The LA Times Festival of Books – And Dave Cullen, Too!
Artwork by Eric Carle for Los Angeles Times Festival of Books
Well not yet, anyway. This past weekend, under the gorgeous Southern California weather, the Los Angeles Times held its annual Festival of Books. Thousands of people enthusiastically attended (it’s one of the biggest book fairs in the country), soaking in everything from the world of books: authors, publishers, booksellers, interviews, panel discussions and more. Books of all kinds, from every source and for every target audience found a home in this venue.
One of the numerous gateways to the world of books!
The below picture shows less than one-tenth (by eyeball reckoning!) of the ‘exhibit areas’ located all over the sprawling UCLA campus.
A view down Janss Steps
Above that area, between Royce Hall and the library was another event area with more tents and treats.
One of the coolest book sellers in town, Book Soup had a tent with some special guests on hand.
Here’s one author, hard at work signing copies of his newly published and authoritative book on Columbine. Hey! Look everyone, it’s Dave Cullen!
From Kristin Chenoweth to Ray Bradbury – if you were willing to wait in a bit of a line, basically there was something for everyone.
Nothing against Kristin Chenoweth, but I didn’t line-up for her.
Legendary author Ray Bradbury enjoying the enthusiasm of his fans, still.
Many of the authors and speakers participated in various panels and interviews covering most everything under the sun – from politics to celebrity to poetry, art and film, for young and old. Our very own Dave Cullen gave an especially thought-provoking interview in one. They discouraged picture-taking during his interview, but here’s the stage and part of the audience as it was filtering in.
After the interview, more book signing for Dave.
Of his interview, a few things stand out for me. One is hearing some of the detail about how this tragic event seeped into his life and changed its trajectory over the span of 10-years. That alone is unique and remarkable. Learning about his process was also intriguing. And the audience shared in the real satisfaction of hearing a deeper discussion of the events – deeper than the kind standard media allows. As noted by both Dave and his expert interviewer, David L. Ulin of the LA Times, the public yearns for explanations, and not just when tragedy strikes. The 24-hour news media just can’t do the job, so immersion journalism seems the only way to deal with highly complex issues. And as we now know, just about everything the media reported about Columbine at the time was wrong.
At the end of the hour, mikes were opened up for audience questions. The last question from a school administrator was about what schools can do to possibly prevent these kinds of horrific events. Dave’s response was threefold: 1) listen to the kids, 2) rethink the zero tolerance rules, and 3) hire experts trained in the various kinds of ‘dangerous’ psychological profiles that have, by now, been very well-studied.
After his answer, many in the audience audibly agreed and breathed a sigh of what could be called relief. Answers. Finally, answers.
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Comments
this is great. i love this. i needed this. i miss hearing from you when you don't post for a while. yes, people, i have a mad platonice crush on the fabulous david decker. i have a feeling that the new kindle is going to change reading and that it's going to go up in popularity again. god, i hope so. video games can only teach a person so much. same with porn. :) love love love and extreme gratitude for the thoughtful writing abotu dave cullen and his book.
Miami has a great book fair as well, and in 2005 I was a speaker when my book came out. A real thrill.
C Berg – Hah! Here in L.A., there’s nothing as fancy as the blue ribbons they hand out for prize pigs at county fairs. I think the LA Times calls their prizes, well, book prizes.
undertow – ‘We’re a bookish town’. Now that’s exactly the kind of slogan Denver should have on billboards and such.
Theodora – Yeah, isn’t Book Soup great? And I think the June Santa Barbara Writers Conference was put on hiatus this year – because of the economy – but they have plans for 2010. How could anything in Santa Barbara not be great?
Juliet – Thanks for your visit. I’ll share in your hopes...
Stellaa – Hah! Good one. And...you’ve got a real point.
Biblio – It was! My wife kindly took care of our kids for a few hours so I could casually stroll about. Heaven.
Annimal – You know, I thought the same thing when I saw the Vagabond Books tent offering up the real, live Mr. Bradbury. I think he had a stroke some years back, but he’s still out there, doing that writer thing. Amazing.
Duaneart – Well hell, how could you not love books if art’s actually in your name? Thanks for stopping by.
jimmy – Thanks!
Lea – The Miami book fair was lucky to get you!
Mary – Yummy’s a good word for books. I’m sending our extra sun power your way. It’s the least we can do considering all the water we steal from the Colorado!
it's great to see that books are still this popular with the people, but as a journalism major who's currently in class with the country's future writers and readers, it's very difficult to keep the faith. i wonder what this fair will look like in 20 years? will it exist? these days, i find it hard to believe that writers are more relevant than screenwriters and comedians. david simon and stephen colbert are where it's @.
Rated
"...the public yearns for explanations, and not just when tragedy strikes."
This stuck a chord for/with me. I realize that at the time of 9/11, I was living in NY, and not for nothing, regardless 9/11, New Yorkers do Read, pretty much constantly (that's why their newspapers are still alive), but I couldn't help noting the nonfiction bestsellers. Almost immediately, the books relating to Islam, Muslims, middle eastern countries, wars, conflict, Iraq, India, Pakistan, etc., started appearing on the bestseller lists. People Want To Know. There's no doubt about that.
Thanks for the post.
I'm planning on hitting the Miami Book Orgy, I mean Fair, in November.
I hope Ray Bradbury is not there.
If he is, I might die.
It would be so undignified.
(thumbified for books.)
Great post. I love books, books about books, and reading about books.
mcart03 - Go Boston. Home to family and my alma mater. Yeah. That future of readin’ n’ writin’s lookin’ like shades of grey. My impression is that the various arts of literature will basically survive – even though the language will slowly change and the tools we use to write, publish and read will evolve. Think about it: people are always going to need something enjoyable (and lasting?) to do while using beds, bathtubs and beaches – and yes, sometimes even toilets. (Though I guess I wouldn’t mind if the WC remained firmly in the Reader’s Digest and magazine camp).
Steven – Thanks. I wish you were!
Al – Great to see you here. Yeah, the Big Two were absent this year. Not sure why...
BuffyW – It was a gorgeous day, wasn’t it? It’s strange talking about good and bad weather days in Southern California, but some of them do stick out.
Robert – Thanks for the visit. Yep, saw CSPAN2 there. I got some pix of their large mobile unit/studio where they were coordinating the broadcasts. They covered some of the more intriguing panels.
ConnieMack – You’re so right. There’s just no other source for fine details. After Google finishes its ‘book digitizing’ project, the web may have more subject matter ‘detail’, but until then, even the internet will only get you so far. Books (by the right authors) are pretty much it.
Jodi – Hee. (Your undignified death by Bradbury). November’s a smart time for the Miami extravaganza – what a great time to visit the sunshine state.
Sandra – So I guess you’re saying you like books. Me, too, though I have the feeling you’re a bit more well-read than me. (And not just because of your coffin!)
And thanks for the nice words--and for coming out to see me. It was great meeting you in person.
Mary – Now if I could just turn my attentions to global warming, feeding the hungry and...
Dave – It’s nice to hear that it was fun for you, too – what with your schedule. NY Times #3 for your book! Wow. Great news there.
Ben – I’m reserving my advance copy as we speak!
They said they got 140,000 people last year.
And I got to meet more book people than . . . ever, for me.
I got to meet people in various aspects of the industry, but mostly I met readers. Every writer needs to do a book tour: not just to promote the book, but to discover how it's affecting readers, what they are getting out of it, what they are still wondering. (And also, what people are wondering when they have heard about the book, but not yet read it--what draws a person to the book, what assumptions do they come with, and what do they want to know? That is all priceless.)