Miami Book Fair

November 15, 2007



Jeffrey Toobin

Miami Book Fair

The Miami Book Fair celebrated its 24th year this year and having been an attendee at more than half of them, I can say that it has grown in size and scope to the point that it is almost too successful as thousands cram the streets for the street fair as well as the multiple venues on the campus of Miami Dade College for author presentations. One thing that has not changed is the quantity, diversity and quality of authors who attend and give insightful readings and presentations about their latest works.



As always, it is difficult to choose between the simultaneous presentations which go on all day on both Saturday & Sunday. In fact, Marta, Kathy & I, having totally different tastes often found ourselves separating to attend various lectures. So for example, while Kathy was watching Edwidge Danticat & Francisco Goldman, Marta was enjoying Tom Hayden & Craig Unger and I was watching Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson.

General Wes Clark

In addition there are blocks of booths featuring a huge variety of booksellers, publishers, non-profit groups, antiquarian books, and other interesting vendors. There is also a large Children’s area, an International Pavilion and of course a huge International Food Court. The days are long and full, with presentations beginning on the hour at 11 different venues all with-in easy walking distance. Being “Friends of the Bookfair” i.e. donors, we had the good fortune to have passes to a VIP tent, which had food, drinks, AC and closed circuit live broadcasts of the main presentations. It served as a good meeting spot as we each scurried about to see our favorite authors.

Scott Turow

The weather was about perfect, sunny and pleasant with a nice breeze. The highlights of my weekend included presentations by the likes of General Wesley Clark, Rajiv Chandrasekaran, CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin, Diane Ackerman & David Michaelis. There is also always a surprise author or session where I “discover” some previously unknown to me authors. This year it was a small session featuring authors Joan Quigley on her new book, “The Day the Earth Caved In: An American Mining Tragedy” and Amy Stewart on her look into the flower industry, “Flower Confidential: The Good, The Bad, and The Beautiful.”

Dave Barry

The Rock Bottom Remainders

We also were treated to a performance by the Rock Bottom Remainders, a band headed up by author Dave Barry and comprised almost exclusively by authors. This year’s version included Barry, Ridley Pearson and Scott Turow among others. It makes for a fun, often hysterical performance.

Kathy at The Raleigh Pool

The other cool thing about being a friend, is scoring invites to the fancy author’s party. Held this year at the amazing art deco masterpiece hotel, The Raleigh. The legendary hotel and pool, made famous by Esther Williams, was the perfect chic setting for the glamorous affair. Delicious food and free drinks made for a wonderful evening.

The Raleigh Hotel




The Raleigh Hotel

Miami Book Fair

Marta

November 12, 2007



Marta





My mother, Marta made her annual visit to Key West this week. For the second consecutive year, she traveled from her home in Winston Salem to visit us and join us in attending the Miami Book Fair. She used to come during the Key West Literary Seminar in January, but switched to the book fair a couple of years ago. I think the added bonus of hanging out in South Beach must appeal to her. Whatever the case, we are happy to have her join us for what is one of our favorite annual literary events.



Marta arrived Thursday evening and so we were able to spend some time as tourists in Key West until our departure on Friday afternoon. We went down to the Customs House where we watched the Powerboat races for a few minutes before heading inside to see the current photography exhibit by my friend Tom Corcoran as well as the Seward Johnson sculpture exhibit which is still on display. Tom is perhaps best known as a mystery writer but he is also a documentary photographer who has shot photos in Key West for years, some of which are featured in the new exhibit.



By mid-afternoon, we were on our way up the Keys and we arrived in Miami in time to go see the final “Evenings With…” presentations that the Book Fair features the week prior to the main fair weekend. This one featured Caroline Kennedy speaking about her new book, “A Family Christmas”. The presentation was good as far as it went, but it was over pretty quickly and the mob of attendees seemed none too happy about it.

Poet Nikki Giovanni

Nikki Giovanni & Caroline Kennedy

It mattered not to us, as we made the short drive over the causeway to South Beach and checked into our rooms at the Clay Hotel. The Clay is in a perfect location and is a great budget place to stay in the heart of South Beach. We had an excellent meal at Chocolate, a restaurant just downstairs from our rooms. Kathy discovered the Brazilian drink the “Caipirinha”, this one made with Cucumbers which made for a light, refreshing, tasty drink with some kick.

Chocolate & The Clay Hotel



Key West Art & Historical Society
Tom Corcoran Story