American Library Association Online Event ~ Banned Books Week ~ Spotlight on Tony Weaver, Jr.

 

This afternoon, from 3pm to 4pm Pacific DST, I attended the Spotlight on Tony Weaver, Jr., which was host by the American Library Association during Banned Books Week.

The description for this event is as follows:

This program will shine a light on banned author, immensely popular educator, and Banned Books Week Honorary Chair Tony Weaver, Jr!

Tony Weaver, Jr., is the author of Weirdo (with illustrators Jes and Cin Wibowo), a middle-grade memoir about being Black and nerdy among classmates who won’t accept him. The graphic novel takes on heady topics like bullying, racism, and self-harm as 11-year-old Tony ultimately finds help and self-acceptance. Despite appearing on multiple “best of” lists and receiving multiple starred reviews from publications like Publishers Weekly and Kirkus, Weirdo was removed from a Minnesota school after an administrator objected to images and LGBTQIA+ representation in the graphic novel. Weaver has used his robust social media platform and in-person events to educate audiences about advocacy issues such as censorship and racism and to promote the importance of diverse reading materials and representation.

Youth honorary chairs Marshall Romero and Azeemah Sadiq will moderate the discussion.

I enjoyed attending this online event and learned a lot about Tony Weaver Jr.  One of the things Mr. Weaver mentioned was that the best books create a new perspective and I agree!

Tony Weaver Jr. is also the founder of Nerds For Literacy, which has a mission statement as follows: "to provide students access to literacy and mental health tools to help them reach the next level of their academic and emotional journeys."

Tony Weaver Jr. will be a participating speaker at the Las Vegas Book Festival occurring on October  17th from 11am to 12pm. So if you live in Las Vegas or happen to be visiting Las Vegas during this time frame, then you may want to attend the Las Vegas Book Festival.

Happy Tolkien Reading Day!!!

 

Alta Journal - California Book Club - Janet Fitch

 

Last night, I watched the California Book Club monthly online event hosted by Alta Journal. This month, the featured book and author was White Oleander by Janet Fitch.

I remember reading White Oleander more than two decades and really enjoyed it at the time. I really enjoyed hearing Janet Fitch talk about White Oleander, her writing process and so on.

Above is the YouTube video from last night's event featuring Janet Fitch, should you care to view it.

Alta Live: Ishmael Reed in Conversation with Will Hearst!!

 

Earlier this month, I attended an Alta Live virtual event featuring Ishmael Reed in conversation with Will Hearst. It was an excellent and engaging interview. Ishmael Reed has lead a very colorful life.

The primary focus of this Alta Live event was the discussion of Ishmael Reed's newest book, Blind Persistence. 

Blind Persistence was published on November 1, 2025 and is an anthology.

You can watch the above video to see the full event.

Alta Journal - California Book Club - Amy Tan Discusses Her Book, The Backyard Bird Chronicles!!

 

Wow, what a treat it was to listen to author, Amy Tan, discuss her nonfiction book titled, The Backyard Bird Chronicles during

Alta Journal's monthly live California Book Club event!!

Something like 1800+ people from around the globe showed

up for this virtual author event!!

Apparently, The Backyard Bird Chronicles was never originally supposed to be published... Amy Tan's was behind on a novel she was writing, so her editor (or was it her publisher?) wanted to see her birding journals... From there, it was decided her birding journals should be published and the rest is history.

During the live event, the audience sees Amy Tan sitting in her rooftop garden in Sausalito, California which is where she started her birdwatching and journaling in 2016. It was cool to view where Ms. Tan began her birdwatching adventure. See the below photo.

I now want to read The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan and have added it to my ever growing reading wishlist!

Do you enjoy attending author events/signings in-person or virtually?

Have you attended any author events/signings recently?

Alta Journal - California Book Club - Shortcomings Adrian Tomine

 

Yesterday evening was another fun, virtual author event hosted by Alta Journal!! I love Alta Journal's monthly California Book Club events. They always have great authors featured each month in conversation with host, John Freeman, and a different moderator also in conversation with the author featured each month!

