Texas Pages

Chris Vognar's previous post mentioned the daunting space that awaits us. Here is a partial view of what we'll be plunging into tomorrow.

Surely, there's gotta be a good book or two in there somewhere.

UPDATE:

Here are some exact statistics on the scope of the Expo:

So I have made it to the cavernous Los Angeles Convention Center, home of Book Expo 2008. It's the American publishing industry's big publishing pow-wow; I'm here with esteemed books editor Mike Merschel. It seems the Lakers are playing right next door at Staples Center (bye-bye Spurs)?, which makes for some nasty traffic. My plan for the evening: A quick stop at a cocktail party for Dennis Lehane at the Mondrian on Sunset (his upcoming novel, The Given Day, is a sprawling 1918 Boston tale), then off to a screening of Get Smart. Yeah, I'm doing movie stuff down here also. Supposed to talk to Steve Carell on Friday, and Lehane, the man behind Mystic River and Gone Baby Gone on Sunday. The exhibition hall is just getting set up, but it already looks daunting. More to come.

OK, so maybe I missed Jessica Simpson on my flight. But I did strike up a conversation with the woman in the seat in front of me, who turned out to be none other than Sharon Anderson Wright, President/CEO of Half Price Books. Who, frankly, was much more interesting to me.

And during a pleasant conversation at the baggage claim and rental car counter, she shot down my notion that the expo has become primarily a big literary schmoozefest, where grabbing party invites and free galleys is somewhat of a game for booksellers, librarians and reviewers.

This is a business event for Half Price, which has about 10 people on the ground buying, selling, scouting and networking.

"We aren't spoon-fed our books," Sharon said. "We have to work."

OK, point taken. But maybe we'll cross paths at a party later on.

Was that Jessica Simpson sitting in first class on our flight from Dallas to LAX? I have no idea. But a guy on the way to the baggage claim said so, and he looked trustworthy.

Maybe I'll run into Jessica at the expo. She can read, can't she?

To get in the proper mood for this trip to the Book Expo -- and because I needed an excuse to avoid reading James Frey -- I picked up a copy of The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler, master of all things dark and detectivey and Los Angeleno.

And I was enjoying it immensely -- especially the part where Marlowe has his choice of three bookstores in one block (wow) to duck into, and buys all three morning papers (sigh) to look for news of a murder. Ah, those were the days ...

And then this guy gets offed, grimly, by a thug toting cyanide in an office building so vividly decrepit that I can still smell it, just from Chandler's description.

Chandler gives an address. It's just a couple of blocks from the hotel I was able to book, which is sort of beyond the fringe of where the respectable hotels are clustered.

And I am thinking. if it was that seedy 50 years ago, what must it be like ... nah, I'm sure it'll be fine. Just fine.

Your humble books editor and a trusty sidekick -- actually, the professional and competent critic Chris Vognar -- are off to Los Angeles today to attend Book Expo America. This is the gigantic (30,000-plus last year) convention that features more publishers, publicists and authors than you can shake a stick at.

(NOTE TO TSA OFFICIALS: I will NOT actually be attempting to carry a stick through the security checkpoint. Please do not arrest me.)

(NOTE TO AMERICAN AIRLINES: I will NOT actually be trying to check a stick as a second piece of luggage. Please do not charge me $25.)

For much of the industry, this weekend is a huge excuse to party. Actually, important work does take place, I am told. But consider this unscientific poll from mediabistro.com's Fishbowl LA, wherein respondents answered "the best thing about BEA was ..."