Week 2: Book Signing

This week actually involved several new adventures, but this was first so this one gets recorded. On Thursday, I met Tom in Pasadena to see Ry Cooder read from and sign his new book, Los Angeles Stories. Now, Ry Cooder is a mixed bag for me - I love Buena Vista Social Club, but One Meatball makes me want to tear my hair out, but I'd never been to a book signing before, so I braved the redonculous traffic and headed to Pasadena.

{source: @vromans}

Making things even more fun and adventure, the signing was being held at Vroman's Bookstore, the oldest and largest independent bookstore in Southern California. I love me an independent bookstore, and this one was topnotch.  Amazon is so convenient with it's free two-day delivery and bargain prices, and Barnes and Noble has Starbucks, but nothing beats an independent bookstore.

Although wandering around the store was my favorite part, I actually ended up enjoying the book talk more than I expected. I hadn't done any research before had and had just assumed that the book would be about music stuff that I didn't understand. As it turned out, the book was a collection of short stories set in L.A. in the 1930s and '40s. I haven't read any of it yet, but I'm intrigued, and Mr. Cooder is clearly fascinated by his subject.

So, to sum up, Vroman's is rad, Ry Cooder is super smart and interesting, and book signings are cool. I have signed up for Vroman's mailing list, so hopefully I'll be back soon.