BAD NEWS BEARS FOR BOOK REVIEWS

-The LA Times stand alone book review booklet thingy is no more (Fishbowl LA)

-Per Los Angeles magazine the Central Library is one of the 64 Greatest Things About LA. (LAMAG.com)

-Did you know Skylight Books has book groups? I did not. (map)

-New York Times Book Section. You're going to need this.

LA TIMES BOOK FESTIVAL - APRIL 26&27

Half of the Pico crew is heading to New Orleans for Jazzfest, as such another year's LA Times Festival of Books is going to pass me by. Dammit! Some panels I wouldn't miss if I were in town:

SATURDAY

11:30 AM
Fiction: Grace Under Pressure
Moderator Ms. Barbara Isenberg
Mr. Bruce Bauman
Ms. Gina Nahai (I said this last year but it bears repeating, she's a lovely writer and personal favorite.)

12:30 PM
Gore Vidal in Conversation with Jane Smiley (his books are too long, and something tells me he's a blowhard, but it might be interesting, probably not though)

10:30 AM
Fiction: Urban Renewal
Moderator Mr. Scott Timberg
Mr. Charles Bock
Ms. Janet Fitch (She's good, very, very good)

4:30 PM
Ray Bradbury with an Introduction from Sid Stebel

SUNDAY
10:30 AM (@Royce Hall)
The Lyrical Line: Conversation & Music with Aimee Mann & Joe Henry
Interviewer Mr. Steve Almond
Mr. Joe Henry
Ms. Aimee Mann (need I say more)

12:00 PM
Surf Culture: Shooting the Tube
Moderator Mr. Antoine Wilson
Mr. Steve Hawk (former Editor of Surfer)
Mr. Steven Kotler
Mr. Kem Nunn (co-produced John From Cincinnati)
Mr. David Rensin

12:35 PM
Cheech Marin (I hear great things about this book, frankly it's Cheech, he can just fold his socks and I'll probably find it funny)
Author, "Cheech the School Bus Driver"


Event Info:
Looks like tickets are $0.75 this year and available at ticketmaster starting April 20.

PICO NEWS ROUNDUP

-Becks scored his first goal last night, and my little Urban Achievers were there to see it!

-It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia as an early episode online.

-Today is Bukowski's birthday and the Bukday festivities are in full swing.

-Organizing bookshelves by color . . . genius! (Counterbalance)

PICO NEWS ROUNDUP

-Looks like La Boheme is closing for a while (Eater LA)

-Caroline hit up The Colony Cafe on Pico! (CarolineonCrack)

-The Juice gets prank called (With Leather)

-Which literary character might make a good president? (I'm also partial to Doc Ricketts) -The Elegant Variation

LA Times Book Festival Sat. & Sun.

Artwork by Chris Gall www.chrisgall.com

My mom used to actually fly out from the East Coast for this. Of course she hounded Mary Higgins Clark and Sydney Sheldon like they were the Beatles in 1964, but hey that's my mom. This weekend marks the 12th annual Festival and I'd have to say this has always been one of my favorite events. I can't make it this year, but if I could these are the speakers I would NOT miss:

Saturday
11:00 AM Kirk Douglas in Conversation with Patt Morrison (when I first saw this for some reason I read Pat Morita. Then I remembered that he died, and I sometimes read too fast. Just for the record if it were going to be Pat Morita I'd have cancelled my plans. RIP Mr. Miyagi!

3:00 PM Mitch Albom in Conversation with Frank McCourt While Mr. McCourt makes me want to stick my head in an oven, he's still one of my favorites. God damned if the Irish didn't have it rough.

10:00 AM Sands of Strife: The Middle East

Moderator Mr. Zachary Karabell

Mr. Mark Bowden - Loved this guy since Black Hawk Down and Killing Pablo was also very good. He makes non-fiction seem not so non-fictiony.

Sunday

10:00 AM Fiction: Novel Landscapes

Moderator Ms. Donna Seaman

Ms. Gina Nahai - One of my favorite authors and just a beautiful writer.

3:00 PM Fiction: Lives on the Edge

Moderator Ms. Leslie Schwartz

Ms. Janet Fitch - another favorite author

10:30 AM Inland Empire Fiction: The Other California - Wait, huh? There's books about the I.E.? Like real books, with words and stuff? Have these authors even been there or do they think it's a mythical place like I used to think Oxnard was? So many questions . .