I've been looking forward to this weekend for several weeks now - and it's finally almost here: The Texas Book Festival. So early Saturday morning I'll be heading to Austin for two days of nothing but books, books, and more books. As usual at this kind of event, it will be impossible for me to see everything and everyone I want to see because of the overlapping scheduled events, but I'm going to work on the schedule tomorrow to see how I can make maximum use of my two days in Austin. This, by the way, is the book festival started by Laura Bush in 1995 when she was still First Lady of Texas and lived in the governor's mansion.Take a look at the list of authors who will be paticipating in some fashion or another. I'm particularly looking forward to presentations or "hosting" by: Douglas Brinkley, Michael Dirda, William Least Heat-Moon, Robert Caro, Stephen Harrigan, T. Boone Pickens, Roy Blount, Jr., Christopher Buckley, Rick Bragg, Amanda Eyre Ward and David Ebershoff. If I can even come close to covering that group, I'll come home happy with the weekend. I'm not really expecting that my proposed schedule will work out, though, and I'm looking forward to the surprises I'll likely experience.
For an idea of what I'm up against, here's the two-day schedule that shows the event sites, topics and all the overlaps involved. It will be a challenge, for sure.
Throw in all these exhibitors, the fact that I'm dragging along a camera and my digital sound recorder, and I should be exhausted by the time I return to the office at 6:30 a.m. on Monday morning. But it's all worth it - of course.
Wow. That's a massive list of authors!
ReplyDeleteHave fun!!!
So...maybe I should consider Texas when I decide to repatriate...
ReplyDeleteHave a great time, Sam!
My husband will be so jealous when I tell him you have an opportunity to hear a presentation by Robert Caro as he thinks the three volumes of his life of LBJ are the best biographical/historical writing on a US President that have ever been written. I know he hopes Caro will complete the next volume in this massive work sometime soon as I believe he has not been too well.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy every minute of the festival, we expect a full report - with pictures of course!
We'd love to have you, bybee.
ReplyDeleteHerschelian, the Caro presentation was fantastic. Caro spoke for 45 minutes and took some really good questions from the audience for another 15. He appeared to be feeling pretty well and was in great spirits. No indication on when that elusive fourth volume of the LBJ bio will appear, though.
ReplyDelete