This month's California Book Club featured author, Adrian Tomine, discussing his book, Shortcomings, a graphic novel. I loved hearing how Adrian Tomine created the artwork for his graphic novels and the history of writing and making artwork for his books.

I've never read anything by Adrian Tomine before. In fact, I've never even heard of Adrian Tomine until recently. I love discovering new to me authors.

Next month, Amy Tan will be discussing her book, The Backyard Bird Chronicles, via Alta Journal's California Book Club. I'm excited to attend this upcoming virtual event.

Have you attended any in-person or virtual author events recently? Tell me about it in the comment section below.

Alta Live: Author Peter Orner Discusses His New Book, The Gossip Columnist’s Daughter!

 

Yesterday afternoon, I listened to the Alta Live event featuring author, Peter Orner discussing his new novel, The Gossip Columnist’s Daughter.

 Frankly, I'd never even heard of Peter Orner before. After listening to Peter Orner in conversation with author, Tod Goldberg, I didn't hesitate adding Orner's latest novel to my ever growing reading wishlist! It sounds amazing!! It took Orner 15 years to write The Gossip Columnist’s Daughter!

Watch the above YouTube interview with Peter Orner in conversation with Tod Goldberg. It's roughly 41 minutes in length and very engaging to watch if you're interested!

Below is a summary for The Gossip Columnist’s Daughter I discovered on Peter Orner's website:

The Gossip Columnist’s Daughter

The cold case of a young Hollywood starlet’s death sets a contemporary writer on an epic and comic quest to uncover the truth, and its connection to his own family—a new novel by “a major talent” (New York Times) and “one of the most distinctive voices of his generation” (Granta).

Jed Rosenthal hasn’t published a book in fourteen years, the mother of his child left him in a “trial separation” that has stretched on indefinitely, and he struggles to navigate the daily sorrows of their co-parenting arrangement. But the implosion of Jed’s family is simply a footnote in the larger history of the Rosenthal family’s decline.

Just days after the JFK assassination, Karyn “Cookie” Kupcinet was found dead in her Hollywood apartment. The press reported that the 22-year-old was strangled, yet unanswered questions linger to this day. Cookie’s parents—Chicago royalty, Irv and Essee Kupcinet—had been close friends with Jed’s grandparents, but in the aftermath of her death, their friendship abruptly and inexplicably ended. Decades later, Jed pores over family stories, newspaper archives, old photos, and crime scene notes, believing that if he can divine the truth of Cookie’s death—whether it was suicide, murder, or part of a larger conspiracy—it might shed light on a mystery closer to home.

Spanning seventy plus years, and weaving together family drama and a true-life unsolved case, The Gossip Columnist’s Daughter is a singular, wryly comic, and deeply human exploration into friendship and the bonds that sustain us.

Alta Journal - California Book Club - Gold Fame Citrus by Claire Vaye Watkins

 

So, once again, I found myself attending Alta Journal's California Book Club, which is a monthly online book club event. May's book club selection was Gold Fame Citrus by Claire Vaye Watkins.

The funny thing is I've had Gold Fame Citrus by Claire Vaye Watkins on my reading wishlist since roughly 2018. I haven't read this novel yet. So, I found it ideal to watch this live author event where Claire Vaye Watkins was in conversation with moderator, John Freeman, and author, Karen Russell.

I still want to read Fame Gold Citrus now even more now after watching this online event. Fame Gold Citrus falls into the cli-fi genre and dystopian genre as well.

I also learned that the author's father was part of the Manson Family.

Alta Live: Bonnie Tsui, On Muscle

 

Bonnie Tsui is out with a new nonfiction book titles, On Muscle and was published yesterday on April 22, 2025.

Earlier today, I enjoyed Bonnie Tsui discussing her book, On Muscle, on Alta Live for 37 minutes with host, Beth Spotswood. 

Wow, wow, wow, what a great talk!! I now look forward to reading On Muscle by Bonnie Tsui!! Did you know that there's a muscle that gives you goosebumps? News to me!! Lots of other things are discussed about the science and cultural aspects of muscles.

