L.A. Times Festival of Books: A Book Lover's Dream

Please welcome Anastasia from Here There Be Books as she gives us a little more information about the LA Times Festival of Books!

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2013 Festival Logo

The LA Times Festival of Books is a big celebration of books and authors and the people who love books and authors! It happens every year on an April weekend; this year's festival was my third time going.

Author Joyce Maynard and I during a signing of her book,
Labor Day (one of the freebie books I got this year!).

I'm still trying to figure out how to make my festival trips awesome, but I think the secret is in packing my schedule full of panels and signings. (Which I didn't do this year-- mistake!-- and that's why I'm determined to make next year EVEN BETTER.) 

The best part of this year's festival for me was definitely meeting up with fellow bloggers. Worst part: listening to an author read his poetry in the style of William Shatner.

The shuttle stop at Union Station. The festival shuttle is free
and runs about every 20 minutes or so.

Here is some advice on how to rock #bookfest, which I have curated from years of wandering around not knowing what to do.

Talk to the people in the booths! They're trying to sell you something for sure, but they can also be really nice. Do NOT sign up for the "win a getaway" contests. They just want your information for nefarious purposes.

Bring water, an umbrella/parasol, sunglasses, sunscreen, and anything else you'd need to feel comfortable on a sunny day. This year's festival had weird weather-- cold in the morning, scorching in the afternoon. Since most of it is outside, I was alternatively freezing and burning! Yay, fun!

Keep an eye out for the freebies. You can get some nice things if you're not afraid to stand in line for a little bit. This year I got two signed books, a coffee mug, and drink samples. Yummy!

Meet people in shaded places. Some fellow book bloggers and I met up during the festival (exciting!) and I was super glad that we managed to get under some trees. Other good places to meet: the steps of Bovard Auditorium, the secluded area between the food court and another building, and that one place I found but am not telling about because it's my secret place so there.

Speaking of meeting people: the Tommy Trojan statue is a central, easy-to-spot monument that works great for both finding your friends AND figuring out the festival map.

The YA panel was in 2013 and has Kiersten White, Rachel Cohn,
Tahereh Mafi, Michelle Gagnon and mod Aaron Hartzler. 

Ditch the panels you're not into and be prepared to stand in line for AGES for the ones you really want. Every year there's at least three Big Time Authors doing panels/readings/interviews, outside of the many celebrity-turned-authors. For instance, this year John Green and Rainbow Rowell were both there doing panels and signing stuff, and the lines were INSANE. 

If you want to be guaranteed a seat, be sure to get a ticket online before the festival starts. And after the panel, prepare to stand in MORE lines-- this time for the autographing session! The signing line for John Green was wrapped around an entire park twice. If you really want that signature, bring comfy shoes and a good attitude.

The Keurig machine where festival goers got freebie
full-sized samples of their choice of flavor. Yummy!

Eat at the food trucks. They're expensive, but DELICIOUS! I had a smoked apple pork crepe with apple chutney and some sort of salad. omg, so good! Protip: get your food early, as in before noon. After noon it is PACKED, but before is surprisingly empty of people in lines.

 And most of all: have fun! If you aren't having fun, get a smoothie and try again.

Featuring Kim of Sophisticated Dorkiness

Today please welcome Kim, 

who blogs at Sophisticated Dorkiness.

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What's the meaning behind the name of your book blog?

The name of my blog, Sophisticated Dorkiness, comes from a conversation I had with a friend in college. This friend had really good taste in music compared to my, comparably, dorky favorites. He told me that it's ok to have dorky tastes in some areas as long as you can be sophisticated in others. I like to think of "sophisticated dorkiness" as loving both high-brow and low-brow things and not being ashamed of either. 

How long have you been blogging?

I've been blogging for six years, since May 2008. 

Tell us a bit about your book blog. What makes it unique?

Even though I love to read a variety of genres, my blog has become known for reviews and writing about nonfiction. I love having that niche because it helps me focus on what books to write about and on what books to accept for review.

I recently started a feature called the Nonfiction Recommendation Engine where I offer personalized recommendations to readers. I think that feature has been really popular. 

What genres do you write about most, and why?

I write primarily about nonfiction, but I also love to do reviews of graphic novels, audio books, and literary fiction. 

What's your earliest memory of reading?

