BookFest: August 2008

Saturday, August 2, 2008

BookFest 2008

We had BookFest this year on Sunday, July 13. In my other blog, I said it was BookFest 13, but when I did the math, I think it is only 12...We started saving money in 1995, right before I went to WOU, and spent the money the following September in 1996...So, year 12 of buying, year 13 of the idea.

Anyway, here's what I got this year:

BOOKFEST 2008 Haul :)

An Obedient Father - Akhil Sharma
What is the What - David Eggers
Rush Home Road - Lori Lansens
The Tall Pine Polka - Lorna Landvik
Lost and Found - Carolyn Parkhurst
The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted - Elizabeth Berg
The 351 Books of Irma Acuri - David Bajo
Giraffe - JM Ledgard
Self Storage - Gayle Brandeis
Say You're One of Tem - Uwem Akpan
Enlightenment - Maureen Freely
Playing with the
The Lizard Cage - Karen Connelly
Firefly Lane - Kristin Hannah
Dear American Airlines - Jonathan Miles
Girls In Trucks - Katie Crouch
The Rope Walk = Carrie Brown

I can't wait to get started reading...right now I am finishing up "Tipping Point", so I will jump onto BookFest faire when I am done with that tone.

TTFN!

BookFest Beginnings

BookFest began in the Fall of 1994 when I was planning on going back to school. Kevin and I went to Powell's City of Books. We were complaining about our financial situation and wished that we could just live in Powell's or buy all their books. In those few moments, our grand plan was born.

The first year, we saved $10 a month from September to September with the goal of spending it all GUILT-FREE, in one fell swoop.

The following September, we went to Powell's and spend HOURS searching for the perfect BookFest books. We closed the place down and began our ritual of going to Kevin's house to unveil our books to the other.

It didn't take long for us to move the spending from September to June to give us the summer to read our books.

Our ritual always includes planning the date, going to Powell's. We set up meeting times in the Annie Hughes coffee shop to determine how much time we need. We are NOT ALLOWED TO LOOK AT THE OTHER PERSON'S BOOKS...although we sometimes get a peek. The first trip was around 6 hours long, but we don't need that long anymore. When we are done, we go to Hunan in Morgan's Alley (unless they are closed...they are closed on Sundays) and have dinner. After that, we go to Kevin's for the unveiling.

We have little contests: Most Attractive Book Cover, Closest to the Dollar Amount without Going Over, Most Unlikely Purchase, Highest Volume for the Dollar Amount...

We tried going to the West Side Powell's and we tried going to Coastal Bookstores, but it just didn't work for us, so we decided that BookFest was really a Powell's adventure.

People always want to come with us on our annual adventure. This is not allowed. This is the one day every year that Kevin and I devote to each other. But don't despair - this does not mean that you can't do a BookFest of your own.