How the LA Times BooK Fest is LA

This weekend marks the 18th annual LA Times Festival of Books, an event that draws some 150,000 introverted book people out in the open to politely share their affection for the written word. It's one of the top book festivals in the US. 

I love the book fest and attend almost every year, even when it frustrates me. As I was going over the schedule the other day to plan my weekend, it dawned on me that in many ways, the LATFOB is a microcosm of the things I love and hate about LA. By which I mean… 

• It's April in LA, so the weather will be sunny and beautiful. Guaranteed. 
• It's LA, so I'll spend almost as much time planning how to get there and where I'll park as I'll spend at the festival itself. 
  
• Keep the cross-town rivalry alive! The LATFOB moved the festival from UCLA to USC in 2011, and there are book people who still argue about which venue is better. 

• Why does Hollywood seem to overshadow everything arts-related in this town? Drives me nuts to sit in a half-empty room listening to a panel of amazing, creative, intelligent authors, only to step outside and see hundreds of people lined up to get autographs from Valerie Bertinelli or Carol Burnett for their ghost-written tomes. 
• Sequelmania! I've seen a lot of this year's panelists at the book fest in previous years. They're brought back year after year, even when they don't have a new book out. A few lucky authors are appearing on more than one panel this year. Some of the panels themselves look like retreads. They may be crowd pleasers, but I wish festival organizers would make more effort to bring in new authors and new ideas. 
• Latinos make up nearly 50 percent of the LA County population, but the book fest still treats them like a niche audience. The book fest isn't alone in this, which is unfortunate. 
• The LATFOB is a reminder that LA is, in fact, an incredibly literary city. 

The LA Times Festival of Books has introduced me to some amazing authors, like Laila Lalami and Dinaw Mengestu, so of course you'll see me there. Wishing for a little more risk-taking and a little less Hollywood, enjoying the beautiful weather. 

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