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Survival Tips for the Festival of Books

As my three loyal readers have probably already figured out, I'm a book geek. I'm not sure I want to know how much of my life I've spent in libraries and bookstores reading books, purchasing books, or wishing I had a little extra money to purchase more books. (The fact that I never have time to read all the stuff I actually buy or check out never seems to dampen my love of books much, but I digress.)  That's why I look forward to the final weekend of April, which is when they hold the closest thing in L.A. to a book lover's Nirvana - the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at UCLA.

For those of you who've never been to the Festival, the Times and UCLA put on quite a show, with lots of bookstores large and small selling their wares, lots of authors - some very famous, others not so much - participating in book signings and panels, and lots of people taking it all in. I love going to the Festival so much that I've volunteered almost every year that it's been put on in addition to attending, and I've had the chance to meet and see some really fascinating authors.  

Sound like something you'd like to be a part of? As a public service for those of you who've never been to the Festival, I'd like to offer a few tips for enjoying it without completely losing your sanity. I don't claim to be an expert on the Festival by any means, but I've learned from experience how to make it through the Festival without tearing out too many of the few hairs I have left, so maybe my tips will be of some benefit to you folks that decide to visit the Festival for the first time.

* Get the Festival guide. Not next weekend when you get there -- NOW.  It's a section in last Sunday's Times; if you subscribe, you've probably still got it somewhere in the house, or maybe you can snag a copy from your friendly local Starbucks or convenience store.

Found the guide yet? Good. Read the first couple of pages of the guide for a general overview, then take out the pullout section in the middle of the guide and put it someplace where you absolutely won't lose it between now and this weekend. The pullout section has a map of the section of UCLA where the event is held on one side and a listing of seminars on the other. Trust me, if you want to find your way around more easily and you'd like to know what's going on, you'll want to have a copy of  the map and seminar guide. If you can't find a copy of the Sunday Times, you can get a map and seminar guide at www.latimes.com/extras/festivalofbooks/index.html.

* If there's a seminar you have to attend, get thee to a Ticketmaster location. Unfortunately, it's going to cost you a little money (the seminar tickets are free, but !#$%^&* Ticketmaster charges a 75 cent service fee). But only 15 percent of the tickets for the seminars are available at UCLA (and what's up with THAT?), so you're gambling with fate if you think you'll get a ticket to a seminar on Saturday or Sunday.   There will be stand-by lines for folks who don't have tickets for the seminar, but for the really popular authors, you may still not get in.  The Ticketmaster outlets where you can get tickets can be found here:  www.latimes.com/extras/festivalofbooks/ticketmaster_outlets.html.
They're only available through 5 p.m. Thursday, so check your seminar listing and hop to it, folks.

* Try parking as far away from campus as possible.  There's lots of parking available on the UCLA campus. Unfortunately, there are also tons of people driving onto campus looking for said parking, and it ain't cheap ($9). I usally park out at Lot 32, which admittedly is closer to Wilshire Boulevard than it is to UCLA, but I've never had much trouble finding a parking space. Getting to the Festival early doesn't hurt either.

You say you have no intention of walking all the way to campus? Not to worry - UCLA's shuttle busses will be out in force to shuttle folks from the remote lots to campus. Use of public transportation to the Festival is also encouraged.... oh, who are we kidding here? You're southern Californians - you'd sell your children for a tank of gas before you'd go anywhere on public transportation.  Still, it's an option, and the guide and website will tell you about it.

* Dress correctly.  That doesn't mean dress to impress - that means dress comfortably, usally for the heat, and bring a comfy pair of shoes. The Festival seminars are indoors, but most of the rest of it isn't, and even on a nice day, the sun out there can be brutal.  If you really want to see the Festival, you'll be doing a lot of walking, and the campus can get pretty hilly.

* Allow some time to explore.  You're going to be tempted to rush from seminar to seminar, or from seminar to book signing to seminar. Don't.   The real fun of the Festival is checking out all the booths - particularly the booths of small and funky independent bookstores and the self-published authors and small publishers - and events that aren't headliners, like the poetry stage behind Powell Library.  If you just try to go from headliner seminar to headliner seminar, you'll probaly end the day exhausted, frustrated, and wondering what the fuss is all about.

* Follow the flags.  Well, pennants, actually. A series of colored pennants are hung around the Festival area to help guide people from one location to another. For some reason, some genius left the colored lines representing where the pennants will be off the map in the Festival guide, the the map on the website still has them. The pennants make getting around a lot easier, and they make for easier directions from the Festival voinunteers and staff.

* Excuse me, where are the restrooms?  All over the Festival area in campus buildings; the buildings with facilities available to the public are shown on the maps. Buildings that aren't part of the Festival area also have them, but  it's hit or miss as to whether the buildings will be open, or whether the restrooms will be open even if the buildings are.

* There's no such thing as cheap food at the Festival. Or at least it's really hard to find. The restaurants at Ackerman Union seem to be a fairly good bet, as well as any faclities for the students that happen to be open (I always like the vending machines!), but even those are going to be priced higher when just the students are there. It's probably too late to take advantage of this tip for this year, but Festival volunteers receive box lunches before or after their shifts for participating. Is a free lunch worth a couple of hours of your time? That's up to you, but UCLA Catering usually does a pretty good job with the box lunches...

* Don't try to grab everything.   Many of the publishers will have catalogs available for free (no free books alas - this ain't BEA, folks).  You'll be tempted to grab all the catalogs and freebies you can, but you may want to seriously consider what you pick up. In most cases, you'll and up tossing the catalogs after a quick glance, but in the meantime all those freebies are going to weigh a ton.  Same thing goes for any books you purchase. Pace yourself, or at least consider taking stuff back to your car before continuing.

* Shop around.  Don't assume the usual big box booksellers have the best prices on books, and it's a safe bet that the booksellers having signings probably won't. Many of the booksellers - including the UCLA Bookstore, located at Ackerman Union - will offer books by Festival authors. If the authors will be at one of the LA Times' designated signing areas after a seminar, consider looking around for a copy of a book with a decent price, or bring the book with you - the Times people are usually cool with that as long as you don't bring a whole stack of books for the author to sign.   If the author's signing at a bookseller's booth, that may be a bit more dicey - you may want to ask first before getting a book from somewhere else.  

* Quantities are limited!  At least they usally are at the booksellers' booths adjacent to the Times' signing areas; for some reason, half the time they don't have enough copies of books written by even the non-superstar authors.  Don't count on the mini-booths to have a copy of the book available just before you get in line - plan ahead. 

* Be nice to the volunteers. Okay, this is a little selfish on my part, since I'm a volunteer. But we're there for the love of books, just like you are, and chewing us out because you couldn't get into a seminar or because every line for an author signing is ginormous isn't gonna solve anything.  If things seem chaotic when you talk to a volunteer, chances are it's because they are, so please be patient and PLEASE follow their instructions.  

* You won't leave the Festival quickly at the end of the day. It doesn't matter where you parked. It doesn't matter how long you wait or how early you leave. It ain't gonna happen. Resign yourself to this. It helps if you spend a little time in Westwood Village getting some dinner or shopping - I usually hit Fatburger near Lot 32 before going home - but the reality is that Wilshire and Sunset will be a mess for a while after Festival closing, as will the 405 going through west LA. Plan your schedule accordingly.   

My apologies if I've made the Festival sound like a nightmare - it really is a lot of fun, but it is crowded, so be prepared. My most important tip is enjoy being in a community of readers for a day - being amoung people who are as passionate about books as you are is the best part of being at the Festival. Enjoy!