I just got back from the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books held at UCLA. I love fairs like this, as you get a really good mix of large booksellers and independent publishers hocking their wares right next to each other. The one thing that surprised me was how many of the booths were dedicated to one religion or another. There was even an Atheist booth for a local alliance. I kind of wanted to buy their advertising poster, as it showed a group of around eight people of varying ages with big smiles on their faces looking up and giving an overly cheerful thumbs up to the camera. All I could think was, "Damn, those are some HAPPY atheists!".
I also had a nice chat with the couple who created the children's book Snobbles the Great: A Snooze Patch Story. To any Children's Librarians out there, I recommend this book. Each scene is painstackingly made from clay and other materials, and the story itself is heartwarming and funny. You can go to their website at www.snobbles.com.
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I also had a good time viewing the latest publications from Tattoo Baby Books. They offer a variety of twisted books for children, and even odder fare for adults. I picked up Visions from Within the Mechanism: The Industrial Surrealism of Jeffery Scott (1019). (see cut)
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On a side note, I bought an exercise bike this weekend after finding a really good deal on craigs list. I've always wanted one of these:
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