Reading 04-12-21

April is the time of Literary Orange which is presented by the Orange County Library System.  It is usually a lovely one-day event held at a big hotel in Newport Beach, CA, and features several keynote speakers, authors all, and "breakout" rooms with panels of writers who cover different genre.  There is usually a mystery panel, a food panel, a humor panel, etc., a total of about thirty, I think. The registration fee usually includes a couple books by the presenting authors, but this year we received all four of the keynote speakers books, picking them up at the closest Orange County Library, in my case in Brea, CA.  In past years lunch was  served, not bad for a hotel meal, and there was lots of visiting and even a book sales room.  I especially enjoyed seeing the ladies (and a few guys) dressed in their going-to-lunch clothing.  Nice outfits and jewelry and even some behatted ladies, besides me!   Of course, Covid has changed all that.  This year's Literary Orange in via ZOOM and features interviews with four keynote speakers on consecutive Wednesday evenings.  No "break out rooms".  Last week I watched Harlan Coben talking about his book "Win".  I enjoyed the interview, and I had read the book.  Mr. Coben's books are a little too smart aleck for my taste.  The title character "Win" is a minor person in a long series of Coben's previous books.  

This week the book will be "Cilka's Journey" by Heather Morris, author of the best selling "The Tattooist of Auschwitz".  I will watch the interview, but I cannot read the book.  With all the turmoil of the past year it seems I cannot read anything about human's inhumanity to other humans or animals.   In the past I could, but no longer.  

However, I managed to read "The Book of Lost Friends" by Lisa Wingate.  It also deals with inhumanity, this one is about freed slaves in the 1870s trying to connect with their lost families from whom they were separated by their owners before the Civil War and emancipation. It is a well written book, but hard to read.  I also find I struggle with books that move back in forth in time, chapter by chapter.  Here the odd numbered chapters occur in 1875 and the even numbered chapters occur in 1987-88.  I did my usual modification by reading all the odd numbered chapters first and then leafed back to the beginning and read the even number chapters that take place in 1987-88.  Something I have done with this odd format in past books.  In this particular book I don't understand why the author used this format. 

The remaining book from the keynote speakers Is "Interior Chinatown" by Charles Yu, which is a National Book Award winner.  I will start reading it tomorrow! 

I have not been very creative during this past year.  I have three completed quilt tops, none larger than baby size, and none quilted.  And I have done half a dozen small projects - mug mats, fiber post cards, 12X12s and mending.  But I have read a ton of books and spent hundreds of hours on Facebook.  I regret that I have essentially "wasted" a whole year, but I just lost my "mojo" and could not be very creative.  No concentration, so even reading a book took maybe twice as long as normal.  Of course, the question is now "What is normal anyway?"

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Friday Feet 04-21-17

 

Here are more sandals from Literary Orange.  These have metallic material which catches the light.  Very pretty.  The wearer was not happy that she didn't have polish on, but I think the shoes wouldn't be as lovely with polished toenails.   I failed to ask her where she bought the shoes. 

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Friday Feet 04-07-17

And they are Sketchers!  Very comfortable.

 

 

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Literary Orange 04-04-17

On Saturday I had the pleasure of attending Literary Orange, a Celebration of Authors, Readers, and Libraries, sponsored by the Orange County Public Libraries.  This is the 11th year it has been held and this year it was at the Newport Beach Marriott.  It is a full day of keynote speakers, interviews with authors, three different selections of panel discussions with authors, raffle baskets, and a nice lunch.  The day starts with coffee/tea and breakfast pastries and opening remarks by the organizers and volunteers.  This year the keynote speakers were Marcia Clark (known for the OJ Simpson trial and her crime fiction series), Christina Baker Kline (author of "Orphan Train" and other books), and Fannie Flagg (whose first novel was the best selling "Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café").  They were all fascinating and Fannie was very funny. 

 

The paid attendance was 200 women and a few men.  The round tables in the ballroom accommodated everyone at close quarters, but everyone was in a good mood and happy to squeeze together.  The lady in the orange scarf on the right is my friend and fellow member of the Book Group, Nancy Mastroianni. 

This is Fannie's latest book, from which she read a chapter, to everyone's delight. Each tote bag contained a copy of this book.  On site was a book store "Mystery Galaxy" which is located in San Diego (5943 Balboa Ave, Ste 100, 858-268-4747) carrying all the books discussed and a few more.  Needless to say, I added to my library.  I still prefer books printed on paper - hard or soft cover. 

 

Attending with Nancy and I was our friend, and Book Group member, Carol Bednar.  Carol and I attended two panels about mysteries, all authors I have not read - yet!  The final panel we three attended was "What do I read next?" presented by two representatives of Random House, one of the event sponsors.  We heard about all the new books Random House is issuing this year.   And we will definitely read some of them.

Meanwhile, back in Placentia, poor KoKo and Froggie had to stay home all alone.  They did fine, no accidents and nothing shredded.  KoKo is a very good dog. 

 

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An Evening with Lisa See 02-08-11

My friend Carol Bednar and I went to a fundraising dinner this evening at  "Bayside", a high class restaurant in Newport Beach.  The funds raised go to "Literary Orange" a one-day event featuring panels, keynote speakers, book signings and a chance to rub elbows with authors and readers of every ilk.  This will be the fifth year the event is held - April 9th at UC-Irvine. Attendance is limited to 500 and the spaces fill very rapidly.  I suspect the event is closed, but you can check at www.literaryorange.org . 
 Tonight featured a presentation by Lisa See, an author of international repute.  I have read all of her books and those of her mother Carolyn See, who once wrote a highly rated column in the LATimes.

 
Lisa See graciously allowed photos and signed books after her talk and our dinner.  I wondered when she was allowed to eat, but to be honest I'm not sure she does - she is extremely thin and looked quite tired.   She gave her talk with only a glance at notes just as she began.  I was fascinated by her comments on writing and about her family which is both white and Chinese and goes back to the early Chinese laborers who came to the USA to work on the Transcontinental Railroad.  She answered the question, "Which of your books is your favorite?", by comparing them to children - so how can one be a favorite?  Questioned further, she said that currently "Shanghai Girls" is the one she favors.  It will be released as a film this June.   But I think my favorite will always be her first book "On Gold Mountain" which is the story of her family and their experiences in coming to the US and building a life.   

 
You can see that Carol is the only 'bright eyed' one among this trio!
Carol Bednar, Lisa See, Del Thomas. 

 I don't mean to look so MEAN - guess I better watch that!  We sat at a table for six with two couples who were chatty and interesting.  The dinner was superb and so was the dessert - I wanted to lick my plate!  Just shows what a peasant I am at heart!  With each course they served different wines that were offered by a winery in Oregon - I had a small taste of a white and a red, but since I don't drink I mostly inhaled the fragrance.  I don't even taste the Shiraz, but I had an extremely deep inhale and I think I would have been my favorite, especially with the rich chocolate cakelet with melted chocolate center.   I admit I was a little shy about taking a picture of my lovely plate, but I regret not doing so.   Steak, potatoes, asparagus, carrot, and an ultra-fine slice (lengthwise) of potato, I think it was baked, standing upright in the mashed potatoes.  I can't even remember the last time I had a steak - it was heavenly.