I found out the day before that Julie was going to be part of a panel on a discussion titled "Sex & Violence: The do and don'ts of the Modern Cozy" along with Laura Bradford, Sharon Fiffer, Mary Vermillion, and moderator and author Clare O'Donohue. Just the topic was exciting. I didn't pay any mind to who the other authors were until I got there and heard them speak. By the end I managed to get my copy of Grace Among Thieves autographed and bought and had autographed Hearse and Buggy (though I had a library copy via purchase suggestion sitting at home) by Laura Bradford aka Elizabeth Lynn Casey of the Southern Sewing Mystery series.
After the panel discussion I explored the remainder of the festival. I was a lot more like a giant book sale than I expected. Unfortunate because I could not afford to buy any more books (I already bought the one named above and the Hyzy book the night before) ... I'm supposed to be cutting back. Nevertheless I enjoyed myself. I caught a few minutes of the "Young Adult Fiction: Dark Days" with Veronica Roth, Aprilynne Pike, Elizabeth Norris, and Bethany Griffin moderated by Claire Zulkey. If I'd planned better I would have caught the whole thing. As it was it was already started, standing room only, and horribly hot by the time I peeked in at the back of the tent.
At 2 I saw Rachel Ray speak. Don't ask why. I don't cook. And I don't watch any of the televisions shows she appears on. But she's a big name and I thought various members of my family might appreciate hearing about the experience (seeing as they are completely baffled by my interest in the authors of books otherwise). It was actually interesting and entertaining, albeit brief. It would have been cool to get her autograph too, but you had to purchase The Book of Burger at $27 first. I don't cook, remember? And I don't have money. I had to repeat that to myself more times than I can count.
After hearing Rachel talk I went on a 15 minute architecture "tour" of Printer's Row... interesting (really, I was repeating what I'd learned to everybody) but we didn't actually move much of anywhere because of the congestion.
Once I'd done all the exploring I was going to do at the LitFest I retreated to the Chicago Public Library: Harold Washington Library Center. The Rachel Ray discussion had been my first time there, and I wanted to explore. Besides, I had time to kill while I waited for my brother and his friends to get in town for the Blues Festival that evening.
Oh my. That place is huge; I was so impressed. I ended up at my own table in a nook on the 4th floor, looking out at another building and down on the busy street. I also read of course. The Big Kitty if you were wondering what. I'd include a pic of me reading there (I took one of myself because I am weird, obviously), but it would require more editing than I believe I'm capable of to put my avatar over my real face.
ANYWAY, that was the book related portion of my day. Hopefully, I'll manage to go again next year.
I would really like to go to some kind of book expo. It just sounds like so much fun. Thanks for sharing your thoughts of the day!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by. I'm always looking for things like this that I can go to, but I don't seem to have much luck. Usually I can't afford them. Sometimes I find out too late. Often they aren't near enough to get to. I did luck out with this one.
ReplyDeleteWow! What an exciting day. Soooo, did you go to the blues festival too?
ReplyDeleteI did. For a little bit. My brother went off to meet up with someone else first, so I ended up sitting around before actually going in. But I made it.
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