Book Collecting: Update #15

 

Brandon Sanderon’s Shadows of Shelf Book Tour!!!

Yep, I got ALL of them signed 🙂

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• Steelheart (Reckoners #1) by Brandon Sanderson (my review)
• Mitosis (Reckoners #1.5) by Brandon Sanderson (my review)
• Firefight (Reckoners #2) by Brandon Sanderson (my review)

Brandon was signing any books that you brought in, but he was only personalizing 3 per person. You’ll notice though, that I have 6. That’s because my college roommate lives near to where this event was, and when it was almost my turn in line, he told me to give him three that he would get personalized. So, I gave him the Reckoner’s trilogy.

Now, my friend, while he is reader, he is strictly a fiction reader. Never heard of or seen Brandon Sanderson before, and not a clue what The Wheel of Time was.

Here is how my friend and Sanderson’s conversation roughly went:

Sanderson: Hello
Friends: Hello
Sanderson takes books to sign
….[awkward silence]…
Friend: So, uh…. your hand must be getting pretty tired, huh?
Sanderson: (Laughs and says something along the line of yes)
… [more silence]…
Sanders looks up from signing a book
Sanderson: Do you have any questions for me?
Friends: No, not really… [a brief moment of silence when a light build finally goes off his head] but my friend here is such a huge fan that he brought me along to get more books signed!

I actually face palmed laughing while this enhance was going XD XD XD

To my friend, Sanderson was just some guy who wrote a book. No idea how popular or good he was, and was baffled at the fact that there probably 200 plus people in line for his autograph before Sanderson even got done talking at the theater across the street.

Since I had these book out, I figure I’d share some of the cover art on the actual hardcover. The Reckoner’s books got a couple of comments while I was waiting in line, and Mitosis got a lot, too.

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• The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive #1) by Brandson Sanderson
• Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive #2) by Brandon Sanderson

Two of the three books that I had to get personalized were my Stormlight Archive books. It should be obvious to everyone who reads my blog that I have not started these. If I don’t like to start a trilogy where one book comes out every year and will be completed it three years, there is NO WAY in the world that I am about to start a 10 book series that isn’t going to be completed until like 2030 – 2040.

Have you started this series yet? What do you think of it?

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• Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn #1) by Brandon Sanderson
• The Well of Ascension (Mistborn #2) by Brandon Sanderson
• The Hero of Ages (Mistborn #3) by Brandon Sanderson

I’m currently reading this series right now. I finished up The Well of Ascension a couple of hours before I left for the event. I told Brandon how the end – and the whole last half of the book – with the plot, and this spoiler and that spoiler, just shocked me and I wasn’t expecting any of it! He laughed and said yeah, I know. And then he and stopped and asked if that meant I hadn’t read Hero of Ages yet, and told him no, not yet. He just have me this like evil-looking smile and said wait till you see what happens there.

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• Elantris (Elantris #1) by Brandon Sanderson (my review)
• Warbreaker (Warbreaker #1) by Brandon Sanderson

The last book that I want to get personalized was Elantris because I had the hardcover of it. I also have Warbreaker but I haven’t read it yet.

Question: does anyone know why there is the Scifi TV channel logo on the bottom of the book? Was it made into a series or movie?

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Reading a sample chapter from Stormlight Archive #3

Talking about Chinese and Korean and evolution of language.

I tried to take a photo to show how far the line stretched down the street before going around the corner. FAIL. But trust me, it was FAR.

Brought up a young guest to help bring prizes out to fans who asked questions.

Before the actual signing, Brandon did about an hour-long talk, Q&A, and reading. I ordered a ticket ahead of time, showed up about 45 minutes before it started, and still was about 50th person in line waiting to get in! Then there was also a separate line for people who hadn’t bought tickets yet, too!

I didn’t think of it at the time, but I should have taken a picture of the audience in the theatre. There was over 100 people in there, and because we ran of seats, people were stand up along the sides.

When this talking event was done (it starts at 6:15 and got done at 7:15), Brandon told us that it would probably be smart of us to leave and comeback later. He said that none on of his signings have gotten done before 10, regular going to midnight, with one even going until 1 a.m.! He told us to go out to eat, and come back at around 9:30 and he guaranteed he would still be signing.

I’m happy I took that advice, because when I got out of theater – with the other hundred people – there was a line already down to the end of road and going around the corner! Had to be somewhere between 200-300 people.

When I got back a little after 9, me and my friend actually got half into the store with the line, and it still almost took 45 minutes to get the books signed. So for those people who were outside and around the corner when his talk first got down, well, those were probably the people who I got in line behind of when I got back to store at 9.

Me and Brandon Sanderson 😀

The other question I had for Brandon was about Steelheart. There is a town in the book called Dikto. Since the story takes place in Newcago, this lead me to think of Chicago –> Chicago Bears –> Bear’s popular head coach, Mike Dikta –> thus, Dikto! He said I was right. I felt proud of myself 😀

Brandon will completely focused on signing books as fast as he can, and while he does this, the guy taking the photo will count to 3, and soon as he says “3”, Brandon stops, looks up, smiles for 2 pictures, then immediately goes back signing.
He joked in his talk that he would be like robot, but, really, it was just like a robot. Soon as “3” was said, his head popped up XD

I have to say how incredibly cool it is of Brandon to sign every book for every single fan. He doesn’t just sign and go on his way. He takes time to stop and talk with his fans, and ask them if they have any other the questions the would like to ask. It may not sounds like a lot to do, but when you’re there sitting and signing for nearly 4 hours, that is beyond what I was expecting.

See his signature? That takes about a second to do. I wonder if his signature was always like that or if it evolved once he started get 500 people at each of his signing.

*** I would also like to say for the record that I already owned all of these books. I did NOT just drop like $250 on books LOL ***

Click here to see if the tour is coming to a city near you!

Have you been to any author signing this big before? Read any of these books yet? 

Let me know what’s good!

-DJ