My weekend was awesome because I was at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books both days! It’s a great way to revel in the written word, hear authors speak about their work and learn new things. To change things up a bit, I went to a variety of panels this year on all different topics: poetry, children’s books, memoir, young adult, the environment and humor.

Thankfully, the humor panel was right after the extremely depressing environmental panel, so it all balanced out. I will write about the environmental discussion in more detail soon, in the meantime, here’s some great quotes:

Poetry: Saying More in Fewer Words
“Scripture is a a common language people of different traditions share.” ~Linda Norton

“Read things outside of your comfort zone, read recipes and about neuroscience.” ~Bruce Smith

Children’s Books: Paint the Picture
“Everyday can derail you, every new project can derail you, feel your way through it until you get somewhere.” ~Marla Frazee

Memoir: Over the Edge
“I took everything from the shadows and put it into the day.” ~Charles Shaw

“If you are going to be hard on anyone, then you have to be hard on yourself.” ~Cheryl Strayed

Disposable Nation: Trash and Consequences
“We [Americans] generate seven pounds of trash a day.” ~Edward Humes

“Originally, plastic was a miracle product, it helped save elephants and other animals from being used for products. Plastic was used in durable products, but now it’s used in disposable products.” ~Edward Humes

“In France, electronics are heavily taxed so people actually hire a TV repairman, but here you call a TV repairman and they’ll tell you it’s cheaper to buy a new TV.” ~Kendra Pierre-Louis

“Tests haven’t even been developed to determine the amount and dangers of pharmaceuticals in our waste water.” ~Anna Sklar

Humor: Does this Book Make Me Look Fat? Laughter on the Page
“Once you no longer want to have sex for sure, sign up for Pinterest.” ~Tod Goldberg

“After my mother read my first book she said, ‘Well, I don’t like it, but I pray I’m wrong.'” ~Merrill Markoe