Sunday I decided to hit the pool for a bit and do water aerobics since there was no way to do laps in the W pool. I carried my water buoys and my waterproof MP3 player with me from home, so I was all set. It was lovely to be outside and for the moment, not racing from event to event.
Saturday morning I walked over to the Festival and things were bustling. There was a line of cars waiting to park that streamed onto Hilgard and I saw why people had urged me to stay at the W and walk. There were crowds everywhere --- everything from organized patient queues to pick up tickets and lines to attend events.
For years I have been hearing that the L.A. Times Book Festival is the quintessential book festival event. Schedule conflicts always kept me from attending in the past, but this year I vowed I would get there. Thus in March I locked down a flight and a reservation at the W Hotel, which was easy walking distance from the UCLA campus where the event is held.
Last week's Mystery Writers of America events in New York kept me hopping on both Wednesday and Thursday. Wednesday there was a full-day symposium that I finally broke away from the office to catch in the afternoon. I arrived in time to a panel called "First, Kill All the Lawyers…or They Will Write" with Catherine Crier, Lisa Scottoline, James Grippando and Paul Levine. Paul and I joked that those who named this panel must have been clairvoyant since the title of the third book in his Solomon vs Lord series coming in late August will be KILL ALL THE LAWYERS!
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Coming Soon
Curious about what books will be released in the months ahead so you can pre-order or reserve them? Then click on the months below.
April's Books on Screen roundup includes the series premieres of "Ripley" on Netflix, "The Sympathizer" on HBO, and "Franklin" on Apple TV+; the season premieres of Hallmark Channel's "When Calls the Heart" and Apple TV+'s "The Big Door Prize"; the conclusion of "Manhunt" on Apple TV+; the continuation of "A Gentleman in Moscow" on Paramount+ with Showtime, "Palm Royale" on Apple TV+, "We Were the Lucky Ones" on Hulu, "Tracker" on CBS, and "Will Trent" on ABC; the films Someone Like You in theatersand One Bad Apple: A Hannah Swensen Mystery on Hallmark Mystery; and the DVD releases of Mean Girls, Which Brings Me to You, The Promised Land and Madame Web.