The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, April 2009

For Wendy -
Get that bit between your teeth!
Your Pal,

Craig Johnson

Inscription written inside my new copy of The Dark Horse

The weekend was beautiful weather-wise, especially considering how hot the week before had been. I almost wished for rain so it would thin out the crowds, but that would not have been fair to the vendors and authors who had come out for the occasion. Anjin and I have made a tradition of attending the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books each spring. We take in the author panels and browse the booths, often coming home with backpacks full of books and a lot less money in our wallets. This year was not much different, with one big exception: this year we met up with a few fellow book bloggers for the first time. I was both nervous and excited about the opportunity.


Saturday, April 25, 2009, UCLA

On Saturday morning, Anjin and I arrived too late to meet at the designated meet-up spot where the bloggers had agreed to meet, and so we headed straight to Franz Hall for our first panel, Status Update: Social Networking & New Media. We took our seats and it was not long before the room began filling up. And then I heard voices right behind me that sounded awfully familiar. I leaned toward my husband and told him that I thought that might be them. I would know Natasha's voice anywhere. He asked me if I wanted him to say something, but I told him no, I would do it. I just needed to work up the courage. Just then, two women took to the empty seats next to us and I heard one of the women mention Florinda 's and my name. What are the chances that, in such a big room, the book bloggers attending the same panel would sit right there next to us? I took that opportunity to introduce myself to the group. Lisa from Books on the Brain, who had taken the seat next to me, instantly put me at ease. Also there for the panel discussion about social networking were Jill from Fizzy Thoughts, Amy from My Friend Amy, Trish from Hey, Lady! Watcha Readin', Natasha from Maw Books, Tracy from Shelf Life, and Florinda from The 3R’s: Reading, 'Riting, and Randomness. It wasn't until lunch time that I got the chance to meet Ti from Book Chatter. She had attended another panel that morning. Everyone was so nice and friendly.

The Social Networking and New Media panel was comprised of Wil Wheaton (actor, author, twitterer and blogger), Otis Chandler (founder of Goodreads.com, which I decided to try again--as if I need another online community to keep up with), and Sara Wolf (dance critic, e-zine creator and Facebook user). The discussion opened with the role of social media on reading. Otis Chandler mentioned that he had started Goodreads as a way to make reading a social experience. He wanted a place where readers could come to talk about what they are reading, get excited about reading and get recommendations of books to read.

Wil Wheaton had a lot to say on the topic. He is well versed in the different types of social media out there and has used them to his full advantage. He pointed out that technology is not responsible for the dumbing down of society. Both he and Chandler pointed to television as being partly to blame for that. Wheaton talked about the advantages of getting oneself known in a viral atmosphere such as Twitter. He also touched upon the topic of book recommendations made by friends online. Friend recommendations, he said, add legitimacy. How many of us prefer reviews from each other over the more professional reviews today? I know I do. Wheaton went on to say that authors too can find value in the attention their books receive through social media. The author can get a better idea of what readers are getting out of his or her book. Christopher Meeks said something similar on my blog not too long ago.

Sara Wolf's experience with social networks seemed more limited. As a dance critic and the creator of the e-zine Itch, she talked about social media as being a way to "rehearse conceptually." She further described it as a constellation, connecting various people with related ideas together.

The panelists also discussed the importance of incorporating user feedback and quality control. Wheaton said that users have more of an investment in social media, own it in a sense, and therefore their needs and desires should be incorporated. He also suggested that users need play a part in the quality control of social media sites. I immediately thought of LibraryThing.com and how actively involved many of the users are in maintaining the quality of the site along with the founder and his staff. Tim Spalding, of LibraryThing, has done a good job of fostering such an environment. It was an interesting panel, overall.

The panel was followed by lunch. We bloggers found seats at a table at one of the outdoor food courts to eat and chat, getting to know each other a little better. Afterward, we divided up, going our separate ways, some to other panels and Anjin and I to visit the booths.

I was eager to meet Craig Johnson, one of my favorite crime fiction authors, and along the way we discovered a few other authors who I just couldn't pass by without stopping in to visit. I was thrilled to finally meet Christopher Rice (Blind Fall). We also met Gary Phillips (Bangers), and a couple of new-to-me authors, Kate Carlisle (Homicide in Hardcover) and Jonathan Miller (La Bajada Lawyer). Craig Johnson, author of the Sheriff Walt Longmire series, was just as friendly as I imagined he would be. He had driven from Wyoming to California the day before.

In years past, Anjin and I have filled our festival days with panels which meant less time to browse the booths. This year, we decided to go light on the panels and only took two in each day. Our final panel on Saturday was called Religion: The God Question. I was particularly interested in attending this panel because I am reading William Lobdell's book, Losing My Religion. Also on the panel was the moderator, Mr. Zachary Karabell, Chris Hedges, author of I Don't Believe in Atheists, and Rabbi David Wolpe, author of Why Faith Matters. I really did not know what to expect with this panel. I find religion to be a fascinating topic, and I was curious to see what sort of discussion would ensue. The conversation seemed to center on religion as an institution and the positives and negatives of each. Chris Hedges and Rabbi Wolpe dominated the discussion, both offering differing opinions on the topic. They each made many really good points. I walked away from the panel with a lot to think about. In fact, Anjin and I spent much of the ride home from the festival that evening talking about it.

That evening Trish and Lisa treated all of us to dinner at Jerry's Deli in Westwood. Good food and good conversation. Anjin told me later in the evening that he enjoyed listening to us all talk shop. It seemed to end all too quickly when we had to say goodbye.