Below is the replay of this event, should you care to watch it!

2024 Buzz Editors and Authors Panel Virtual Event

 

Yes, to attending my first virtual author event of 2024 on Wednesday, January 24th from 4pm-5:30pm PST. I love attending author events, especially virtual author events as they are so convenient! I love watching these events from the comfort of my own home.

In this virtual author event, five authors and their editors took turns talking about their soon to be published novels later this year. Each author and editor spent about 15 minutes discussing the author's new book and the inspiration behind it.

All five novels sound amazing and I want to read each one of them when they're released later in the year. See the titles, authors, and release dates for each book below.

1. Long After We Are Gone by Terah Shelton Harris (May 14, 2024 release date)

2. The Switch by Lily Samson (May 28, 2024 release date)

3. Honey by Isabel Banta (June 25, 2024 release date)

4. Swift River by Essie Chambers (June 4, 2024 release date)

5. Freedom Is A Feast by Alejandro Puyana (August 6, 2024 release date)

Long After We Are Gone, Swift River, and Freedom Is A Feast are the novels I want to read the most from the five listed above!

Have you attended any author events so far this year? Tell me about them below in the comment section.

The Committed: Viet Thanh Nguyen on Betrayal & Belonging. Viet Thanh Nguyen In Conversation with Laila Lalami.

 
Yesterday was the release date for Viet Thanh Nguyen's new novel, The Committed, which is the sequel to The Sympathizer.

I am very interested in reading both The Sympathizer & The Committed by Viet Thanh Nguyen. I watched a live virtual author event last night hosted by the Bay Area Book Festival featuring Viet Thanh Nguyen in conversation with Laila Lalami from 7-8pm Pacific Time. I really enjoyed listening to this author event and learning more about The Committed and why Viet Thanh Nguyen chose to write a sequel to The Sympathizer among many other topics discussed!

I look forward to receiving an autographed copy of The Committed in the mail shortly!

Darcie Wilde Virtual Event hosted by Murder by the Book

 

Darcie Wilde is a new to me author as of this year. I've yet to read any of her novels, but I am excited to read her Rosalind Thorne Mysteries series in the future.

I learned about Darcie Wilde's Rosalind Thorne Mysteries series in an article published on Book Riot's website that mentioned many book series that fall into both the historical fiction and mystery genres and Darcie Wilde's Rosalind Thorne Mysteries series falls into both genres.

When I learned that independent bookstore, Murder by the Book, was hosting a virtual author event with Darcie Wilde on Monday, December 7, 2020, I couldn't wait to learn more about Darcie Wilde and her books. I learned a lot about both topics and really enjoyed watching another wonderful virtual author event hosted by Murder by the Book.

Gregory Maguire Author Event for A Wild Winter Swan

Gregory Maguire

 

Yesterday evening, from 4pm to 5pm, The Silver Unicorn Bookstore hosted a virtual author event featuring author, Gregory Maguire... And what an amazing virtual event this was! Kyra Wilson Cook, the event coordinator at The Silver Unicorn Bookstore, did a phenomenal job of interviewing/speaking with Gregory Maguire. I must say that Gregory Maguire was so charming and delightful to hear speak. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing him share the many and varied stories about his life, his writing, his novels, and more! I think this particular virtual author event may be my favorite virtual author event of 2020 to date.

In all honesty, I've never read a novel written by Gregory Maguire before! However, I am aware of several of his novels including Wicked, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year!!

Gregory Maguire's latest novel, A Wild Winter Swan, was recently published on October 6, 2020 and of course, this novel was discussed in yesterday evening's virtual event. A Wild Winter Swan sounds like an amazing read! The inspiration for Maguire's latest novel came from one of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales, The Wild Swans, which Gregory Maguire enjoyed reading as a youngster.

The Brontes vs. Jane Austen: A conversation with Finola Austin & Natalie Jenner Hosted by Wellington Square Bookshop

Yesterday evening from 4-5:30pm, I enjoyed watching another live author event hosted by Wellington Square Bookshop titled, The Brontes vs. Jane Austen: A conversation with Finola Austin & Natalie Jenner.