I've always been a fast reader, so when I was a kid I used to check out huge stacks of books from the library. Eventually, I started picking out books based on how fat they were. That's how I ended up reading Little Women when I was very young and all of the Michael Crichton books when I was in middle school. 

What was the first book you read over and over, or the book you've reread the most?

I've read Frankenstein four or five times for different classes in high school and college. 

Writing in books: Yes or hell to the no?

Depends? I use to write in books in college all the time, but I do it less now... I'm not sure why. I love seeing my marginalia in old books, so maybe I should start again!

What's your favorite place to read?

If it's nice, I love to be outside with a book. Otherwise, I love curling up on my couch with a mug of tea and my cat, Hannah. 

Do you have any reading accessories you can't do without?

I tend to take notes in a Google Doc that I access with my cell phone, but if that's not available scribble on the Post-It note I'm using for a bookmark. 

Finish the sentence: My bookshelves are...

very full, but very specifically organized. 

My TBR pile is...

out of control!

What's a book that's changed your life?

The book that made me finally understand how amazing, deep and complicated that literature could be was Heart of Darkness, which I read for the first time when I was a junior in high school. 

One book you like that no one else seems to, or vice versa?

I have a soft spot for Robinson Crusoe by Daniel DeFoe. It's not very good and really weird, but I spent a lot of time picking it apart for my senior paper in college and so it's weirdness has endeared it to me. 

To DNF or not to DNF?

I'm coming around to Camp DNF, but it's been a slow transition. 

What's one book that intimidates you?

I don't have a specific book, but two authors who scare me a bit are Haruki Murakami and Toni Morrison. I think I'm worried I won't be smart enough to "get" their writing. 

If you could go to any literary destination, where would you go?

Hogwarts!

How about non-book related hobbies? What do you do when you don't feel like reading?

I try to do some crafting -- cross stitch and crocheting -- and cooking when I have time. I also like to watch television. 

What's your favorite book to movie adaptation?

I hated the adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I thought it was really awful. 

What are 3 of your must-read blogs?

The 3R's Blog
Write Meg!
Estella's Revenge

What is your reading personality? (via quiz at http://www.bookbrowse.com/quiz/)

The Exacting Eclectic Reader

Your responses showed you fitting into two different groups - the exacting reader and the eclectic reader.

The expression 'so many books, so little time!' sums up your life. You love books but you rarely have as much time to read as you'd like - so you're very particular about the books you choose.

You read for entertainment but also to expand your mind. You're open to new ideas and new writers, and are not wedded to a particular genre or limited range of authors.

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Thank you for joining us today, Kim! 

Remember to check out Kim's blog, Sophisticated Dorkiness, 

and leave a comment or question.

Mark Your Calendars: DWJ March

(Granny Diana by yellow crayola crayon)

Who: Organized by Kristen M. of We Be Reading with contributions by many others

What: A month-long celebration of all things Diana Wynne Jones

When: March, every year since 2012

Where: The We Be Reading blog and the DWJ March tumblr and #dwjmarch on Twitter

Why: Jenny of Reading the End hosted a Diana Wynne Jones Week in August 2010 which was a big success. Sadly, Diana passed away the next year in March of 2011. So, when the first anniversary of her death came around, Kristen decided to resurrect the dedicated week, make it a month instead, and spend all of March celebrating Diana’s life and work rather than solely mourning her passing.

The events and features vary each year to keep it fun and have included daily prompts, guest posts, read-alongs, watch-alongs and giveaways. The 4th Annual DWJ March will begin on … March 1, 2015! All fans (and even those new to DWJ) are welcome to join and participate as much or as little as they can. Details will go up on the blog and tumblr in February.

Featuring Rachel of Rach the Redhead

Today please welcome Rachel, 

who blogs at Rach the Redhead.

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What's the meaning behind the name of your book blog?

It's pretty simple - just my name and my hair color!

What genres do you write about most, and why?

I mostly write about literary fiction, just because it's my favorite genre. I love the variety; there's a little bit of everything!

What's your earliest memory of reading?

I probably wasn't reading, just reciting the words I'd memorized from one of my picture books. Either way, my parents were pretty impressed! It was a book about bubblegum, I think.

What was the first book you read over and over, or the book you've reread the most?

My entire Harry Potter series is falling apart, I've reread it so much.

Writing in books: Yes or hell to the no?

Sometimes; I've gotten away from it since I finished my English Degree, but occasionally I just have to.

