Narrator: Joshua Braff, Mark Haskell Smith, Rob Roberge, Tod Goldberg, Tony DuShane
Published by Los Angeles Times on 2010
Length: 1 hour 1 minute
Source: Purchased through Audible
The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books began in 1996 with a simple goal: to bring together the people who create books with the people who love to read them. The festival was an immediate success and has become the largest and most prestigious book festival in the country, attracting more than 130,000 book lovers each year.
Quick review for a quick listen: When I lived in LA, my favorite weekend of the whole year was the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. It is what I miss most about LA. I always loved the panels-authors are often funny, quirky people, and, at LATFOB, there were always insightful comments about literature and writing. I was beyond excited to discover that I could buy these recorded panels through audible.
Writing the Outcast is hilarious, but it definitely has adult humor, and in some respects, a very LA-brand of humor. Go in expecting to be offended at least once. I appreciated that the moderator said that they wouldn’t take stupid questions; this fit the humor of the panel, but stupid audience questions are my biggest pet peeve at author events, so part of me knows it wasn’t really a joke. This also isn’t an instruction manual or a writing class; it is a conversation between writers that is loosely focused around writing outcasts. The conversation meandered, but I found the whole thing incredibly entertaining.
EDIT: There has been some confusing as to what this is. Sorry, I used the standard review format, but this is not a book. This is a recording of a live panel that is available on audible. I definitely recommend it, though.
I get a commission if you purchase using this link.
Lauren @ Love is not a triangle says
I have no idea what this book is, but the LA Times Book festival sounds like something I’d like to attend. Sadly, I’ve never been to California. I need to fix that soon.
Heather @ Buried in Books says
What do you mean by writing the outcast? Like a character that’s an outcast? Or is this a show I know nothing about (which seems more likely)? I’m glad you explained this title because it’s a bit confusing. This is one of those things that you wouldn’t know it was there unless you were looking for it. Too bad. It sounds like you really enjoyed it. Do they have other years??
Jen @ YA Romantics says
I’m also a little confused about what this was. A panel discussion on writing? That was on audio??? But glad you enjoyed it….
Thanks so much for stopping by! Jen @ YA Romantics