Bookworms inched their way to a literary celebration this weekend.
The Los Angeles Times kicked off its 29th annual Festival of Books this Saturday at the University of Southern California. Following the same schedule as last year, book lovers were greeted with an array of activities to engage in from 10 a.m. to 5:40 p.m. Featuring musical performances, panel discussions with authors, children’s book readings and book signings, the weekend itinerary was packed with the shared appreciation for literature.
Read on for the Daily Bruin’s coverage of day one of the LA Times Festival of Books.
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Max Greenfield, “I Don’t Want to Read This Book Aloud”
Max Greenfield’s most recent book addresses the feelings of love for literature but the distaste for reading that many young readers have.
Best known for his role on the show “New Girl,” the Emmy-nominated actor returned to the festival for a second year in a row, this time taking a spot at the Los Angeles Times main stage. After cheerfully being greeted by the audience, Greenfield began to read from his children’s book titled “I Don’t Want to Read This Book Aloud.” Greenfield said the story is meant to communicate the idea that reading is an acquired skill and not a natural action like breathing.
“My relationship to reading, I don’t think was a great one when I was younger,” Greenfield said. “It was something I struggled with. I probably had some shame towards it, and I probably had some shame towards myself because it was difficult for me. The idea with this book is to sort of address those ideas and the struggle that maybe comes with reading for some kids that can then prompt a discussion with a parent, a teacher or librarian.”
As Greenfield narrated the story, the audience laughed and affirmed the validity of the core themes of Greenfield’s narrative, which revolved around not wanting to read. Using a silly tone and funny voices, Greenfield engaged a large audience with more people than accounted seats could hold.
After reading his book, Greenfield engaged in a Q&A with LA Times’ assistant managing editor for audience, Samantha Melbourneweaver. In this Q&A, Greenfield and Melbourneweaver discussed the act of reading and the pressures young readers may face to enjoy reading. Greenfield then took some questions, both on- and off-topic, from the audience, including questions from two young children.
Parents, educators and young people were exposed to the opinion that reading is sometimes not someone’s cup of tea after listening to Greenfield.
Sophia Bush and Kerri Kolen “Wild and Precious: A Celebration of Mary Oliver”
Kerri Kolen and Sophia Bush honor Mary Oliver and poetry along with the pleasures of the audiobook genre.
Taking the main stage at 12:50 p.m., Kolen and Bush chatted about their audiobook, “Wild and Precious: A Celebration of Mary Oliver,” with LA Times wellness editor Alyssa Bereznak focused on the impact of Mary Oliver’s poetry. Expressing the notion that poetry is better heard, the technicians behind the scenes played clips of the audiobook where Oliver reads her poetry aloud. Throughout the discussion that followed, Kolen and Bush talked about how the audiobook format allows the book to shine.
“When she (Oliver) was still with us, it was very important to her to read it on her own,” Kolen said. “There was no impetus for us to have somebody else read her poetry as narration. But we did feel that it was unfortunate that so many people listen to audiobooks – so many people listen to all different kinds of audio and that they should have the opportunity to listen to more of Mary Oliver’s work.”
Kolen, Bush, and Bereznak carried the conversation to highlight Oliver’s strengths as a poet. Expressing their admiration for the author, the rest of the panel commemorated Oliver and her many accomplishments as a poet and as a person.
Consequently, the work behind “Wild and Precious: A Celebration of Mary Oliver” aims to be just that.
[Related: LA Times of Festival of Books day 1 broaches topics of womanhood t queer romance]
Elle Duncan “For You, I Will”
Elle Duncan is capturing the relationship between herself and her young daughter and parent-child relationships alike.
With a sea of children, parents and sports lovers for an audience, the author and ESPN anchor made her way to the children’s stage sporting a bright red and white outfit. Noticeably eager to share her excitement about her book “For You, I Will,” Duncan gave the audience some background as to how it came to be, along with the inspiration and message the book encapsulates. She said the book is inspired by her personal journey with motherhood.
“I wanted to write something to her (Duncan’s daughter) that I knew would take her some years to read, but that tried my best to encapsulate the difficulties of being a mother, how much we want to help form and inform their childhood and how much we want to get out of their way and let them become their own people,” Duncan said.
While projecting the illustrations from the literature on the screen and reading from the book, audience members captured photos and took in the graphic work done for the book. Moving one audience member to tears, Duncan’s book proved emotional in line with its purpose. When finished with the story, Duncan opened up the floor for any questions, and many young children asked what motivated Duncan to write the storybook. Duncan’s answers followed the same themes of writing for pleasure and creating a showcase of her emotions toward her daughter, for her daughter.
Ultimately, “For You, I Will” demonstrates the dynamics of parenthood and sharing stories with children.