Sara Nelson

The Bitter with the Sweet
April 30, 2008

There were all kinds of unalloyed good things about being in LA last weekend: beautiful weather, great parties and most of all, the terrific LA Times Festival of Books. I’ve become something of a book fair rat these past couple of years, and while I enjoy London and Frankfurt and BEA, The LA Times festival is my favorite because it’s the one that’s closest to the writers and the books. At no other book fair can you sit minding your own business in a large green room (full of decent food, no less) and see the likes of Richard Price, Michael Connelly and Gay Talese walk by – and in some cases, even talk to them.  And for somebody like me, moderating a fiction panel with relatively-unknown-but -if-I-have-anything-to-say-about-it-probably-not-for-long authors Marisa Silver, Dagoberto Gilb, Adam Langer and Lisa Fugard, was a particular treat. 

But nothing in Book Land -- or maybe Any Land -- is without its underside, and my "shiva call" on Dutton's Bookstore was the one of the weekend.  Like anybody else who loves books, I always loved Duttons, and made a point of going there every time I was in LA.  So, too, did a lot of other people -- but apparently not enough to keep the revered store alive.  It is closing for good on April 30.  When I went on Saturday, the store carried a big Going Out of Business Sale, and signs that everything was now 40% off.  I guess the good news is there wasn't much to buy -- apparently many book and bargain hunters had gotten there before me.  I managed to buy a couple of things -- a signed, early Geoffrey Wolf, for example -- and I spoke quietly, as befits a memorial service, with the store's longtime owner, Doug Dutton, who was characteristically pleasant and openminded, despite the number of mourners who approached him to pay their respects.  He didn't quite say it, but I have a feeling we haven't seen or heard the last of this great bookseller yet.  

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Posted by Sara Nelson on April 30, 2008 | Comments (3)