The Los Angeles Time Festival of Books

I had been looking forward to the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books for a while. For the first time ever, I even bought panel tickets (Highly recommended to compliment your festival going experience, by the way). The tickets became available at noon on the Sunday prior to the weekend event, and I went online about two hours in. The Michael J. Fox panel tickets were already sold out, but I got everything else I searched for - Young Adult fiction, mystery women writers, and even a panel with Pat Morrison and James Ellroy (more on the incomparable Reverend Ellroy later).

I attended both days - although I preferred Saturday when the air was a little crisper, the atmosphere more expectant and the excitement more palpable. I spent about 5 hours walking around campus, visiting booths, talking to writers, spennding money and getting signatures. I met Sue Ann Jafarian whose work I had read about online and have started her newest book "The Booby Trap" which features big and beautiful heroine Odelia Grey. I walked by the Target tent and listened to a few minutes of Tori Spelling out promoting her new book "Mommywood" (I saw her mother Candy at another part of the fair at a booth signing copies of her own book - but no one was in line for her when I walked by).

The Sunday atmosphere was different - Like the day after a night of heavy drinking or perhaps even a rave (although a literary rave)- The weather was a little warmer, the atmosphere a little less fresh and the crowd more chaotic. But I came back for two reasons: The first being to meet Sandra Tsing Loh at the Vroman's Bookstore booth and have her sign my newly purchased copies of "A Year in Van Nuys" and "Mother on Fire". Loh is an NPR commentator, writer and humorist. She was friendly and charming and her writing is hilarious. The second reason was to attend the Ellroy/Morrison event. For anyone who attended that particular panel, I think you can agree that it probably wasn't what you expected unless you are familiar with the author's peculiar personality. In that case, you probably got exactly what you bargained for.

Pat Morrison is great - She was dressed in a hot sky blue number with matching hat. As a fan of hers on KPCC, I looked forward to her interview. But the event turned out to be more of a pulpit for Ellroy (author of "LA Confidential" and other LA-based noir bestsellers) - Pat only gave an introduction (but a very good introduction) and let the author out like a wild untamed animal. He preached to us about how great he is as a writer - aggrandized his publisher as God to his own Jesus (publisher being Alfred Knopf) and promoted his book. It was all done like a performance piece filled with cursing and shouting. it was entertaining but I came away from that panel with an affirmation of what I had always known - Writers are a weird bunch.

Now, for anyone who has not attended the Los Angeles Time Festival of Books, well what have you been waiting for?! There is no way you can fathom the largeness of the event without attending. Despite the fact that I was there a total of 8 hours both days, there were so many booths that I never even walked by - areas of the festival map my path never even crossed, and waves upon waves of genres that I didn't even get a chance to investigate. There is an amusement park quality here, except the rides are talks by authors, book signings and the interaction with some of the weirdest people on the planet. Joy!