Checkmate Reads: (Bookish) Memorable Moments

I've decided to post something kind of different and do a list of my favorite bookish moments. It's going to be a collection of everything that I've done (or possibly something I've gotten) until now. So let's see if these things are worth sharing or not. I'm going to try to provide some proof for most of these at the bottom.

I met Sarah J. Maas TWICE. I met her first at Yallfest two years ago now, then she toured near me for the release of ACOTAR. Not only did I meet her, but I got to sign her super cool first edition of Throne of Glass (the one with the picture of the blonde girl on it before we got the newer covers), then she proceeded to call me a rule breaker. (She can tell these things instantly you guys).
I also got to meet the absolute sweetheart that is Stephanie Perkins. It was right after Isla and the Happily Ever After came out at the Decatur Book Festival. Not only did I get my entire collection signed, but I did a thing. *drum roll please* I made a shirt based off of her books and she loved it! Even her companion and husband took pictures of us together. It was definitely a very proud moment for me. (See picture below for proof)
I launched my bookstagram account! I take pictures of books (it sounds super lame when you have to explain it). I have six bookshelves in my room and honestly could not see why I couldn't share the treasures they hold with the rest of the bookish community. Find me at @heir_of_books on instagram for updates on what I'm reading and my latest book hauls.
I read my first Sarah Dessen book. I know, I know shame on me for waiting so so long to read one. I started off with Saint Anything and holy crap I loved it so much. I now know why she is super popular and doesn't live too far from my university actually. (she told me not to go to the school where she went to graduate school and look up her thesis paper. apparently it embarrasses her.) So you know what I did after that? I went and bought all of her books. I'm still making my way through them, but loving every single one of them.
I joined the Scarlet Guard. Rise, red as the dawn. Which can only mean one thing. I met Victoria Aveyard this year. Also, I got to make some amazing friends in the Scarlet Guard. And yes you guess right. I got some awesome Scarlet Guard swag and got to read Glass Sword in November and boy if you haven't read it yet, you NEED to. One more thing about when I met her. So at Yallfest, they had these awesome author pins and of course they ran out of Victoria's so you know what she did? Gave me her personal button off of her lanyard. *spasms*
Sabaa Tahir, Renee Ahdieh, and Aisha Saeed. I got to meet them all at the same time. I was lucky enough to be first in line for their panel at DBF. That was a great moment, since it was soon after all three books were released. Not to mention how amazing their books are! An Ember in the Ashes was my absolute favorite read this past summer. Can't wait for Torch to come out!
Lastly, which is not as exciting for most, but I managed to buy some little Dragons. They aren't just any dragons though. These are the masterfully crafted dragons by one of my favorite authors, Julie Kagawa. Every couple of months Julie posts about a dozen of these little gems in her Etsy shop and they sell out in under a minute. I've only ever managed to snag two, but thanks to my boyfriend I now have a whopping total of EIGHT. I can hardly believe it. I've been trying to get a dragon from her since she opened her shop, but was unsuccessful until this year and now I have a small army. I almost have enough for Manon's Thirteen to ride.

That sounds like a pretty nice summary of some of the awesomeness that's happened to me in the past year. Hopefully this year holds even more exciting stuff for me and by extension all of you! Let me know in the comments if you have any awesome bookish memories to share!