As I mentioned in this week's In My Mailbox post, yesterday I went to my first big book event. I heard about the West Hollywood Book Fair shortly after we moved to Los Angeles and spent the last month trying to convince my boyfriend to take me. I'm pretty sure he was planning to take me all along but he likes to give me a hard time about my book obsession. It was HOT (about 97 I think). These last couple of days have definitely been the hottest weather since we moved to LA in July. It's currently 102 degrees and I feel a bit like my skin is melting right off my body.
At the book fair I didn't end up taking any photos or getting any books signed. I wasn't sure what to expect although I did spend a lot of time online researching the fair and all of the authors who would be in attendance. I was going to go to the Jay Asher (13 Reasons Why) signing but first there was a large group chatting with him and then I got a bit distracted by fresh squeezed lemonade (like I said, it was REALLY hot!). While I was there, I realized that it wasn't the smartest idea for me to spend all of my money on books to get signed. As much as I want to support the authors and get a chance to snap a picture with them, I am currently unemployed and need to be smarter about my book buying. I did come across a great little traveling bookshop, Brown Bag Books. Check out their website to see if they are going to be at any events near you. They had an amazing collection at really great prices. I got a copy of Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer in near perfect condition for $6.
Since it was my first book fest, I was feeling pretty overwhelmed and wasn't sure whether I should check out the panels or just spend my time walking around. We ended up doing a little of both. I'm a little bummed I didn't go to any of the signings but oh well, all the more reason to go to the next festival! I also need to find a bookish friend instead of dragging my boyfriend along. He just doesn't share my excitement of being surrounded by books. He's very supportive but I felt guilty about keeping him out in the hot sun all day.
Some of the other author's that were at the event were Aimee Bender (The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake), Frank Beddor (The Looking Glass Wars series), Francesca Lia Block (Weetzie Bat series, etc) & Heidi Durrow (The Girl Who Fell From The Sky). All in all I think it was a good first event for me. I was able to get a feel for what goes on and now I know I'll be able to better prepare for the next one. Hopefully by then I'll have some extra money to splurge on more books!
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