Location: BYU campus, Provo, Utah.
Monday, October 26th 2009
8:06 pm - Arrived in Provo in a car of 4 passengers, only 3 of them WoT fans. The fourth is a loving husband of a WoT-loving wife.
8:17 pm - Approached BYU campus, but nobody in the car knew where the bookstore was. We were officially lost.
8:21 pm - Repeated calls to wives helped us find a large parking lot, which we assumed was central campus. After driving around for a bit, we confirm that it is the right place.
8:27 pm - Parked the car and crossed the street, entering the Wilkinson Center.
8:29 pm - Found the southeast entrance to the bookstore. The gates were down, and a sign indicated that the line started at the northwest entrance.
8:31 pm - Found the northwest entrance where a line snaked to the south. Two people at the front of the line were sword fighting with may or may not be real swords.
8:32 pm - Got in line at the southwest tip of the building. Approximately 150 people were in front of us. We begin to talk and/or become bored. The temperature begins to drop, chilling those without several layers of clothing.
8:40 pm - Storm leaders begin to pass out a surprisingly difficult quiz that may be turned in for prizes.
9:00 pm - One hour til they let us inside. We randomly chat with people in front of us and behind us.
9:45 pm - Storm Leaders begin to pass out slips of paper with a number on it, indicating which copy you would receive. I was number 366.
10:02 pm - The line begins to move forward. They let us inside the bookstore. Several ushers guide the snaking line through the isles. My group ends up being between the Halloween gifts and the fudge counter. My insulin resistant friend eyes the fudge hungrily.
10:11 pm - It will be another 2 hours before the books can be given out. Employees of the bookstore begin to coordinate purchasing for the book by those who have not prepaid. There are as many people in line in front of us as there is in back of us.
10:23 pm - Storm Leaders and Bookstore Employees begin to pass out free WoT paraphernalia. Included are a choice of bumper stickers; "I killed Asmodean!" and "Bela is a Darkfriend" are included. Also, twelve question trivia sheets are handed out. The questions are mostly easy, with a few difficult ones thrown in. Also, free fun-size candy is distributed.
11:15 pm - The wait is arduous but everyone seemed in good spirits. Three trivia sheets had been given out, and the employees begin to shut down the fudge counter for the night.
11:41 pm - Brandon Sanderson begins to WALK DOWN THE LINE, signing anything made by him, including Mistborn, Alcatraz, Warbreaker, and Elantris books and CD's. He is in good spirits and is more than happy to pose for pictures. He moves on down the line.
11:52 pm - Employees walk around telling everyone there will be a countdown at midnight and everyone is invited to shout.
11:59 pm - The countdown begins from ten. Everyone cheers at the end.
Tuesday, October 27th 2009
12:03 am - The line begins to move again. It snakes through the isles until it comes to the door, where they hand out the book. I receive number 366. The book is about 730 pages, normal margins, and medium size print. It is perhaps one of the larger WoT books, but not as colossal as Shadow Rising. If you wanted the book personalized by Brandon, you had to get in a new line which snaked through isles until it came to his counter. My friends want the book personalized.
12:30 am - The personalized line moves extremely slow. Our legs and backs begin to hurt.
1:41 am - We get our books personalized by Sanderson, who I could tell was as exhausted as we were. He poses for pictures again.
1:43 am - We leave the bookstore and begin the 3.5 hour journey home.
5:15 am - We arrive home, exhausted.
7:25 am - My alarm goes off.
8:00 am - My first class begins, and I am strangely absent. I also fail to show up for my second and third classes.
10:57 am - I awaken from sleep and check my clock.
Brandon Sanderson is awesome. Nobody expected him to just start walking through the line and sign stuff. Everyone was thrilled at meeting him for the first time. I had met him before, though. Still, it felt great to be a part of history. I'm satisfied that the book is sufficiently large, but not a monster like Shadow Rising.
Now its time to get to reading.
Monday, October 26th 2009
8:06 pm - Arrived in Provo in a car of 4 passengers, only 3 of them WoT fans. The fourth is a loving husband of a WoT-loving wife.
