2015 WalkerStalker Con Atlanta

This past weekend we went to the WalkerStalker Con event in Atlanta Georgia. As we promised we are here to tell you about what we thought of the event, what we did while there, and if we would consider going again in the future.

We arrived early Friday afternoon. We hadn't really planned on doing anything event wise Friday, but after thinking it over, and since we hadn't been to this event before, that scoping out the arena might be a good idea before we dive into uncharted waters. so around five that afternoon we headed out to the event. It was pretty dead there since most people planned on being there for Saturday and Sunday so we didn't have any trouble or wait getting into the venue. As far as I can remember no real events had been scheduled for that day (I think there was maybe a few panels for some of the not well known actors). We mainly just walked around, shopped, and planned for what we would be doing the following day. Basically Friday was our chill day and it was nice being able to take our time and just wander. We also got to spend a lot of time in the hotel, which was amazing. Our room had an incredible view of Centennial Park and the big ferris wheel.

Saturday is where things really kicked off for us. We woke up super early and headed to the event (think we got there around nine and doors were opened at 10). The line to get in was INSANE! Thankfully everything line wise was pretty organized an we got in in no time at all. Once we were in we originally didn't plan on going to any cast member signings but... as soon as we saw Steven Yeun (Glenn) we changed our minds. We  both automatically agreed that had to get into his line and meet him. Such a great idea too. We got there at the perfect time. We had to wait under a hour to met him which was freaking amazing because after we got through the line was freaking massive. We got to take pictures with him along with getting things signed. The silly thing was we had to sign and agree that we wouldn't ask hi questions about the previous episode or questions about future seasons. The only other people we considered meeting were Norman Reedus (Daryl Dixon) or Danai Gurira (Michonne), we decided against it because the wait for these two went on for days.

After that we went to a panel where they talked with Eulyn Womble the costumer designer for the show. This was something we randomly decided to go to and I'm really glad we did. It was so interesting. It was fun hearing about how much detail and work she puts into everything. She revealed all these little clothing items we'd never noticed before. Noticing how these thing little things had such an impact on the show was really great.

Later that day we went back to our room and changed into our costumes. We were just going to hang around our hotel and wait for the after-party that night, but ended up back at the event. We went as  the slaughter version of the evil Grady twins from The Shining. Our costumes were a huge hit and came out great! We got stopped dozens of times for pictures and for people to talk to us about them. Think people really liked that we went as something that wasn't TWD related. We ended up entering a costume contest (we didn't win however... Thanks baby Eugene!). That night we continued in costume to the con after-party... This was probably the biggest let down of our weekend. Orgianlly it was suppose to be held on the set of Terminus, but for copyright reasons fell through and ended up being held in the hotel ballroom. It was SO jammed packed! You could barely walk around or even breathe. Plus the event slowly got weirder and weirder (not in a good way either) and we both ended up leaving around midnight after the pole dancers and hula hoop girls showed up on stage.

On Sunday we again got up early and headed to the only event we got tickets for which was the Andrew Lincoln panel. This was both of our favorite event of the weekend. The panel ended up having a special guest appearance too, David Morrissey (The Governor). This panel was freaking hilarious. They both shared stories of things that have happened on set, moments from the show, their favorite part of being on the show, and tons more. I think what made us like this panel so much was that they didn't wait till the very end of it to ask questions. They weaved audiences questions through-out and it actually added to the interest level. The flow of the conversation and the stories that they told really gave a lot of insight to each actor. At first I (Leah) was disappointed to see that The Governor was the surprise guest because I didn't like his character at all, but by the end I was really glad he was there. I loved how he and Andrew Lincoln played off of each other and off of their IRL friendship. While The Governor still isn't my favorite character from the show (to say the least!), I have a new found respect and like towards the actor! After that we did a few more laps around the event floor and then headed out.

Pros:
-Vast amount of cast members to meet.
-Overall pretty organized.
-Tons of merchandise to buy most at a reasonable price.
-Venue was in an excellent location and pretty all inclusive as far as being able to find parking and food.
-Plenty of events to attend within.
-So many amazing costumes to see.
-Tons of places to get your own makeup done.

Cons:
-General admission doesn't cover anything so it can get very very expensive.
-Meet and greets are expensive.
-After-party crowded and not like what was explained (seriously, unless you are single and on the prowl or want to get wasted on the $10 cocktails, this probably isn't for you)

If we do go again we will splurge and get the VIP tickets, they might seem pricey but they do pay for themselves with the benefits. While it was pretty fun overall, I think we found that we enjoy book centered cons (shocker, I know) more because they target our interest more. If you are a die-hard TWD fan and want to get weird with other die-hards, then this is your place.

xoxo
- Angela & Leah

WAT UP 2015?!?!

