1999-11-08, but really late Sunday 01:21:21
Book Festival
Today I went back to the Texas Book Festival. Man, what a wonderful thing that is. It began several years ago, started by our First Lady Laura Bush. I had read about it, heard about it, and last year I think I was even in Austin a week after the fact. I've wanted to go but didn't know if it was worth a trip from Dallas. Now I know it really is. I'm just happy I live here now and won't miss it again.
I only got to go briefly yesterday and only heard part of one reading that was rather boring. Today was a different story (literally and figuratively). I heard Jan Jarboe Russell read and answer questions about her new book on Lady Bird. I've been wanting to read it and I picked it up today (but didn't get the autograph, darn). I have read several biographies of Lyndon Johnson and am fascinated by the man. No, I'm don't think he was a wonderful man or our best president and certainly not the husband to be put on a pedestal, but, gracious, he is fascinating. Drummerboy (that is what the husband will have to be here) has read more than I have and I try to keep him reading by checking out new biographies for him at the library. He tends to remember more of the facts about Johnson than I retain. We'll drive by an Austin office building and he'll comment that that was where Johnson had an office during his campaign for Senate in 195-. I wish I had the ability to retain more of what I read. I read it, enjoy it, keep a tiny bit of the overview in the back of my head (i.e. Johnson was tall. Johnson was from Johnson City. Johnson became president when another president was killed and his name was ???).
The only other session I got to go to was a panel discussion of turning Fact into Fiction with my all-time favorite author Sarah Bird plus Robert Draper and R.J. Peinero. She was the funny one of the bunch but Robert Draper held his own and R.J. Peinero was amusing too. They discussed the dilemma of putting real people and situations in fiction books and whether or not people recognized themselves, etc.
After the session I wanted to go to say hi to Sarah Bird or buy her book Virgin of the Rodeo and get an autograph but I didn't. I have all of her books and they are all autographed and I've gushed all over her at one book signing before. I didn't know what else I could say to her. I don't want to be a groupie, I want to be her friend! That's always been my dilemma with famous people, and I've met tons, I don't really want to just meet them for that fleeting moment and autographs don't do much for me either. I would prefer a "relationship" which is just silly.
So anyway. That said about the autographs, I still went to the signing tent and got Jerry Jeff Walker to autograph his new autobiography Gypsy Songman for Drummerboy. We're both fans, of course, and have been for a long time. Heck! I was watching Jerry Jeff throw up on stage when I was 18! D-boy has run into J.J. a couple of times since we've lived here and J.J. has been rather cool and aloof, no, he's been a jerk. Not the image I would like to have of him, unfortunately. Today he just seemed very tired and old. Also not the image I'd like to have of him.
I also got a book called Hangover Soup by Louise Redd. Don't know her but I heard some good buzz about the book and it is set in Austin (I always like that) and it is about an alcoholic disc jockey. Maybe that will hit too close to home! Not really. I am always interested in others portrayals of the life of the disc jockey. I've never seen it done well. Okay, Howard Stern had some great scenes in Private Parts that mirrored all of our careers, but I've never had strippers in my control room. Yes, I got the book signed by her, too. I'm a writer groupie.
If I hadn't had enough books and book people and fun, I made the mistake (?) of driving past the Palmer Auditorium on my way home. I'd forgotten about the Friends of the Library book sale going on. I'm tired, I'm really hungry, but the lure of cheap books draws me in. I hunted and hunted. It's always hard to find the first one and then it's like "well, if I'm going to spend money anyway, I may as well spend a lot..." I finally gathered 4 books, 5 dollars worth and decided to call it a day. Then I found out that the books were now 5 dollars for a whole bag full! I had to go out and find more. And, boy, did I find more. I got true crime, mysteries, biographies, health, Texana, memoirs and even a Stephen King (Misery). What fun to buy about 20 books for five dollars!
So, tonight I finished up the Elenor Lipman book I've been reading, The Ladies Man. It wasn't as good as Isabel's Bed or the Inn at Lake Devine, but was okay. Now I'm going to start in on the Lady Bird Johnson book and one of the fiction books too to balance it out.
My New Year's Resolution back in January was to buy less books. Not read less, just buy less. There is a whole library full of the books I want to read, there is no need to buy the latest bestseller while it is still at full price. I've done pretty good with that resolution until the last couple of months. I guess I did better than I did with the "write everyday, go vegetarian, walk two miles a day" stuff.