What's your favorite place to read?

A big, cushy chair next to a window (preferably when it's raining outside).

Do you have any reading accessories you can't do without?

I technically can read without my reading glasses, but it's painful after a while.

My TBR pile is...

Always growing!

What is your reading personality? (via quiz at http://www.bookbrowse.com/quiz/)

The All-Rounder

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Thank you for joining us today, Rachel! 

Remember to check out Rachel's blog, Rach the Redhead, 

and leave a comment or question.

Estella Society: A Playground for Book Bloggers

What is the Estella Society?

The Estella Society was conceived to be “A Reading Playground Built by Book Bloggers for Book Bloggers.” It's our mission to just have fun! We host readalongs, readathons (including the bi-annual Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon), the photo meme EstellaGram on Instagram, and more.

Our newest project will be Season 2 of The Estella Project, launching soon! Last summer, we hosted The Estella Project, asking followers to submit that one book--THE ONE BOOK--that they would put into everyone’s hands if given the chance. Then we challenged them to pick three from the list to read and report back on. So many great books came from it; that we decided to do it again!

Who is the Estella Society team? 

The Estella Society was created by Andi of Estella’s Revenge, the one who is good at putting the words together, and Heather of CapriciousReader, the guru of the technical stuffs.

We host events, and partner with various community-building entities across the book blogosphere. We’d love to have you in our sandbox, so send your schemes to estellasociety AT gmail DOT com!

Where do I find The Estella Society? 

Visit us at http://www.estellasociety.com or follow us here...
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Pinterest

How can I get involved? 

Want to co-host a readalong with us? Sponsor a readathon? Hit us up on Facebook, Twitter, or our email at estellasociety AT gmail DOT com. We’d LOVE to have you!

Featuring Amanda of Maestra Amanda's World

Today please welcome Amanda, 

who blogs at Maestra Amanda's World.

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What's the meaning behind the name of your book blog?

My first teaching job was teaching bilingual pre-k outside of Chicago. All my students called me "Maestra Amanda" (in Spanish, "maestra" means teacher). I really liked it and wanted to keep it going, especially since I wanted to blog about books that I could use in my classroom / books for younger children.

Funny story though---my friend thought that I had named it after the "Maesters" in the Game of Thrones series! I had no idea what he was talking about since I hadn't read the books yet (I have now, so no worries).

How long have you been blogging?

I *think* it will be 4 years in January.

Tell us a bit about your book blog. What makes it unique?

I started out blogging about just books that I've read that I can see being used in the classroom. But, over the years, I've found myself wanting to talk about more---classroom ideas, technology, the dogs, my life, that I felt I needed to just combine it all into one blog.

What genres do you write about most, and why?

Childrens/MG/YA ---many reasons!
1. I am an elementary school teacher, so I want to keep current and make sure I'm making great suggestions to my students.
2. I'm a member of the Virginia Reader's Choice book selection committee (for elementary readers)
3. I LIKE THEM!  

What's your earliest memory of reading?

Wanting to be like my dad and taking a newspaper into the bathroom with me!  

What was the first book you read over and over, or the book you've reread the most?

I remember loving the Berenstein Bears series as a child, and I know I made my mom read that to me a lot! But the first book that I really REALLY remember rereading is THE WILD HUNT by Elizabeth Chadwick. I was 14ish and just wildly in love with English history and romance books in general, that I'd check it out from the library, read it, drop it off, and then a week later check it out again. I must have read that book 20 times! Shoot, I kind of want to download it to my kindle now....

Writing in books: Yes or hell to the no?

Um, no thank you.
1. It's graffiti
2. It's rude.
3. Usually, you're wrong.
4. I don't care.

What's your favorite place to read?

Either my bed or my couch.

Do you have any reading accessories you can't do without?

I am coming around to reading on my ipad (kindle app), but I just love having a hard copy.

Finish the sentence: My bookshelves are...

messy.

My TBR pile is...

HUGE.

What's a book that's changed your life?

Professionally, THE BOOK WHISPERER by Donalyn Miller.

Personally, I really don't know. I feel like every book I read changes just a little part of me---whether it be teaching me something, giving me a different perspective about something, or taking me to a whole new place.  

One book you like that no one else seems to, or vice versa?

Anything Jane Austin. I'm not a "classics" fan. I think she's long winded and boring.  

To DNF or not to DNF?

