After adding my newest addition, Land Of Love and Drowning by Tiphanie Yanique, to my shelves last night, I realized just how many books I have signed and dedicated to my name. This is a double-edged sword, my friends, because in my pursuit of reading and book-buying, there are some books I simply cannot part with. It all comes down to the signature. I shy away from the word “collected” because I wouldn’t consider myself a collector of signatures, but I really have gathered a fair number already, simply by attending author events. Many are personally dedicated to me, which make the books incredibly special – I’m reminded that I have made a connection with the author in some way. This also solidifies the book’s place on my shelves. In light of my recent separation from several entries, these with signatures will never be resold or donated (unless to another family member, I suppose), making them permanently and steadfastly mine. I totally have Middle-Child-MINE-Syndrome.

Below is the list of books* I have signatures (sig) and dedications (ded) in:

1. Witch Island – David Bernstein sig/ded
2. The Coldest Girl in Coldtown – Holly Black sig/ded
3. Fat Angie – e.E. Charlton-Trujillo sig/ded
4. City of Bones – Cassandra Clare sig
5. Emissary – Patricia Cori sig/ded
6. The Search for WondLa – Tony DiTerlizzi sig/ded
7. All I Know and Love – Judith Frank sig/ded
8. Endgame – James Frey and Nils Johnson-Shelton sig
9. Magician’s Land – Lev Grossman sig/ded
10. Flying Shoes – Lisa Howorth sig/ded
11. I Am Not Myself These Days – Josh Kilmer-Purcell sig/ded
12. Evil Librarian – Michelle Knudsen sig/ded
13. We Were Liars – E. Lockhart sig/ded
14. Dorothy Must Die – Danielle Paige sig/ded
15. Mort(e) – Robert Repino sig/ded
16. Jackaby – William Ritter sig/ded
17. Eleanor & Park – Rainbow Rowell sig
18. Landline – Rainbow Rowell sig/ded
19. A Sudden Light – Garth Stein sig/ded
20. Land of Love and Drowning – Tiphanie Yanique sig/ded
21. Briar Rose – Jane Yolen sig/ded

*A number of these books are ARCs from BEA ’14