Bogforum 2017

Bogforum is a major book fair held each year in Copenhagen. It concentrates on all kinds of books, both physical copies, audio- and e-books. All kinds of genres are also represented; be it kids’ fiction, romance, crime or ya fiction, or even non-fiction. Bogforum is held every year in early/mid-November. Bogforum is probably every book lover’s paradise.

Bogforum

Last year I went to Bogforum for the very first time. I had won a pair of entry tickets in a competition held by a Danish book blogger. It was an incredible experience, where I was overwhelmed by how big the whole thing was. This year I decided to swing by after school on Friday and this year I went alone. Beforehand, I had tried to make a plan for my visit, but there are just so many things to see, so many stands to visit and authors to sneak peek at. I am one of the fangirls, who is completely starstruck by writers (and other kinds of well-known/famous people). I blush. My voice trembles. I feel hot and my hands turn to faucets. I am sure I do not make a great impression. 😉

On a side note: I once went to a book release event in a book store, and I ended up wandering about for an hour casting long glances at the author standig with her book and sodas and crisps and cookies before finally admitting to myself that me meeting her would never happen. Then I went home.

But I am working on this! I keep telling myself that these authors are just people like me, who manages to turn their dream of writing into some kind of work. I tell myself they work hard, and that to them, I am sort of the hero; because I read their work and love it.

Okay, side note over. I had a plan, but once again when I stepped in I was taken aback by how big the whole thing was. I didn’t see nearly half of all the things I wanted. Sometimes because I got lost. Other times it was because I got sidetracked by something interesting and lost track of time. Or simply just decided to stay instead of moving on.

Crime fiction

Something has recently sparked my love for crime fiction. I think it was reading The Butterfly Garden (which I keep coming back to, so I need to make a review of it soon!) and being introduced to Karin Slaughter through “Pretty Girls”. So I went to Krimimessen Horsens’ stand to listen to clever people discuss various authors’ books. I especially wanted to hear Katrine Engberg talk about Blodmåne (Blood Moon), since I think it sounds really interesting. Yet it is the second book in the series and I didn’t really feel the same way about reading the first one. However, seeing her on stage being all casual and smiling, telling us about the characters from the novels, I decided on reading the first one before getting my hands on the second one. I am one of those, who hates it (okay, I don’t hate it, but I really don’t like it) when books from the same series do not match. I cannot have a soft and a hard copy in the same series. I cannot have a movie-inspired cover and a non-movie-inspired cover and I cannot have two books with different heights. And I could only find Krokodillevogteren (the first in the series) as a paperback, and Blodmåne as a hard copy.

I also went to get a copy of Julie Hastrup’s Mirakelmanden signed for my grandmother, but only too late did I realise that Julie Hastrup didn’t show up to sign books until Sunday, where I wouldn’t be there. Last year I didn’t get a copy of Jussi Adler-Olsen’s Selfies signed, because I was scared of meeting him. Next year I will plan it better!

I did however manage to do something right. Dennis Jürgensen was there to sign his books and I got a hold of two of the books in hise crime fiction series for my sister in law. Yay for me!

Work related book buy

I managed to get three books signed and I am beyond thrilled about that! From now on I know that I can do it! (Hopefully.) The last book I got signed was “Cutter” by Peter Solberg Dirksen. I have wanted to buy this for quite some time now, and the thing that actualla made me buy it now was the fact that there was a booklet containing teaching material, that I could grab with me as well. Also I got to have a chat with the author about the book, the teaching material, family, life and inspiration for the book. And I felt almost calm all the time, and almost not at all starstruck. I am excited to get started on this, but I think it will be a spring/summer project. I have a tendency to get a little tiny bit (yet not at all clinically!) depressed during the dark hours of autumn and winter.

Next year I will come prepared: bringing with me a ton of books that I want to get signed! And I will come for more than a day I think, because I simply cannot see everything in a day.