This was a lovely author event to view, especially for fans of Jane Austen and the Brontes!!

The event description described The Brontes vs. Jane Austen: A conversation with Finola Austin & Natalie Jenner author event as follows: 

Two Books, Two Authors: Bronte's Mistress by Finola Austin & The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner

Finola and Natalie will discuss:

• Branwell Bronte's scandalous affair with an older woman, which inspired Finola's novel Bronte's Mistress

• What inspired Natalie to fictionalize the story of the Jane Austen Society's origins in her novel, The Jane Austen Society

• Their favorite (and least favorite) Austen and Bronte novels

• What drew them to the Brontes and Austen, and whether they'd ever consider going over to the other side.

 Have attended any online author events lately?

Online Author Event with T. Jefferson Parker & Glen Erik Hamilton Hosted by Murder by the Book

 

Tuesday evening, I attended another wonderful online virtual author event featuring T. Jefferson Parker & Glen Erik Hamilton talking about their newly released novels, Then She Vanished and A Dangerous Breed. This event was hosted live on Facebook by independent bookstore, Murder by the Book. In addition, to learning about the new novels written by each author, I learned how each author deals with writers block and so on.

I became interested in this live event because I'd previously read a novel written by Glen Erik Hamilton, which I enjoyed immensely. I don't believe I've read anything written by T. Jefferson Parker before... However, after hearing T. Jefferson Parker speak, I now want to read one of his novels too.

Virtual book launch for Unspeakable Acts by Sarah Weinman in conversation with Casey Cep

Yesterday, I attended another virtual author event!!

I finished reading Sarah Weinman's book

The Real Lolita this past Saturday. Later that same day, I learned through Ms. Weinman's website that she was coming out with 

a new true crime book titled, Unspeakable Acts, 

which was published yesterday. 

Independent bookstore Books Are Magic was hosting the book launch for Unspeakable Acts. So I was able to hear Sarah Weinman in conversation with author, Casey Cep, via Zoom. 

This was the first time I used Zoom, which I found easy to use.

Whoop, whoop, what a fun virtual event to attend!!

I enjoyed the dialogue between both authors. I am so glad that

I decided to attend this free, hour long online event.

Rakestraw Books "Live at Home!" with Gail Tsukiyama

YES, Yes, yes, to attending another virtual author event online yesterday evening! I'm so thrilled that our local independent bookstore is hosting these "Live at Home!" author events to prevent myself from having cabin fever too badly.

I've wanted to read a novel by Gail Tsukiyama since the mid to late 1990s, but have not made the time to achieve this reading goal yet. Luckily, I received a paperback arc of Gail Tsukiyama's latest novel, The Color of Air, earlier this year through the Goodreads Giveaway program. 

Below is a brief biography of Gail Tsukiyama from Wikipedia:

Gail Tsukiyama is an American novelist from San Francisco, California, USA. She was one of nine fiction authors to appear during the first Library of Congress National Book Festival. Her works include Women of the Silk (1991), The Samurai’s Garden (1995), Night of Many Dreams (1998), The Language of Threads (1999), Dreaming Water (2002), The Street of a Thousand Blossoms (2007), and A Hundred Flowers (2012). She is currently writing The Color of Air, which will be released in July 2020.

Tsukiyama was born in San Francisco, to a Japanese father and a Chinese mother. She attended San Francisco State University, where she received both her Bachelor of Arts Degree and a Master of Arts Degree in English with an emphasis in creative writing. She lives in El Cerrito, California, and works as a part-time lecturer for San Francisco State University and a freelance book-reviewer for the San Francisco Chronicle.

Tsukiyama is an alumna of the Ragdale Foundation.

Last night's "Live at Home!" author event included Gail Tsukiyama reading the first chapter of her new novel, The Color of Air. This was then followed by a conversation between Gail Tsukiyama and her friend and author, Karen Joy Fowler. It was a nice discussion between good friends. I learned that it took Gail Tsukiyama roughly 7 years to write The Color of Air!! And lastly, the conversation between Gail Tsukiyama  and Karen Joy Fowler was followed by a questions and answers session by viewers.