Sunday, April 26, 2009, ULCA

Sunday dawned early. We hit the road for the hour and a half drive into Los Angeles for the second day of the festival. We managed to snag seats right next to Trish at our first panel for the day, Fiction: Borderlines. Jill joined us as well. Of all the panels that weekend, I had most been looking forward to this one. I was eager for the chance to hear and meet author Thrity Umrigar (The Weight of Heaven) as well as Uwem Akpan (Say You're One of Them). Unfortunately, Uwem Akpan was unable to make it (he had to catch a flight back to Nigeria). As disappointed as I was that he could not make it, I was pleased to discover a new-to-me author whose work, of course, I now need to try. In his place was author Gina Nahai (Caspian Rain). Author Luis Alberto Urrea (Into the Beautiful North), another new-to-me author, was also on the panel, along with the moderator, Veronique de Turenne.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Borderlines panel. The authors each talked about their backgrounds, including their heritage and languages. Nahai was born in Iran and has not been back since she left in 1977. Because of her books, she is not in a position to return there under the current regime, unfortunately. Nahai spoke of a permanent amnesia of her time in Iran, saying that the only time she seemed to remember the country and her life there was when she is writing and it is through her books that her memories flow.

Thrity Umrigar is from India. She talked a little about her own family history. She also talked about her novel, The Space Between Us (which I highly recommend if you haven't read it), and how she had hoped someone else would write the story. The novel is about a mistress and her hired servant and their relationship, their class differences and the bond between them. Umrigar pointed out that, in India, because the labor pool is large and cheap, it is common for middle class families to have hired help. It seemed an obvious subject matter to want to write about, she thought. When she realized that no one else was doing so, she decided that she would.

Luis Alberto Urrea was born to an American mother and Mexican father in Mexico. During his childhood, he thought his mother's strange sounds and pronunciations were funny, however, now, as an adult, it makes him sad. His mother was surrounded by the Spanish language, and yet she could not speak the language, and therefore, had trouble communicating even with her own son.

Each of the authors had a chance to read a passage from their books as well as discuss misconceptions of their cultures. Gina Nahai pointed out that on a positive side, literature has opened many doors to understanding.

After the panel, we made our way to the signing area. I was eager to meet Thrity Umrigar and Luis Alberto Urrea. I would have liked the chance to meet Gina Nahai as well, but since her substitution was short notice, she was not present at the signing. Urrea's latest book, which technically isn't available until next month, was on hand for festival goers, and so I was able to buy a copy for the author to sign while there.

Anjin's and my second panel of the day was called Mystery: Guns and Gams. Being the crime fiction lover that I am, you know I had to attend at least one mystery panel. Sitting on the panel were authors Cara Black (Aimee Leduc series), Lisa Lutz (Spellman series) and Harley Jane Kozak (Wollie Shelley series). It was moderated by Mary McNamara. In this case, I have not read any of the books by the authors present, but I had heard of each of them and have wanted to read their books for some time now. My husband, at least, had read the first book in Cara Black's series, Murder in the Marais.

It was a fun panel. The discussion ranged from food, the creation of their female leads in each of the series, the benefits of having a female protagonist, the sense of place in their novels, and the writing process. I thought the panel make up was perfect--each of the authors are very different from one another as are their series. Lisa Lutz had no intention of writing a mystery series, when she began writing Spellman Files. The book was meant to be comic fiction. Her novels do not include big crimes like murder as so many mysteries today do. Instead, she focuses on every day life and the familial relationships of her characters. Harley Jane Kozak set out to write a literary fiction novel and what she ended up with was quite different. She was relieved when she discovered she was really writing a mystery. It felt like "salvation" she said. Cara Black, on the other hand, set out to write mysteries from the start. She was an avid mystery reader, admiring authors like P.D. James. The idea for her first novel sprang up from a true story her mother told her. She felt the story was important enough to tell and settled on a mystery as the best format to tell it. For Black, sense of place is very much a part of each of her novels. During the session, there were many jokes cracked and both my husband and I were smiling as we left the hall.

For the rest of the afternoon, Anjin and I wandered around the booths. We stopped by one booth to say hello to author Paul Levine (Solomon vs. Lord series) and he was kind enough to sign a book for me. Anjin and I were soon ready to call it a day. With our backpacks full of books, we headed for our car and the drive home.

There were many highlights to this year's Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, but biggest of them all was meeting fellow bloggers. Being able to sit and talk with them truly enhanced the festival experience. I had no reason to be nervous. Everyone was wonderful. And I mean that. I'm not just saying that because they might read this post. I hope we can all do get together again next year. And maybe next time, you can join us too!

If you want to see photos from the festival and to hear what other book bloggers have to say, be sure and stop by the following blogs:
Lisa from Books on the Brain
Tracy from Shelf Life
Amy From My Friend Amy (Vlog)
- (also check out Amy's Ten Things I Learned At the LA Times Book Festival)
Amy From My Friend Amy (Sunday Salon)
Hey, Lady! Watcha Readin' (Part 1: Vlog)
Hey, Lady! Watcha Readin' (Trish Geeking Out Over the Festival of Books)
Natasha from Maw Books Blog (Part 1: Vlog)
Natasha from Maw Books Blog (Part 2: In Which I Meet Awewsome Book Bloggers)
Ti from Book Chatter and Other Stuff
Florinda from The 3 R's: Reading, 'Riting, and Randomness
Jill from Fizzy Thoughts (To FoB or Not to FoB)
Jill from Fizzy Thoughts (Social Networking Panel)
Jill from Fizzy Thoughts (Window on the World Panel)
Jill from Fizzy Thoughts (Intimate Strangers Panel)
Jill from Fizzy Thoughts (Borderlines Panel)

Note: I will be taking a brief break from blogging the rest of this week and next. Don't despair! I will be back. May promises to be a busy and exciting month here at Musings of a Bookish Kitty, and I can't wait to tell you about what I have been reading. Happy Reading!