Event Recap: Jenny Han Bloggers' Forum + Book Signing

As usual, Ge and I were up early to attend the Bloggers' Forum hosted by National Book Store. We got there before the malls opened so we had to loiter and look for places to chill at but of course, we were still prompt in registering for the forum. And for the first time in a long time, we got numbers 1 and 2. (Yesss!)

Lovely display of Jenny Han's books!

The forum was very prompt and we started without a hitch. We were all really excited to meet Jenny Han and discuss our mutual love for Peter Kavinsky. Chad, our favorite host, introduced Jenny and immediately proceeded to the Q&A. (They also mentioned that Jenny sent cups of hot chocolate to her first 30 fans in line, that was so nice of her!)

Our awesome host, Chad Dee. Love the shirt!!

Jenny Han waving. *waves*

Here are a few things we learned during the forum:

• If Jenny were to get stranded in an island, the three books that she'd bring with her would be I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith because it's her favorite book, the Bible because she's never read the whole thing, and an Encyclopedia to learn how to get off the island.
• When she writing the Burn for Burn books with Siobhan Vivian, whom she met in graduate school and have been besties since, Jenny writes most of the Lillia scenes. Jenny also mentions that she is better at writing characters while Siobhan is better at settings and details (she also mentions that Siobhan has a screenwriting history and that her editor is David Levithan).
• Jenny has a thing for nail art (she had Beyonce nails when we met her).
• To All the Boys I've Loved Before is a bit reminiscent of Jenny's childhood because she did write letters to the guys she liked and no, they did not get sent out, they are still safely in her hatbox.
• In regards to writing letters but not sending them, Jenny feels that it's a personal experience. You get to reflection on who you are and how you truly feel while writing them. And you don't need to send them because you aren't writing them for anyone else but yourself. Very similar to journaling.
• Fun question: Jenny Han's Top 5 Celebrity Crushes and who she imagines Peter Kavinsky as:
• Alexander Skarsgard (YES!!)
• Daryl Dixon from the Walking Dead (Redneck zombie hunters rule!)
• a cop from The Killing (I dunno who she was referring to, lol)
• Jamie Lannister, hand or no hand (we approve!)
• Jo In Sung (Dunno who this is)
• Seo In Guk (Dunno who this is again, lol)

             Last but not the least, young James Marsden as Peter Kavinsky. (We swoon!)

• Jenny also mentions that Lara Jean and Margot's relationship as sister is very similar to her and her little sister's. They're different but also manage to find similarities within each other.
• She also told us that her favorite book that she's written is always going to be the first and also the most recent, they're very special to her... the middle is special too, in its own way.

Well, that's it for the Q&A! Get ready to be photo-dumped, hehe.

Lyra, Jenny Han's #1 fan, fangirling.

A random selfie.

The Hardest Selfie Ever 4.0

Bloggers holding their books up!

With the insanely fab, Chad.

Me being cute with Kate, my Lady Love.

Ge and I with Jenny Han.

Random blogger picture.

I have formulated a theory that pictures with authors that are taken at the forum look way better than when they are taken at the signing. Check out exhibits A and B:

Exhibit A

Me with Jenny Han (at the forum).

Exhibit B

Me with Jenny Han (at the book signing).

Am I right or am I right? Moving on....

Photobombing JB.

This is what we do, take a crazy amount of selfies.

Bloggers holding their ARCs of Ashes to Ashes.

Wearing our "To All the Boys I've Loved Before" shirts. So fab.

Bloggers with Jenny Han!

After taking our fill of photos, we had some lunch and really delicious cheesecake, then we were off to the book signing! The event itself was craaazy, we literally could not get in. There were so many people. However, we tucked out tummies in, didn't breathe and tried to wedge ourselves into the event... and yes, we were successful. We were told that there were fans that camped outside of the store at 11 PM the night before just to meet Jenny Han. That is what you call dedication, seriously.

HOLY FRAPPE. SO MANY PEOPLE. I am tempted to crowd surf.

Four of Jenny's fans who were there at 11 PM, SO. CRAZY.

Bloggers amongst readers.

Jenny Han signing books.

After a really long but fun-filled day, we went home and just slept the four day weekend away. The End.

Signed books! Also got an ARC of Ashes to Ashes, yay!

In semi-related news, Jenny Han visited our school and I was fortunate enough to be asked to write an article about it in a national newspaper, Philippine Daily Inquirer. It was awesome, no words. Next time, it'll be a book deal, lol!

Hope to see you at the next event (which is next week, lol)! Don't forget to tweet with the hashtag #StephaniePerkinsInPH and follow @nbsalert and Like them on Facebook for updates!

A big thank you to the National Book Store team for the amazing and successful event! Had so much fun and looking forward to future events! Thanks, as always, to Chad and JB for rocking. Thank you, Jenny Han for coming here, meeting us and signing our books. Simon & Schuster for giving us ARCs. Also, Kate from The Bookaholic Blurbs and NBS for letting me use their photos. And of course, my parents for letting me go, hehe. We love y'all! <3 p="">