This past weekend was the LA Times Festival of Books. Like last year, it was at USC again. I actually feel like I have a bit of an idea what the layout is like now. Maybe. I still don't feel nearly as comfortable with it as I did at UCLA.
I went with Angelique as always. We got there just after 10 and proceeded to wander around. Okay, so I was a man on a mission. I had a tight schedule for getting some books signed around noon and wanted to know where I was going. It took me an hour to find the booth, but that was because we had pretty much walked everywhere on campus by then. Well, everywhere that the festival was using. We were both hungry, so we grabbed an early lunch, and then I got the books signed.
That meant I got to meet Stuart Gibbs. He's written some kid's books that I have really enjoyed. Then it was over to see Michael Buckley, who was out from New York and selling the last Sisters Grimm book a week before it officially comes out. Guess who bought a copy! While waiting to get that signed, we also got to chat with an author whose first book comes out in October. It sounds great, and I'll definitely be getting a copy.
From there, we headed over to the mystery booths. It sure is nice having them all in one place. So easy to stalk, I mean visit with, favorite authors. We got to catch up with Lee Goldberg, Joanne Fluke, Laura Levine, and especially Sue Ann Jaffarian. We had a nice long visit with her while she was between booths at one point.
The down side was the heat. It was in the upper 90's. When we were in the shade, it was actually a very nice day. But the 45 minutes we spent waiting for Michael Buckley's signature was out in the sun and roasting. And guess who missed a spot when applying sun screen. Me, of course.
It seems like the festival is small with not as many booths to tempt us to come in and spend money. I only bought Michael's book, for example. But it is still a fun day and I am looking forward to next year.
We'll just have to see if I really have a feel for campus or if I'll be as lost then as I was when the day started.
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