There’s the Vroman’s booth on Sunday morning, before the Festival even officially opened. That was probably the only time you could get from the signing booth (front right corner) to the registers (back left corner) without leaving the tent and going around. The whole festival was packed all day, both days:

I didn’t have a lot of time to visit other booths, but just walking around on my lunch break was awesome. There were books galore, free stuff, people in costumes, guerrilla art (although I missed Human Tetris), and more, including these odd little guys:

(I also came to the conclusion over the course of the weekend that people who read and love books have the cutest children. It must be genetic or something. Every child I saw was so adorable.)

I also stopped by Book Soup and snapped a picture of Charles in one of our new Out Of Print t-shirts, which we’re carrying now at both Vroman’s and Book Soup. I want them all, but I do particularly like his choice:

He conveniently posed in front of the display, so you can see some more designs behind him. Fahrenheit 451, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and Catcher in the Rye are some of my favorites, but really, I could probably fill my wardrobe with these shirts and be totally happy. Best part? Book-related t-shirts are in dress code at work. Oh yeah. (Those are links to the books, by the way, not the shirts. Can’t wear something you haven’t read!)

The author signing were a huge part of the festival for me, and of course a huge highlight. All of our authors were totally wonderful, and each one of them brought something different and interesting to the booth. John Vorhaus offered to sign books by other authors and Marisa Matarazzo actually did it, Matthew Reinhart explained how he made his crazy pop-up books, Jef Czekaj rapped and drew animals on request, and Lou Gossett, Jr. had an impromptu Mod Squad reunion with star Michael Cole (Mr. Gossett appeared on three different episodes throughout the series):

Every single one of our authors was an absolute pleasure to have at the booth, and you should buy and read all of their books, as we informed Festival goers throughout the weekend. You can find a full list of the authors we hosted here (just scroll down the page a little).

It was a very busy two days, but I thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing. Of course, no matter how tired we actually were, the entire Vroman’s staff maintained our smiles (and adorableness) to the very end.

See? Loving books makes you automatically awesome, even if you aren’t a little kid anymore. Photographic proof.

Until  next year, Los Angeles Times Festival of Books!

• Russ Marshalek has the best analysis of the Bloomsbury Liar cover art controversy. “Basically, Bloomsbury got called out, and they’re undertaking a massive expenditure to set it right. Ideally, this will open a dialogue that extends beyond just the realm of publishing to a place very real where race still plays a giant factor: the book shelf.”

• Carolyn Kellogg discusses Lizzie Skunick’s Shelf Discovery:  “Skurnick’s blogging goes back a few years — her litblog Old Hag was one of the smartest, funniest takes on books on the Internet. I was such a fan that I saw her at a conference and tried to tell her how awesome the blog was, doing all but screaming “Oh, my God! I love it!” It took years before she believed I wasn’t a straitjacket-ready stalker.”

• And lastly, Flatmancrooked has posted a few of Emma Straub’s short stories online in anticipation of her first book, which they’ll be publishing in September.  Additionally, you can purchase shares of Emma’s future for $10 each.  In exchange, you’ll receive a signed and numbered book (and, if you are in the New York metropolitan area, maybe a baked good).

• Jacket Copy looks at the rise of book clubs for men.  “The first rule of the book club is you do not talk about the book club.”

• From Metafilter:  A discussion of the books people most like to argue about or proselytize for. The list includes Ayn Rand, of course, but also some generally agreed upon classics like 1984 as well as some well-regarded  contemporary books such as Infinite Jest.  (via The Morning News)  I’m not sure what book I argue about most (maybe Gravity’s Rainbow), but I proselytize most for Wheat That Springeth Green and The Epicure’s Lament.  If you haven’t read those two, you are likely to get an earful from me.

• This is a few days old, but it’s still great:  Inkwell Bookstore shows how DC Comics might want to rethink their cover art for “comics aimed at girls.”

• Marilynne Robinson has won the prestigious Orange Prize for Fiction for her novel Home.

• The Onion dissects the new textbook Kindle DX:  “Not for me. Nothing beats the feeling of learning off paper.”

• Is the Espresso Book Machine the future of print?  The machine can print any of the half-million titles in its inventory in about five minutes.  If it worked and if the cost were right (and I haven’t seen one yet, so I can’t say), this would solve many of the problems currently facing the publishing industry and independent bookstores:  fewer returns, an inventory every bit as comprehensive as an online retailer, ability to customize books and self-publish, and still have that book smell that everybody’s crazy about.  (Link via the excellent blog if:book.)

• For cover art aficionados, the Art of Penguin Science Fiction is a pretty great site.  You could easily kill the rest of your workday there.  I encourage you to do so.  (Via the excellent Tumblr blog The Daily Meh.)