We here at Southern Read are so excited to bring in the New Year... New year equals new books right!?!?! Not just that, there are going to be some pretty big events happening this year... Everything from page to premieres, to new releases, to book signings! We can barely contain our fangirlness.

MOVIES!
I think the thing we are most excited for is.... 50 Shades of Grey the movie..... HAHAHA JUST KIDDING (But Leah is actually secretly excited for it to come out on DVD so she can watch it... No judgement...)(Angela's judging lol)! But there are a lot of movies we are looking forward too this year and we have plans to see them all!
As of right now all these movies are expected to come out in 2015.

Insurgent by Veronica Roth is the second movie in the Divergent Trilogy. I think we all can agree that at first seeing the teaser trailer and little pictures here and there, we weren't too excited for this movie to come out... But after seeing the full length trailer we're beyond stoked too see it, even with the already clear

changes. Seriously though, after seeing that trailer, we were both so confused. We were both like "it hasn't been THAT long since we've read the books, I know we couldn't have forgotten that much!!" and a lot of saying "WHAT'S IN THE BOX".  Regardless if it stays true to the book or not, it looks totes BA. Plus Theo James' abs in 3D, how can we say no.

The Scorch Trials by James Dashner. After meeting James Dashner this past year at YALLFest and hearing him talk about how awesome The Scorch Trials will be (and how handsome Dylan O'brien really is in person... yes, we asked), we are SO STOKED! The Scorch Trials was definitely our favorite book out of the trilogy and it's going to be so intense if they go by the book. All I'm going to say is all those scenes with the lightening and the who NO NOSE SCENE. OMG. SO TERRIFYING.

Paper Towns by John Green. Angela read this a while back (around 2010 I think), and Leah hasn't read it at all. But! Angela picked up a copy for us to read/re-read! John Green is pretty much one of those YA authors who can do no wrong, so we are excited to see how the movie comes out. If you don't follow him on Instagram, you definitely need to because he posts a TON of stuff from the movie set.

Fallen by Lauren Kate. Leah recently read book one of this series and while it wasn't her favorite book, it was still a good read. Fallen angels has been a big theme in YA books for a while, but there aren't too many movies out there featuring them (well, minus The Mortal Instruments, but we all see how big of a box office hit that was... womp womp). It can either go really good or really bad, so fingers crossed for the latter. The cast is already set, and they look like good picks so we are excited!

The DUFF by Kody Keplinger. Leah read this book a few months ago and it was well..... hopefully it will be a better movie than it was a book. Honestly, from seeing the trailers, the movie doesn't look like it is going to follow the movie at all, so this can probably one of those page to premieres that you can skip reading the book first. The guy that has been cast to play Wesley is hot hot hot, so he's reason enough to see this one.

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn. Dark Places is the second book that Gillian Flynn is having become a movie. Her first was Gone Girl and it was one of the best movies we saw this year. Chloe Grace Mortez is set to be the main star in this adaption... Is there anything this girl isn't in/going to be in. If you don't know she is also set to play Cassie in the 2016 film adaptation of The 5th Wave (which is the film Angela is the most excited about) and was the leading lady in the film If I Stay. We haven't read Dark Places yet (it is on our short TBR list), but we have read Gillian Flynn's other books and LOVED how dark and haunted they all are. If Dark Places is anything like that and the movie is anything like Gone Girl, get ready to get your socks knocked off.

OH JUST WAIT!!! DON'T THINK WE FORGOT!!!! The film we are probably most hyped on seeing in 2015 is....  MOCKINGJAY (Part Two) by Suzanne Collins, the fourth and final film in The Hunger Games Trilogy. After where they left part one we can't even explain how excited we are to finally see everything end. Bittersweet, but sure will be amazing. We have it set to take the whole day off to marathon the movies at our local theater. We can't wait to purchase some super sweet HG gear (in addition to what we already own) and geek out in the theater with Peeta bread sandwiches (get it??!) and snacks.

The other movies we are excited to see are...
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater. (on our TBR)
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith. (Angela's read it and Douglas Booth swoon)
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (Leah got this for Xmas so its TBR).
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. (Angela's read it... thinking it's going to make a better movie than it did book; wasn't one of my favorites.)
Matched by Ally Condie. (Angela has read the series. I think if they just stick to book one that it will make for an interesting movie. However the Matched series is one of my least favorites.)

