get change trains anywhere, so I could just sit back and relax. I was hoping to get some reading done on the train since it’s a 2 hour journey, but I didn’t… I just messed about on my phone, and planned a couple of blog posts.

Once I was in London, I topped up my Oyster card, and made my way to my hotel which was in Shepherd’s Bush. To get there from Marylebone, I walked to Bond Street, then caught the tube to Shepherd’s Bush. The 25 minute walk from Marylebone to Bond Street killed me because I was so tired, and I had my suitcase (which was already full of books waiting to be signed!) and I had my heavy backpack. But as soon as I got to my hotel room at 15:25, I collapsed on the bed and had a little nap.

 

 

After unpacking my suitcase and hanging up my outfits for the three days I was going to be at YALC, I put some comfy clothes on and walked to Hammersmith station (10 mins away from the hotel) so that I could head up to Waterstones Piccadilly. I had planned what I was going to do each day whilst I was in London so going to Waterstones wasn’t a spontaneous thing, I wanted to make the most of my ‘free’ day so I could book shop. Once I got to Waterstones (which I think is the biggest bookstore in Europe??? – I don’t know, but I do know that it has some sort of record like that), I went straight up to the Young Adult section and had a browse. THERE WERE SO MANY BOOKS TO CHOOSE FROM! But I had a budget for book buying for the whole weekend and I planned to stay on budget, so I only bought one book for myself whilst I was in Waterstones, and that was Gunslinger Girl by Lindsay Ely. I have been eyeing this book for so long, because it’s from James Patterson’s publishing company (who published the Stalking Jack the Ripper series WHICH I LOVE!) I’ve also never seen Gunslinger Girl in a bookshop before, so seeing it in Piccadilly just made me want it even more.

 

 

Before even going to London, I had a plan that I was going to buy my Dad a book from Piccadilly. For ages, he had been looking at Inside the Bloody Chamber by Christopher Frayling, so it was my plan to buy the book for him as a present. THERE WAS ONE COPY LEFT!!! ONE COPY! So I snatched it from the shelves and went to pay for my two books.

One bookstore down, one to go.

If you’re a book lover, you can’t go to Piccadilly without going to Foyles. IT IS MASSIVE. AND THERE IS SO. MUCH. TO. CHOOSE. FROM!! I remember the first time I went to Foyles in Piccadilly, and I was so overwhelmed by all of the books. What’s so great about this store is that they also have the U.S covers of some books which meant that it was so tempting to buy EVERYTHING. I had a quick browse, and I WAS going to buy The Sea Witch by Sarah Henning, but it doesn’t come out until the 31st July, and I didn’t want to buy it early, otherwise it wouldn’t go towards the sales number. So I left it.

I didn’t get anything from Foyles, because like I said, I really wanted to stay on budget, and I also had to think about transporting all of the books back home.

The only spontaneous thing that happened today was me going to Forbidden Planet after Foyles. I was going to go on the Sunday, but I decided to go today so I could kill some spare time that I had. There was an event going on from 6-7pm where authors were signing books (it was a free event), and I was tempted to join the event but there were so many people and my anxiety started to flare up, so I decided to just browse the store instead. Forbidden Planet is my version of heaven. I wanted to buy EVERYTHING! There were so many graphic novels that caught my eye, and I was so tempted to read the new issues of Saga there and then, but I DIDN’T! I decided to wait until volume 9 comes out. The only things that I bought from Forbidden Planet was the new issue of Image magazine, and Giant Days volume one.

It was 7:15pm when I left Forbidden Planet and I WAS STARVING, so I headed back to Shepherd’s Bush and went to Nandos (because it’s just the best thing ever, and I love their wraps so much!)

After eating my amazing double chicken wrap, I headed back to my hotel room, got my bag ready for tomorrow and – once again – collapsed onto my bed to write this post. It’s now 9:50pm AND I AM SO TIRED AND THE HEAT IS JUST TOO MUCH! It’s been 30 degrees in London which is just horrible, and I really am hoping that tomorrow is cooler because I can’t stand the warm weather. It makes me feel so lethargic!

ANYWAY! That’s everything that I did today, and hopefully I’m not too tired tomorrow night to let you know what I did during the day!

I’ll speak to you tomorrow!