Now that I have heard Gail Tsukiyama speak at this particular "Live at Home!" author event, I'll have to make some time to read her new novel, The Color of Air, which sounds like a wonderful historical fiction novel set in Hawaii.

All in all, I enjoyed Rakestraw Books "Live at Home!" with Gail Tsukiyama despite the audio quality not being the greatest and the video quality was also lacking a bit initially too.

2019 Bay Area Book Festival - Sunday, May 5 - Day 2

Sunday, May 5th, marked day two of the Bay Area Book Festival! It was another cold and brisk day outdoors, but that didn't deter my husband and I from enjoying another full day of festivities.

Once again, I must reiterate how thankful and grateful I am to have attended the Bay Area Book Festival this year. The Bay Area Book Festival offered another wonderful lineup of amazing author speakers and book signings on day two. 

Here's a look at how my husband and I 

spent our time on Day 2 

of the 2019 Bay Area Book Festival!

Tayri Jones, Esi Edugyan, and moderator, Caille Millner.

Event #1

The first event my husband and I attended was the Writer to Writer: Esi Edugyan and Tayari Jones event from 11am to 12:15pm, which was moderated by Caille Millner. This event was held outdoors at the San Francisco Chronicle stage in the Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park.

The BABF website describes this event as follows:

In our Writer to Writer series, two authors who are fans of each other’s work come together for conversation about writing and society today. Novelists Esi Edugyan and Tayari Jones both probe racial injustice in their work, and both women have received considerable praise. Edugyan’s sweeping, imaginative novel “Washington Black” was named a Top Ten Book of 2018 by the New York Times, and Tayari Jones’ “An American Marriage” was an Oprah’s Book Club pick for that same year. Edugyan uses magic realism to explore slavery and freedom in a stupendous tale that moves from Barbados to Nova Scotia to England. Jones weaves a devastating tapestry of a modern marriage wrenched apart by a discriminatory American justice system.

Despite the cold weather, this was a fun event to attend. After both authors spoke and took questions from the audience, they signed copies of their books. I didn't have my picture taken with Esi Edugyan, because I had been the first person in a long line of people waiting to have their books signed by both authors. In an effort to keep from holding up the line too long, I skipped on having my picture taken with her. However, I did have a photograph taken with Tayari Jones (below) and boy, was I having a bad hair day, lol!

Me with Tayari Jones

I loved reading An American Marriage by Tayari Jones earlier this year. At the time, I never imagined that I would be hearing her speak in person and briefly meeting her at the Bay Area Book Festival this year. I now have a signed copies of her novels, Leaving Atlanta (which I look forward to reading) and also An American Marriage.

I've yet to read Esi Edugyan's novel, Black Washington. I hear great things about Black Washington, so I look forward to reading!

Some More Free Time On Our Hands...

Author Gini Grossenbacher and me!

 My husband and I had about 45 minutes before we had to be at the next author speaking/book signing event, so I revisited the Avenue of Authors again. This time around, I purchased a copy of Madam of My Heart by Gini Grossenbacher. I'd met Gini Grossenbacher briefly at a previous Bay Area Book Festival, but didn't buy a copy of her novel at that time. I love historical fiction novels, so decided to buy a copy of Madam of My Heart this year.  Madam of My Heart also has good ratings/reviews on both Amazon and Goodreads, which is definitely a plus. I enjoyed meeting Gini Grossenbacher in person. The only funny thing that happened is that Gini had signed the copy of my novel "To Lina", not "To Lisa". I didn't notice this until after I arrived home Sunday evening. Oh well! Live and learn and be sure to check the details before having a photo taken.

Event #2

The second event that we attended at the Bay Area Book Festival on Sunday, May 5th was titled, A Conversation with Tayari Jones, and was held at the Freight & Salvage from 1:30pm to 2:45pm.