DNF. Ain't nobody got time for that.

What's one book that intimidates you?

THE HOBBIT.

If you could go to any literary destination, where would you go?

Hogwarts, duh.
But also, Redwall and possibly Westeros (but I'd totally need sword fighting lessons first).

How about non-book related hobbies? What do you do when you don't feel like reading?

I watch a LOT of tv! I also like to bake, take photographs, travel, and do crafts, like knitting (scarves, fingerless mittens & can coozies only) and making cards (Stampin' Up).

What's your favorite book to movie adaptation?

I HATED the ANGELS & DEMONS and THE DA VINCI CODE book to movie adaptations. But I think that the one that is the worst is the Percy Jackson movies. Hollywood just changed too much. PJ was almost a totally different story by the time the movie was over.
THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX was like that, too.
Don't get me started. Grrr....

What are 3 of your must-read blogs?

Andi's ABCs 
Nerdy Book Club
Teach Mentor Texts 

What is your reading personality? (via quiz at http://www.bookbrowse.com/quiz/)

The All-Rounder

Your responses showed you fitting equally into all four reading personalities:

Involved Reader: You don't just love to read books, you love to read about books. For you, half the fun of reading is the thrill of the chase - discovering new books and authors, and discussing your finds with others.
Exacting Reader: You love books but you rarely have as much time to read as you'd like - so you're very particular about the books you choose.
Serial Reader: Once you discover a favorite writer you tend to stick with him/her through thick and thin.
Eclectic Reader: You read for entertainment but also to expand your mind. You're open to new ideas and new writers, and are not wedded to a particular genre or limited range of authors.

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Thank you for joining us today, Amanda! 

Remember to check out Amanda's blog, Maestra Amanda's World, 

and leave a comment or question.

Mark Your Calendars: Bloggiesta

Hey everyone! I’m here to tell you all you need to know about a blogging event called Bloggiesta. It’s a four times a year blogging marathon where we get together online with other bloggers to make and work on our list of blogging goals. The best thing about the event (besides networking with other bloggers of course) is the mini challenges that participating bloggers post on their blogs which teach the rest of us how to do some fun blogging tasks.

But first, you may be interested in a little back history. Bloggiesta started around 2009 I think, when Natasha from Maw Books Blog decided she had a ton of blogging tasks that needed doing. She thought, wouldn’t it be fun to see if others wanted to accomplish some blogging business too and everyone could get together one weekend, online, and work on their blogs with each other. She named it Bloggiesta and created a mascot (Pedro) and a graphic and a motto and all sorts of things to make the event fun. She ran it twice a year for a couple of years but then she had a baby...and stopped blogging... and Bloggiesta languished for a year or more.

At one point she asked for volunteers to get it started again, so that’s when Danielle and I (Suey from It’s All About Books) took it over and got it going again in March of 2012. That was such a fun and well received come back! We’ve made a few changes since then including the additions of mini events, and Twitter chats. Danielle’s life then got crazy and so now I manage the event with the technical help of Jessica from The Bluestocking Society.

Now that you have a little background, here are the basics about Bloggiesta:

We have “main” Bloggiesta events in March and September (usually the third or last weekend of the month) and “mini” events in January and July (also third or last weekend of the month.) The main events now last four days, Thursday through Saturday and the mini events are just the two day weekend.

Everyday of the events, we host a Twitter chat which is always a lot of fun. This past event we had themes for each chat, which worked out really well.

During the main events, we have 15 to 20 mini challenges which can help bloggers with blog basics, technical things, design help, organizational tips, or simply inspire you with lots of blogging ideas. We also have challenges that help people get out and meet other bloggers.

And that’s it! We keep the event simple and really try to focus on spending time working on our blogs and networking with others doing the same thing.

Here are a list of links if you are interested in learning more:

Bloggiesta Main Website

Twitter  (during events we use the hashtag #bloggiesta to find each other)

Facebook Page

Google+ Community

A list of past mini challenges (that’s the other great thing… these challenges are always here so you can actually work on things whenever you want!)

Email: bloggiesta AT gmail DOT com

The dates for future events are:

Summer 2014 Mini Bloggiesta:  July 19-20

Fall 2014 Main Bloggiesta: September 18-21

We welcome any blogger who wants to participate! At the start of each event, we’ll have a sign up linky, which simply asks participants to link up to their goal “to do” lists. We hope to see you there!