Festival of Books
Apr. 24th, 2010 01:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
essentialsaltesTook a quick visit to the LA Times Festival of Books. For once, it wasn't eleventy billion degrees. Due to other weekend restraints, I showed up pretty much at the start, and so did everybody else. It was a mad house, and Ladyeuthanasia's comments about dogs and spawn and wheeled spawn-carrying devices were all too prophetic. But I am nimble.
I saw a great book, but it might make a good birthday present for a certain someone, so it will have to remain secret for now. I did pick up a few things. The first book of the Dresden Files, since I can't seem to escape people recommending them. La Noir 1 and 2. The first is 'new' stories, while the second has oldies but goodies by the usual suspects. I also picked up a signed Joseph Wambaugh for Dad, who's retired recently. We'll be seeing him and Lois later for dinner. I urged him to have a retirement party, but no dice. So I'm making this a party whether he likes it or not.
Back to books, I was tempted by a first of The Insect God, but somehow walked away from it. Another bookstore warned us not to touch the Dore Inferno, so I figgered it probably wasn't for me.
As usual, there's a strange battle of ideology at the Festival. Three Islamic booths, Swedenborgians, Scientologists (well, the books of L Ron Hubbard), Theosophists, Jews for Jesus (too cheap to buy a booth, but still present), various New Age-y booths, and the Buddhists (I enjoyed seeing the saffron-robed monk talking on his cell-phone).
Also interesting to see the self-promoters with their booths. The twin girls (really, like, 13 years old) and their fantasy novels. And the booth labeled "Vampire author VFW Blorpitz" or something like that. I briefly considered asking her if she was an author of vampire books, or an author who is a vampire, but I decided I didn't want to know the answer.
Being wise to the ways of Westwood, I did not give UCLA $10 for parking, and feel smugly virtuous.
I saw a great book, but it might make a good birthday present for a certain someone, so it will have to remain secret for now. I did pick up a few things. The first book of the Dresden Files, since I can't seem to escape people recommending them. La Noir 1 and 2. The first is 'new' stories, while the second has oldies but goodies by the usual suspects. I also picked up a signed Joseph Wambaugh for Dad, who's retired recently. We'll be seeing him and Lois later for dinner. I urged him to have a retirement party, but no dice. So I'm making this a party whether he likes it or not.
Back to books, I was tempted by a first of The Insect God, but somehow walked away from it. Another bookstore warned us not to touch the Dore Inferno, so I figgered it probably wasn't for me.
As usual, there's a strange battle of ideology at the Festival. Three Islamic booths, Swedenborgians, Scientologists (well, the books of L Ron Hubbard), Theosophists, Jews for Jesus (too cheap to buy a booth, but still present), various New Age-y booths, and the Buddhists (I enjoyed seeing the saffron-robed monk talking on his cell-phone).
Also interesting to see the self-promoters with their booths. The twin girls (really, like, 13 years old) and their fantasy novels. And the booth labeled "Vampire author VFW Blorpitz" or something like that. I briefly considered asking her if she was an author of vampire books, or an author who is a vampire, but I decided I didn't want to know the answer.
Being wise to the ways of Westwood, I did not give UCLA $10 for parking, and feel smugly virtuous.
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of the body
Date: 2010-04-25 06:39 am (UTC): )