A Conversation with Tayari Jones had to be my favorite event of our entire weekend at the Bay Area Book Festival. My husband loved this event too and he mentioned that it was his favorite event as well. A Conversation with Tayari Jones was a fun, engaging discussion that focused primarily on An American Marriage. Other topics were discussed as well. 

I can't wait for the peeps at the Bay Area Book Festival to post a video of this particular author speaking event on YouTube, so that I may re-watch this event again online!!

As a side note/observation, I was kinda of surprised that this event with Tayari Jones wasn't entirely sold out as she's so popular! But alas, there were still quite a few open spaces left on the periphery of the Freight & Salvage.

Brooke Warner in conversation with Tayari Jones

Event #3

The last event my husband and I attended at the Bay Area Book Festival was titled, Ricanstruction: Popular Fiction and Power in Post-Maria Puerto Rico from 3:15pm to 4:30pm at The Caberet at The Marsh with authors Aya de Leon, Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez, and moderator Tianna Paschel.

The BABF website describes this event as follows:

Hurricane Maria has permanently altered the Caribbean. While journalists did initial reporting on the disaster, the first books to be published about the hurricane are popular fiction. NYC’s Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez, the creator of the superhero La Borinqueña, assembled “Ricanstruction: Reminiscing and Rebuilding Puerto Rico,” a comic anthology fundraiser to benefit survivors on the island. Berkeley author Aya de Leon’s next feminist heist book “Side Chick Nation” will be the first print novel about the hurricane. Join these two Puerto Rican writers to discuss the challenges of writing about disaster and why popular fiction has the power to bring the pueblo together around urgent issues.

I was interested in attending this specific event as it touches upon the important topic of Hurricane Maria and its devastating effects on Puerto Rico. I wanted to hear from both Aya de Leon and Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez on their viewpoints and insights on this important topic. Both authors were thoughtful in expressing their viewpoints in this discussion, so I was pleased to hear what they had to share with the BABF attendees at their event.

Proceeds for Ricanstruction: Reminiscing & Rebuilding Puerto Rico by Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez will be contributed towards continued hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico. I did purchase a copy of this book to be signed by Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez .

Additionally, I've read Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez's comic book, La Borinqueña, back in 2017. So, I was excited to hear him speak in person and sign copies of his books at the BABF. 

I've also met Aya de Leon at previous Bay Area Book Festival events. I truly enjoyed hearing Aya de Leon speak once again at this year's Bay Area Book Festival. I wish her loads of success in the launch of her latest novel in the Justice Hustlers feminist heist series titled, Side Chick Nation, next month.

Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez, Aya de Leon, and moderator Tianna Paschel

Me and Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez.

Authors I missed hearing speak in person on day 2 of the BABF include:  Zoraida Córdova, Anna-Marie McLemore, and Cindy Pon. All three of these young adult writers were speaking and signing books at the same time Esi Edugyan and Tayari Jones were speaking and signing books, so unfortunately I missed hearing them at the Bay Area Book Festival.

2019 Bay Area Book Festival - Saturday, May 4 - Day 1

I am so grateful and thankful to have attended the 5th annually Bay Area Book Festival (BABF) this year in Berkeley, California with my husband! 

I've attended the Bay Area Book Festival annually since its inception in 2015. My husband is not an avid reader or book nerd like me. However, he enjoys coming with me to various literary events as he knows how much I enjoy them. Additionally, he also likes learning new things and spending time with me, so it was fun having him with me at the BABF.

This year, the 2019 Bay Area Book Festival offered another wonderful lineup of author speaking events and book signing opportunities for book festival attendees to enjoy. The difficulty for me was deciding which author events and book signings to attend during this year's Bay Area Book Festival as so many of the events occurred at the same time or overlapping times. For instance, on the morning of Saturday, May 4th, there were ten events concurrently starting at 10am. Half of the events that began on Saturday, May 4th at 10am sounded really good, but, of course, I could only attend one of them. 

Additionally, there were other difficult decisions to make throughout the entire weekend on which events to attend at the 2019 Bay Area Book Festival as well. In the end, I am very happy with the events I attended and the books I had signed at the Bay Area Book Festival this year.

