Saturday is Bookstore Day.
Please go out to your local independent bookstore, show them some love, and buy some books.
If you're stuck -- like... let's say, hypothetically that you're 46 years old and have a 13-year-old kid whom you know absolutely nothing about -- this is the best reason to shop at an indie store.
Chances are very good that the people who work there have read just about every book in the place and can perhaps tell you more about your 13-year-old's world than you ever considered.
[I hope you know who I'm talking about]
When my daughter was 12, just a couple years ago, I took her to Vroman's in Pasadena to meet Lisa Yee, and get Lisa to sign her YA novel Absolutely Maybe. I think that day was probably one of the most important experiences in my daughter's life up to that point. Because she really loved the book Absolutely Maybe, and she became a huge (well, she's actually thin -- a dancer's body) Lisa Yee fan, which meant Dad had to buy out the shelves of other titles.
Oh, and we got to wear pink wigs, too, but I am NOT posting that picture here.
Here's me and my daughter at the LA Times Festival of Books a few weeks back:
On Saturday (which is Bookstore Day), I'll be sitting in with Lisa and LOTS of other amazing authors at Bridge to Books' YA in Bloom event, which will be at Vroman's (in Pasadena) from 1 - 4 p.m.
I've got lots of great stuff to give away, like autographed copies of The Marbury Lens, fresh back from its cage match with the Wall Street Journal.
I even have some nice posters, and I'm going to... gulp... give away... my last, only, personal Advance Copy of my forthcoming novel, Stick.
Eh... why do I need my own books, anyway? How full of yourself can you be? [He asks, wiping a sluggish tear and checking himself out in the mirror]
Who doesn't have a mirror right next to their computer monitor?
So, anyway, the YA in Bloom event is described as "a casual lunch meeting for readers, writers, bloggers, and educators interested in young adult literature."
I understand the weather in Pasadena on Saturday will be immeasurably more pleasant than the weather in New Orleans, too.
Hope to see you there.
Here's the info on YA in Bloom, and directions to Vroman's.