8:17 pm - Approached BYU campus, but nobody in the car knew where the bookstore was. We were officially lost.
8:21 pm - Repeated calls to wives helped us find a large parking lot, which we assumed was central campus. After driving around for a bit, we confirm that it is the right place.
8:27 pm - Parked the car and crossed the street, entering the Wilkinson Center.
8:29 pm - Found the southeast entrance to the bookstore. The gates were down, and a sign indicated that the line started at the northwest entrance.
8:31 pm - Found the northwest entrance where a line snaked to the south. Two people at the front of the line were sword fighting with may or may not be real swords.
8:32 pm - Got in line at the southwest tip of the building. Approximately 150 people were in front of us. We begin to talk and/or become bored. The temperature begins to drop, chilling those without several layers of clothing.
8:40 pm - Storm leaders begin to pass out a surprisingly difficult quiz that may be turned in for prizes.
9:00 pm - One hour til they let us inside. We randomly chat with people in front of us and behind us.
9:45 pm - Storm Leaders begin to pass out slips of paper with a number on it, indicating which copy you would receive. I was number 366.
10:02 pm - The line begins to move forward. They let us inside the bookstore. Several ushers guide the snaking line through the isles. My group ends up being between the Halloween gifts and the fudge counter. My insulin resistant friend eyes the fudge hungrily.
10:11 pm - It will be another 2 hours before the books can be given out. Employees of the bookstore begin to coordinate purchasing for the book by those who have not prepaid. There are as many people in line in front of us as there is in back of us.
10:23 pm - Storm Leaders and Bookstore Employees begin to pass out free WoT paraphernalia. Included are a choice of bumper stickers; "I killed Asmodean!" and "Bela is a Darkfriend" are included. Also, twelve question trivia sheets are handed out. The questions are mostly easy, with a few difficult ones thrown in. Also, free fun-size candy is distributed.
11:15 pm - The wait is arduous but everyone seemed in good spirits. Three trivia sheets had been given out, and the employees begin to shut down the fudge counter for the night.
11:41 pm - Brandon Sanderson begins to WALK DOWN THE LINE, signing anything made by him, including Mistborn, Alcatraz, Warbreaker, and Elantris books and CD's. He is in good spirits and is more than happy to pose for pictures. He moves on down the line.
11:52 pm - Employees walk around telling everyone there will be a countdown at midnight and everyone is invited to shout.
11:59 pm - The countdown begins from ten. Everyone cheers at the end.
Tuesday, October 27th 2009
12:03 am - The line begins to move again. It snakes through the isles until it comes to the door, where they hand out the book. I receive number 366. The book is about 730 pages, normal margins, and medium size print. It is perhaps one of the larger WoT books, but not as colossal as Shadow Rising. If you wanted the book personalized by Brandon, you had to get in a new line which snaked through isles until it came to his counter. My friends want the book personalized.
12:30 am - The personalized line moves extremely slow. Our legs and backs begin to hurt.
1:41 am - We get our books personalized by Sanderson, who I could tell was as exhausted as we were. He poses for pictures again.
1:43 am - We leave the bookstore and begin the 3.5 hour journey home.
5:15 am - We arrive home, exhausted.
7:25 am - My alarm goes off.
8:00 am - My first class begins, and I am strangely absent. I also fail to show up for my second and third classes.
10:57 am - I awaken from sleep and check my clock.
Brandon Sanderson is awesome. Nobody expected him to just start walking through the line and sign stuff. Everyone was thrilled at meeting him for the first time. I had met him before, though. Still, it felt great to be a part of history. I'm satisfied that the book is sufficiently large, but not a monster like Shadow Rising.
Now its time to get to reading.
Logs of the Release Party.
27/10/2009 06:14:00 PM
- 876 Views
I saw you there.
28/10/2009 01:33:08 PM
- 425 Views
I actually saw a lot of familiar-looking people there
28/10/2009 08:02:39 PM
- 466 Views
I was also at the gas station.
28/10/2009 08:54:24 PM
- 496 Views
As they say... "pics or it didn't happen" *NM*
18/11/2009 09:28:31 PM
- 354 Views