As a quick side note, the weather on Saturday, May 4, 2019 was very cool and crisp outdoors. In fact, it was pretty cool and breezy outside all day long and warm only while standing in the sunshine. I found myself under dressed for most of the day and wished I had worn more layers of clothing.

Here's a look at how my husband and I 

spent our time on Day 1 

of the 2019 Bay Area Book Festival!

Event #1

The first event we attended was the Writer to Writer: Joyce Carol Oates and André Alexis event from 10am to 11:15am, which was moderated by Lise Quintana. This particular event took place inside the auditorium of the Veterans Memorial Building.

The BABF website described this event as follows:

In our Writer to Writer series, two authors who are fans of each other’s work come together for conversation. Winner of the prestigious Windham-Campbell prize for his body of work, Trinidad-born and Ottawa-raised André Alexis sits down with National Book Award and National Humanities Medal winner, and author of over 40 novels, Joyce Carol Oates. The pair will discuss genre-bending, world-building, and their shared obsession with storytelling.

I have read a couple of books by Joyce Carol Oates and knew I couldn't pass up an opportunity to hear this legendary, literary icon speak in person. But to the best of my recollection, I'd never heard of Andre Alexis before this year's Bay Area Book Festival. After hearing Andre Alexis speak in conversation with Joyce Carol Oates, I now want to read his books. 

I really enjoyed hearing both Joyce Carol Oates and Andre Alexis speak together in conversation. I didn't take any notes of what they discussed during their talk together. I simply sat back and enjoyed the experience of hearing them in conversation. All I can say is that I really enjoyed hearing them talk together in conversation.

Andre Alexis, Joyce Carol Oates, and Lise Quintana

Afterwards, I had the honor of having Joyce Carol Oates sign two hardback books I brought with me to the BABF. I was really excited to briefly meet Joyce Carol Oates in person. To my disappointment though, another person came over and started conversing with Joyce Carol Oates virtually the entire time I was standing there having my books signed!!! How rude was that?? You can see in the picture taken of us (below) that Joyce Carol Oates wasn't even focused on interacting with me as she's looking to her left. It was disheartening to have this experience at an author/book signing event. I've had this happen a couple of times in the past at other author/book signing events... It's just plain rude that people have to jump in and interrupt an experience between an author and a fan at a literary event.

Me with Joyce Carol Oates after the Writer to Writer event as she signed my books!!

Free Time Spent As Follows:

After attending the Andre Alexis and Joyce Carol Oates event, my husband and I walked around the outdoor fair across the street from the Veterans Memorial Building. The outdoor fair took place in large park called the Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park. You'll find food vendors selling a variety of food, live music being performed, outdoor stages where authors will be speaking and signing their books, indie booksellers selling books, children's activities, an an avenue of authors where authors sat at booths selling and signing their books, and other bookish related booths (Libby had a booth on hand, book publishers, and a wide variety of other bookish/writing related vendors!).

I was able to met author, Patricia Bossano, at her booth on the Avenue of Authors at the outdoor fair. Patricia Bossano is a new to me author. She's written the Faerie Legacy Series, which falls into the young adult, fantasy genre. Patricia was so warm, welcoming, and genuine to visitors stopping by her booth. I really enjoyed meeting her in person and look forward to reading and reviewing her novels on my blog. Patricia Bossano was one of the authors I really enjoyed meeting in person. Below is a photograph of Patricia and I together after she'd signed copies of her novels for me.

Me and author, Patricia Bossano at the Avenue of Authors tent.

After meeting Patricia Bossano and walking around the outdoor fair, my husband and I enjoyed lunch and relaxed awhile before heading to the next author speaking/book signing event we'd wanted to attend.

Event #2

The second event we attended was titled, Beyond the Bars: Alternatives to Prison and Punishment and featured a panel of authors, Albert Woodfox, Lara Bazelon, and Tony Platt, along with moderator, Rachel Herzing. The Beyond the Bars event was held from 3:15pm to 4:30pm inside the auditorium at Berkeley City College.

