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!
Tell us about the books you’ve finished reading with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars. During the contest period from September 11th to September 25th at noon ET, three lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win a copy of HOLLYWOOD, ENDING by John Green and THE PIRATE QUEEN by Ariel Lawhon.
Our major goal for early 2027 is to redesign Bookreporter and the rest of the sites in The Book Report Network. How can you help? We have launched a GoFundMe campaign and are asking for donations. Any level of donation that you would be comfortable with is sincerely appreciated. If you would prefer donating via check, please send to:
The Book Report, Inc.
16 Mt. Bethel Road, Suite 365
Warren, NJ 07059
Click here to read more about our plans and to donate.
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.
September's Books on Screen roundup includes the films Practical Magic 2 and Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie in theaters, along with The Love Hypothesis on Prime Video; the series premieres of "A Tale of Two Cities" on MGM+, "Marble Hall Murders" on PBS "Masterpiece," "Neagley" on Prime Video, and "The Final Problem" on Netflix; the season premieres of STARZ's "Outlander: Blood of My Blood," Apple TV's "Slow Horses," and ABC's "R.J. Decker"; the season finales of "Reacher" on Prime Video and "The Walking Dead: Dead City" on AMC; the continuation of Apple TV's "Dark Matter" and USA Network's "Anna Pigeon"; and the DVD/Blu-ray releases of Supergirl, Two Prosecutors and Girls Like Girls.