Reading Harry on the Hill

I spent a few hours at the Festival of Books at UCLA on Saturday. It's like the Coachella of books! My friend, Erica, and I didn't really have an agenda this year. We had still been burned out from Coachella so we decided to just take the "reckless abandon" approach to this year's event.

After lunch at Swinger's (I saw a guy reading there but he was so into his fries that I had to let him be) we hopped on the 10 and headed West. We parked in front of my old college apartment and reminisced about our college days. The festival was pleasant. It seemed like there were less people this year (but more dogs!) And many children fixated with the books they had bought. It made me so happy to see so many kids reading.

As our visit was coming to an end I spotted a woman sitting on the hill at the top of Bruin Walk. Hilary was reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. She's actually re-reading the whole series because she promised her grandma. "My grandma is actually the biggest Harry Potter fan in the family. She is planning a trip for the entire family to head out to the Harry Potter amusement park in Florida over the summer when it finally opens." Hence Hilary promised her grandma she would get reacquainted with the books before the trip. (Too cute)



Hilary was not actually planning on visiting the Festival of Books. She is a pastry chef at Chateau Marmont so she likes to come out to the UCLA campus to read when it's gorgeous out. "I decided to bring the book with me just in case I came out here. I didn't know this was going on until I realized how horrible parking was today." But she found a lovely spot under the sun nonetheless, and got to enjoy the rest of her book and some frozen lemonade while she was at it. Bliss...

Reading Over Vegan Lunch Specials

I was at lunch and saw a woman reading a library book copy of "Game Change" at Vegan Glory on Beverly Blvd. I didn't go up and talk to her, though. I was very close to taking a picture of her with my iPhone but I didn't want to be a creepazoid.

I also see a bunch of readers there at lunch. Seems like the place to be while enjoying some darn good vegan Thai food.

My Tai

My co-worker, Angie, and I have started our very own "Roger Room Thursdays". Once the clock strikes 6pm we hurry along to finish sending out emails and make those final edits to reports. Then we head down to the Roger Room bar downstairs. We have our own stools at the end of the bar. We can't enough of all the badass bartenders and bar-backs. And we have our usual drinks to decompress. If you haven't been to the Roger Room I strongly urge that you visit it one night. Preferably a weekday. Order one of their signature drinks and you'll be hooked! Okay, this is starting to sound like one of my Yelp reviews...

Tai, one of the bartenders, had slipped away this past Thursday so I figured he was on his dinner break. He comes back in later in the evening and I wrap my arms around him, asking what he had for dinner. Tai actually skipped dinner, letting me know that he was a bit under the weather, so he just sat in his car and read during his break. You know my ears perked at hearing this!

Tai is currently reading The Selected Poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke. He had avoided reading it for years but he is liking it so far. "Our dilemma as humans is that we are trying too hard to capture words."


Another book that he recently read is "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot. I got super excited because this happens to be the next book we're reading for book club AND I had heard all about this book on NPR one morning. I was eager to find out what he thought of it so far. "This book is extremely interesting! I never knew about this book then read the liner notes in a bookstore. I bought it on the spot because it sounded fascinating. I also read and article about it in the New York Times. All the present day implications...there are so many things in the book that are so relevant today. It's definitely an easy read." He might lend the book to his friend but if not he says I am welcome to borrow it. (Yay!)

I love this photo of Henrietta Lacks

Tai tells me that he always has a book in his car. "You just never know where you'll end up so a book will always come in handy."

Favorite book? The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass. Tai was practically appalled when I told him I had never read it. "It's a great book! Go out and get a copy now!"

A Place in the Sun

Yes, folks, I survived my first Coachella! I am tanner, sore, and burned my brain under the sun but I had a splendid time. Hung out with good friends, met up with old ones, met new ones, and saw some amazing bands.

Can I just plug the hotel we stayed at in Palm Springs? A Place in the Sun. Total 50s Kitschy Heaven. The pool area was darling. We had breakfast set out every morning by the pool. And I got to practice my synchronized swimming routines and floating techniques for hours in the water.

On Saturday (in the midst of running wild around the pool) I spotted a girl on one of the lounge chairs with a Kindle. Excuse me, a Kindle DX (a.k.a the bigger Kindle!) Leah was another Coachella-goer. She drove up with a few of her friends from Los Angeles and she was getting in some pool time before heading out to the Empire Polo Field.


Leah was reading a book by the funny gal Chelsea Handler called "Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang". The book is pretty funny and is quite similar to Handler's other books, I am told. Leah also read Chelsea Handler's "Are You There, Vodka? It's me, Chelsea." As you can tell, Leah is a big Chelsea Handler fan.

So what made her want to get a Kindle? And a Kindle DX, to boot? "Funny story, this actually belongs to my friend sitting over there. He let me borrow it and I liked it so much that he just let me have it. Either that or I just didn't want to give it back. It was around my birthday so this was kind of like a present." Happy birthday to her!


We ran into each other's rooms and shared a few vacation drinks. Her group also hooked us up with a few cans of Sofia Coppola's champagne in a can. Stay classy, Palm Springs.


What types of books do you like to read by the pool? Do you like to read the heavy stuff while on vacation or do you travel light? Light reading, that is.

Let it be known...

In case you were thinking of attending out next book club meeting...