The BABF website described this event as follows:

What could the world look like without prisons? What kinds of healing—what new definitions of justice—could take their place? Join University of San Francisco law professor Lara Bazelon (“Rectify”), activist Tony Platt (“Beyond These Walls”), and Albert Woodfox (“Solitary”), one of the Angola 3 who spent decades in solitary confinement for a crime he did not commit. They look at the violent history behind mass incarceration and imagine alternatives.

OMG, this was a packed event and a very powerful one to listen to!! I can't say enough good things about what the speakers shared regarding their insights and thoughts pertaining to the topic of prison and punishment during their talk. Things have to change as our criminal justice system is broken. Additionally, we have to change how we punish those who have committed crimes.

Albert Woodfox, Lara Bezelon, Tony Platt, and Rachel Herzing.

Albert Woodfox and me after the Beyond the Bars event.

Albert Woodfox is one of the author speakers I truly enjoyed meeting the most in person during my visit to BABF this year. He's such an inspiration... A very heartwarming, personable, and genuine person. 

Event #3

The last event my husband and I attended on day 1 of the Bay Area Book Festival was titled, Noir At The Bar with the following mystery/thriller authors: Stefan Ahnhem, Cara Black, Jonas Bonnier, Kjell Ola Dahl, Heather Haven, Catherine Ryan Howard, Ragnar Jonasson,  and Jenny Rogneby. This event was moderated by author, Laurie R. King.

Noir At The Bar took place from 5pm to 6:15pm at the Freight & Salvage. The Freight & Salvage is my favorite venue at the BABF as it provides a large, comfortable indoor space to hear author events.

Noir At The Bar is a BABF favorite! This event is unique in that eight internationally known authors read their stories at this particular event. This is the first year my husband and I have attended Noir At The Bar and what a fun time we had! I've never read anything written by any of the above mentioned authors before, so it was wonderful to hear a sampling of their work. I enjoyed hearing Catherine Ryan Howard, Jonas Bonnier, Ragnar Jonasson, and Jenny Rogneby read their stories the most.

I've attended several other events where stories are read aloud when we lived in Santa Barbara, so it was a delight to attend another event like this once again.

Noir at the Bar at the Freight & Salvage.

I didn't purchase any books written by any of the authors that read their stories at Noir At The Bar. So, of course, I don't have any one on one photographs of me with any of them. 

As a side note, I do have an arc copy of one of Cara Black's novels that I need to read though... Hopefully, I'll have her novel read soon!

Authors I missed hearing several authors speak in person on day 1 of the BABF include: Justina Ireland, Namwali Serpell, and Jamal Brinkley.

Stay tuned for my post on day 2 of the Bay Area Book Festival!!

The One Thing You Should Never Do At An Author Reading Event

I'm sure there is probably more than one thing NOT to do at an author signing event! 

I came across an article on Bustle's website this morning titled, At An Author Book Reading, You Should Never, Ever Do This One Thing by Melissa Ragsdale. 

Having attended many author readings over the years, I was curious to learn which single faux pas should never, ever be uttered during the q&a segment of an author reading/signing. Ms. Ragsdale wrote in her article that the following phrase is the most dreaded phrase made by an audience member during an author event: "I have a comment and a question."

In her article, Melissa Ragsdale writes why an audience member should never utter the phrase, "I have a comment and a question.", at an author event.

Here's the thing: when I attend a reading, I'm there to listen to the author speak. Don't get me wrong, I love connecting with other book-lovers. But, there's plenty of time to do that before and after the main event. During the event, I want to hear what the author has to say, not what you have to say.

Plus the longer a person's comment/question, the more time wasted that could be used for other audience questions. Your comment robs the rest of the audience of the chance to engage with the author and have their questions answered. It also deprives the author of the valuable time they have to answer inquiries about their work. The event venue usually has a strict scheduling, meaning that time is seriously limited.

I agree with the above information written by Ms. Ragsdale. Audience members should be respectful of other audience members wanting to ask the author questions and also of time restrictions at a venue as well. 

Click on the above article to read the suggestions provided on how to share your comments with the author.