The insanity that was BEA in NYC went partially unexperienced by me owing to a teeny noctural insect that sucks your blood at night. That's right, ladies and gents, this book review editor had bed bugs, and I wouldn't wish it on Judith Regan, even if she makes a comeback with James Frey's true memoirs. Although on one hand I did not relish working the show floor owing to my extreme fatigue (sleeping is not easy knowing your body is being assaulted by stealth arthropods), on the other hand BEA offered a sweet escape. I got to seek out cool books, miles away from my infested Brooklyn digs.

My colleague Willy Williams did an excellent job of highlighting the big fall '07 galleys (Sebold, etc.) in her Footsore But Book Happy. Me, I'm the kind of girl who likes to go catalog diving for hidden gems. Unfortunately, my system didn't work so great at first, and the dorky Borat impersonators walking the floor didn't help my mood. Then, on the way back to the overflowing Librarians' Lounge (where I spotted the one and only Dr. Ruth eating a salad!), I checked in with a favorite publisher of mine, powerHouse Books, purveyor of urban pop culture art books that are rarely snooty. The lovely and affable Miss Sara Rosen, longtime publicity and marketing directress, walked me through pH's fall list, and what a list it is. I'm a proud Brooklynite, so The Brooklynites: Photographs by Seth Kushner (September) caught my eye with its profiles and photos of "local heroes" and famous people alike. I'm also digging two photojournals due in October: Forsaken: Afgan Women by Lana Slezic, which captures the still-oppressive atmosphere post-Taliban, and Iraq: The Space Between; Photographs by Christopher Bangert.

Che: A Graphic Biography (Verso) by Spain Rodriguez jumped out at me owing to the bright yellow paper shopping bags that the publisher was giving away, nevermind the fact that I'm in love with the idea of art reflecting, even reanimating, life (see Martha Cornog's takes on Kyle Baker's Nat Turner Vols. 1 and 2). Finally, I'm a big fan of Nick Hornby, so I was chuffed to see that he's doing his first young adult novel, Slam (Penguin Young Readers), about a boy who talks to his Tony Hawk poster. I'm so there, dudes and dudettes. And I'm so over being bitten. Long live Metro Pest Control and good books!