The Fake Angeleno

L.A. Festival of Books: Really Sad to Miss It This Year

I really wish I'd consulted some sort of arts calendar before scheduling my trip to NYC for this weekend.  While I'm careening around on the Big Apple memory lane ride, I'll be missing one of L.A.'s finest annual cultural events -- the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. 

Last year at the festival, I was treated to an hour of Gore Vidal cracking jokes and spinning yarns for an audience of thousands in Royce Hall.  But the real highlight of my day was a panel on the history (and future) of California featuring D.J. Waldie, Kevin Roderick, William Deverell, and Matthew Jaffe. 

At this panel, I was pleasantly surprised to find four extremely knowledgeable men discussing their hometown in an an encyclopedic-yet-down-to-Earth manner that exhibited none of the self-congratulatory bloviation of, say, a similar discussion on the past and present of New York City.

These guys actually launched me on a reading binge of California history that continues to the present day.  Well done L.A. Festival of Books panel organizers! 

What's my point? 

If you can make only one panel this weekend at the festival, here's my recommendation:

PANEL 1044 Saturday, April 25, 3:30 p.m.
History: Unknown Los Angeles
   Moderator   Mr. William Deverell
   Ms. Frances Dinkelspiel
   Mr. Chip Jacobs
   Mr. D.J. Waldie

I don't know Dinkelspiel and Jacobs, but Waldie and Deverell are two of the worlds greatest living repositories of Californiana.  (And if you're lucky enough to swing by this panel, you'll see that I'm not exaggerating!)

The Infrastructural City - Networked Ecologies in Los Angeles

Here's a very well-written blog post about what looks to be a very interesting new book. 

LINK: [We Make Money Not Art Book Review: The Infrastructural City - Networked Ecologies in Los Angeles]

Weekend Agenda: Gore Vidal at the L.A. Times Book Fest; Klub Play; CCRF 5K

Despite a daunting backlog of housework and and other pressing obligations, we've got a very enjoyable weekend mapped out.  What could be more fascination than to blog about it beforehand? 

Tomorrow afternoon, we've got tickets to see Gore Vidal interviewed by Jane Smiley at the L.A. Times Festival of Books.  A few years back I was consuming Vidal's historical novels and early political criticism like Bubbles from The Wire was wont to consume that WMD back in season 2.  I'm a huge fan, and though I've seen Vidal speak before in New York I'm really looking forward to seeing him again.  He's always a highly entertaining presence.  I like Smiley too, having read and enjoyed her love letter to thoroughbred racing, Horse Heaven.  Later in the day we'll swing by Kevin Roderick's panel on California: The Great Experiment.  My knowledge of the Golden State is severely limited, so this panel should be a positive educational experience.  I'm also looking forward to meeting Roderick, who was kind enough to link here from L.A. Observed last month.         

Saturday night we're going to see a play with some friends. The name of the play is Klub, and it's being produced at the Actors Gang Theater in Culver City.  We more or less picked this performance at random.  Report will be forthcoming. 

Sunday morning, we're running a 5K in Century City with another good friend of ours.  She and Jessica won't need any luck, but if you're the praying sort, I'd appreciate a kind thought or two for my lumbering, wheezing corpse.  It's going to be ugly, but I'm pretty sure I can go the distance without any major coronary incident.   The race is for a very good cause -- the Children's Cancer Research Fund -- but we haven't set up any sort of formal fund raising drive.  It's a great organization though.  If you're interested, you can learn more here.   

Last Minute Author Reading Opportunity

As I was scanning LAist's literary roundup, tonight's 7 PM event at Book Soup really jumped out at me. 

Robert Gottlieb will be reading from his new book: Reinventing Los Angeles: Nature and Community in the Global City (Urban and Industrial Environments). 

My first thought: "Holy Moses!  The ex- New Yorker chief and editor of my beloved Bob Caro has gone and written himself a book about L.A.?"   

Alas, I realized that Robert Gottlieb would never lend his name to such an inelegant and academic-sounding title...  And as it turns out, this Robert Gottlieb is a professor at Occidental College, which certainly is no crime.  In fact, I still really want to read the book.   The blurb on the Book Soup web site says:

Describes how water politics, cars and freeways, and immigration and globalization have shaped Los Angeles, and how innovative social movements are working to make a more livable and sustainable city.

I'd definitely go to the reading tonight if I didn't have dinner plans.