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This past Sunday, I headed into West Hollywood for its annual book fair. This was the first time I’d actually been, even though the fair has been around for ten years. Held on the grounds surrounding the West Hollywood Library, in the shadow of the Blue Whale (aka the Pacific Design Center; see my visit a couple summers ago here), the fair isn’t as big as the vernal L.A. Times Festival of Books, but it still offered plenty to interest the literary Angeleno.
My first stop was the booth of Bill Cunningham, author of I Wonder What Became of Me, right by the entrance to the library. Last fall, as a side project, I edited Bill’s book, a fascinating look at his life and decades-long career building one of the most respected talent agencies in the world. A quick photo with Bill later, I was on my way to the food court, signed book tucked in my bag, with a promise to stop by the booth again on my way out. There was a variety of food trucks at the food court, including the Hungry Nomad and SliceTruck. I decided to grab a cherry slushy lemonade from A ROCKin ICE, which I ordered from a very happy and very friendly blonde guy dressed in a Hawaiian shirt. The slushy was delicious but it made my teeth look like they had escaped from a horror film. One guy made the mistake of asking me where I got my program, and probably did not expect that the short, harmless-looking curly-haired brunette would reveal a set of (what looked like) bleeding teeth.
My icy, teeth-staining slushy in hand, I set out to explore what else was on offer at the fair. I walked up to the Open Booth stage just in time for “Cats Throw Dark Shadows: From Actress to Author.” Julie Newmar, the original Catwoman, was wearing a pair of cat ears, completing her image as an eccentric creative spirit. Next I wandered over to the Comics, Graphic Novels & More stage and caught the “Comics to Screen & Back Again” panel, featuring, among others, Len Wein, co-creator of Swamp Thing and Wolverine. I don’t have a particularly avid interest in comics, but I find that people who do are usually pretty entertaining. My sister works at a collectible figures company, and while the guys she works with behave like total man-children, they are absolutely hilarious.
After wandering around a bit more, I slid by Bill’s booth again and said my goodbyes. Then it was back into the belly of the Blue Whale to find where I parked my car.
Plans for next weekend include scouring L.A.’s vintage furniture stores for a pair of nightstands. Have I mentioned that I’ve spent the last several weeks looking for nightstands? What? I’m picky.
