Readers and writers, rejoice for the arrival of the annual LA Times Festival of Books! This weekend, an estimated 140,000 people will traverse the UCLA campus to shop, listen to authors, find writing and publishing opportunities, and socialize with other book lovers in the sunshine with iced lemonade and kettle corn.

As a serious bookworm, approaching the Festival of Books is like planning for war: each stop must be serious and strategic, each purchase compared with the other multitude of literary purchasing possibilities, and each writer panel event chosen only after careful consideration of the full schedule.

Now, when I say careful planning is necessary, I don’t mean to say that one is to take the Festival too seriously. After all, with booths capped by white tents outdoors in the sunshine with the smell of kettle corn catching the sparse wafts of breeze on an otherwise stagnantly hot 90-degree day, the Festival feels more like a carnival than an event that celebrates an inherently solitary hobby. However, the Festival can feel overwhelming with hundreds of booksellers on site and four stages on campus featuring musicians performing, authors reading, and even chefs performing cooking demonstrations.

My venture at the Festival began at 10:00 AM at the Poetry Stage behind UCLA’s Powell Library. Mark Doty read from his latest collection of poems, Fire to Fire, providing explanations of the story behind each piece. Most memorable was his last piece, which was an imaging of what he called “his own definition of beauty.” I saw Doty at the Festival last year and made it a priority to see him again. He’s a bright, lively, and personable speaker and, when reading, enunciates clearly so that his brand of accessible poetry can be heard and appreciated. If you didn’t catch him on the Poetry Stage this year, make it a priority to see him next year, even if you’re not a big poetry fan. Hearing poetry aloud is a completely different experience than reading it on the page and Doty’s oratorical style makes it especially accessible.

After Doty finished speaking, I ventured to browse the vendors, hoping to locate some good book deals and finds. Borders always has a huge presence every year the Festival, as one of the major sponsors, and their booth felt like a mini-version of the mega-book-outlet. No special deals were featured, but with a central location at the top of UCLA’s Janss Steps next to the “food court,” it made for a central area to find some mainstream picks.

One of my favorite booths of the afternoon was run by independent Hollywood bookseller, Book Soup. While the Book Soup shop on Sunset creates a distinctive ambiance, with books stacked to the ceiling in a narrow, wood-paneled shop, the Book Soup stand featured a variety of paperback and hard-backed books, all of which were signed by authors that made Book Soup appearances. Signed copies of Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis and Richard Russo’s newest novel Bridge of Sighs seemed like especially good finds for fans. The booth also featured a list of authors visiting the store in May. I was excited to discover that Augusten Burroughs will sign books on May 9 and our generation’s greatest sci-fi writer WILLIAM SHATNER will also be in Book Soup’s store on May 17th. If you’re interested in finding out more about these author signings and appearances (as I am), go check out Book Soup’s website. It looks pretty sweet.

I also visited the booth for Portland-based literary journal Tin House. A contemporary journal featuring fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, and interviews, I couldn’t resist picking up a copy and chatting with the staff at the booth. Author Dorothy Allison is a notorious Tin House supporter and contributor, but several known and unknown writers submit to the journal. If you find yourself at the Festival, check them out! The Festival’s all about supporting lesser-known literary publications, right?

Of course, the author panels are arguably the most noteworthy part of the Festival as they provide festival-goers with an opportunity to hear authors speak in a lecture hall and answer questions.

I saw literary journalist Gay Talese (apologies for the terrible quality photo hurriedly snapped inside Schoenberg Hall at UCLA) speak in conversation with Tim Rutten about his career. The highlight of the panel was a story Talese told about an experience interviewing Frank Sinatra.

Maxine Hong Kingston also spoke at Schoenberg Hall and discussed her writing process, her views on activism, and the intersections between Chinese and American culture. Kingston’s insights on the intersections between fiction and nonfiction writing.

The Festival provides an array of literary options for all sorts of book lovers. Come out tomorrow and check out more of the panels and stage shows!

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