Let it be known that we are pushing it to May 9th! The UCLA Festival of Books is this weekend so we need to accommodate accordingly. Check out the Facebook page for more details or comment with questions.

Thoughts on the book so far?

Coachella-itis

Coachella is T-minus 3 days! It's finally hitting me that my friends and I are going to trek out to the dessert and live it up all weekend. My friends and I divvied up responsibilities. Someone handled lodgings. Someone else handled ordering tickets. I will handle gas, et al. Most importantly I will also handle picking up our tickets from the Goldenvoice office!

I shot down La Cienega toward Wilshire on my lunch break. Of course the infamous food trucks were swarming all over the boulevard! Traffic galore when I'm in a rush, naturally! To top it all off I get rear-ended as I am backing into street parking because some guy was so mesmerized by the food trucks and didn't see me easing in. (Nothing serious. The scrape can be detailed out, I'm sure).

30 minutes to spare. I speed walk to the Goldenvoice building, head up the north elevator and, voila, I am next in line to pick up my coveted massive envelope. As my paperwork is being "processed" I look around the table at the different Coachella posters and handouts. That is when I see a Kindle nesting to the side. I ask the girl at the table if the Kindle was hers. Affirmative.

Mina has been reading books on her Kindle while manning the Coachella ticket pick-up table. Great way to pass the time in between transactions. She recently got her new gadget a few months ago. It was a gift to herself courtesy of her tax return. Mina's already read 5 novels on it so far. Now she is reading The Impressionist. "It's a good book and it was free so I can't complain." It was also a Book of the Month. Mina likes to download the Book of the Month recommendations. "They tend to be free so why not, right? I do buy a few books here and there. I normally don't spend more than $9 though."

(The Kindle with the Virginia Woolf screensaver)

Mina admits that she enjoys the feel of physical books and, like many book fiends, she was skeptical about the Kindle. Then one of her friends got one and Mina took it for a test drive. She was instantly hooked! "The device just felt right. It was light and easy to use. Plus I can have a whole library at my fingertips. It's just simple and convenient."

She was looking at Barnes and Noble's Nook but she thought it was too complicated and too high tech. Also, it just wasn't visually appealing. I asked her about the iPad because it was the hot commodity on everyone's minds these past few months.
"I know, I considered the iPad but I already have an iPhone, I have a Macbook...I didn't feel like I needed another item from the Apple family. Plus, the Kindle is simple and perfect for what I need."

Running Into the White Rabbit

Running into the White Rabbit on Easter Sunday? How apropos!

As on most Sundays I lunched with my mom. Today I decided to lunch at Larchmont. Prado Restaurant was the original choice because I had been craving their banana boat apps all morning. Sadly, they were closed for the holiday. Louise's Trattoria would have to do. My tummy was full of veggie lasagna and I was armed with a small paper bag housing one yummy red velvet cupcake from Crumbs (for later, of course). I still had room for an interview.

I couldn't help but notice this guy sitting Indian style on the bench in front of Village Heights. Maybe it was the huge box of red tamales on his lap that caught my eyes but I also caught a glimpse of his book's cover. It was a tea party, for sure!

Sorry, mom. Must walk back to talk to him.

And yes, I glanced correctly. Tony was reading Lewis Carroll's beloved Alice in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass. He had originally started it 2 years ago but stopped halfway because he picked up 3 other books and got lost in those instead. What, praytell, were those three books that swooped him away from Alice?

• Lost Cosmonaut by Daniel Kalder
• Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
• Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk

"Yes, I've read a lot of Palahniuk's books. I guess you can call me a fan. I practically got my hands on a bunch of his books for free which explains how I ended up reading them."



Tony says that he has more time to read now and decided to give the Carroll classic another try. It had been 2 years since he last read it halfway through so he started back at the beginning. He aims to finish what he started.

I had to ask him if he had watched the latest film rendition by Tim Burton. "Oh God, it was bad. I didn't like it at all. And yes, I saw it in 3D. I think I would've walked out on it if it wasn't in 3D. But it was still horrible."

As for other reads Tony prefers reading classic literature most of all however his favourite book of all time right now does not fall under that category.

"I would have to say that Feed by M.T. Anderson is my top choice right now. Its satire of society is so accurate. That's why I love it."

When he's not catching up on his reading Tony studies fashion at FIDM in Downtown Los Angeles. And because of that his own book would be about fashion.


One of the best things I've ever inherited from a breakup has to be a lovely copy of Alice in Wonderland, and for that I am thankful.

What books have you inherited because of a breakup or because it simply never made it back to its original owner? :)

Devendra tra-lala

I was fortunate enough to score a ticket to see Devendra Banhart perform at the Wiltern last Wednesday! It was absolutely divine! Thank you, Erica, for my ticket, and thank you to the Wiltern staff for sneaking me up front into the "pit" so I could have a better view of the on-stage action.

Earlier in the set I happened to see the soundboard guy reading a book under the yellow soundboard light. Not gonna lie, I got super excited and attempted to cross into the area to talk to him but alas, I failed. I couldn't get a good look at the book cover. It is safe to say that I was so pre-occupied with trying to figure out what the man was reading that I probably did not pay attention to the first half of the show.

Amazes it how people can read in such dark, crowded, and loud venues but I love it.

Can you read anywhere under any conditions?