This week's question: Do signed copies excite you? Tempt you? Delight you? Or does it not matter to you?
This is my new shelf dedicated solely to the signed books I own. I took a few minutes of Bloggiesta time this weekend to pull the books out of the assorted shelves and boxes they had been in and set them all up in their own nice display space.
(From left to right: Hunger Games, Guardian of the Dead, Spotlight, Empress of the World, Once Dead Twice Shy, Boy Toy, Extras, Lamb, Devilish, Peeps, How to Ditch Your Fairy, Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, Catching Fire)
Before I moved to New York, signed books weren't really on my radar. Not a lot of book tours come through Michigan, so only three of these were signed before I moved, and two of them were bought as stock - only Empress of the World was signed and personalized (when I hung out with Sara Ryan for the second time at ALA in Chicago a few years back. I was so shell-shocked the first time I met her in Atlanta that even though my book was in my bag I never had the guts to take it out and ask her to sign it!)
Then came the fateful day when I read The Hunger Games and found out that two days later Suzanne Collins would be appearing at my soon-to-be favorite book store, Books of Wonder. So that kicked off my collection. All but one of my post-NYC-move books have been signed for me in person. The one exception? Once Dead, Twice Shy. Kim Harrison didn't come out to NYC for that tour - but she did make a stop near my hometown. My mom's a huge fan of Harrison's adult novels, and you can read the funny story of who read this one first on my Once Dead Twice Shy review. Since she knew I ended up liking the novel, she picked up a copy and had Kim Harrison sign it for me. Thanks, Mom!
Since moving to New York I haven't bought a stock signed book, because just the idea of having a signed copy doesn't hold that much appeal for me. For me, getting a book signed is all about meeting the author and having a chance, even just for a few seconds (like when I got Catching Fire signed at Books of Wonder), to share with the author how great I think their books are and ask last minute or spoiler-y questions. In some ways, the signature is just the icing on the cake!