EVENTS! 

As far as bookish events we are definitely hoping for some big names to roll through Charleston this year. We have a locally owned book shop in our area (Blue Bike Books) that host most of the book signings in our area. Sadly they only list authors that are coming a little closer to time. So once we know, you'll know lol. If  my father doesn't end up working in Germany (Angela) than I'm going to try to head up to New York for BEA and possibly BookCon. Since they are the same week. We shall see though. Then of course we are doing YALLFest again this year!!!! 

It's biggest and best event we go to all year! It's the nations largest YA book festival. Authors come from all over for panels, signings, and meet and greets. We have coverage up from our time at the 2014 festival, both day 1 and day 2, so just click the links to read about our time there. The author line up for who will be attending probably won't be out until this summer, so stay tuned. We constantly troll the YALLFest website in hopes of new info popping up! Once the list does appear we will more than likely do a post on it.

We are also heading to Atlanta in October to go to the Walker Stalker Con! Angela is a big fan of the comics, and we are both HUGE fans of the TV show so this is a HUGE DEAL for us! Tickets and hotel
are booked, so now we only have to wait 300 something more days! So before you know it it'll be here! We'll get to meet the cast, get some swag signed, and go to some panels.

  

           NEW RELEASES! 

As y'all know though the number one thing our blog focuses on is books... And 2015 has some pretty big books coming out. We keep a running list in calendar of book release dates, so we will keep y'all posted when the big day for these comes up!  

Some of the books we are most looking forward to be released are The Heir by Kiera Cass, Invaded by Melissa Landers, Reborn by Jennifer Rush, Sea of Stars by Amy Bartol, Miss Mayheme by Rachel Hawkins, Unleashed by Sophie Jordan, The Death Code by Lindsay Cummings, Charmed by Michelle Krys, Hunted by Abi Ketner, Heart of Betrayl by Mary E. Pearson, The Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard, and A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. But the book we are MOST looking forward to is Every Last Breath by Jennifer Armentrout. This book is the grande finale for Layla and her love triangle with Zayne and our booboo Roth, so we are so stoked to see who she picks (ROTH!!!) in the last book! And we adored that Jla let her reads vote on who they wanted too see Layla end up with.

  

BOOK TRENDS!

As far as book trends, I (Leah) really hope the trend for series having different POV for each book ends. For example, in 2014 I read These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman. For the second book in the triology (and I assume the third will be this way as well), it has an entirely new cast of characters. I HATE THIS! I fall in love with characters in the first book and want to continue on with them through the whole series! Same goes for when I read Rush by Maya Banks. SO GOOD, but the other two books in the series are from the other two guys POV. HATE HATE HATE. I want more Gabe and Mia!! I also really hope that the time/dimension travel books stay popular. All Our Yesterdays and A Thousand Pieces of You were BIG hits for me, and I really hope to see more books like them! The dystopian theme seems to be fading away a bit, but I hope that it starts to pick back up with some new fresh ideas.

What I (Angela) am looking forward to as far as book trends go the only BIG thing I want to end is when authors change cover styles mid series. I like all my books in a series to match and when they switch them up UGH I get so annoyed. Also I'm hoping for some new and surprising things to be brought to the Ya genre. I've also really gotten into Na books this year and I can't wait to see what else they have in store for that as well. I love dystopian books and like Leah lately I haven't found anything too shocking or new brought in. I also would like more well written love triangles and just romance in general. I wouldn't mind seeing more books like Kiss of Deception were there is a lot of mystery to who is who. Also hoping for some really second books or final books in series. I guess the only other thing is that I'm hoping as far as the films coming out I pray even if they have changes from the books that they do the stories justice.

Resolutions

Angela- My bookish New Year resolution is to finish all of the books on my DNF/Broke up with list from 2014. I think there is around 11. To read more same author books. To do better about writing film adaption reviews right after we see the movies. To do more of my own photos for our blog. And to branch out more to other book bloggers and authors.

Leah- My 2015 bookish resolution is to branch out with the type of books that I read and be open minded with books that I normally wouldn't think I would like. I also want to work on chiseling away at my TBR list before adding new books. Like Angela, I want to do more of my own book photos for our blog. Lastly, I want to work on building up my fandom collections by adding more book swag to my collection.

If there are any movies we forgot please comment below and let us know! We would love to know and add it to our growing list. That goes for books coming out and book events going down as well! We would also love to hear about which movies and books you are looking forward to too.

<3 
-A&L