National Book Festival 2017

http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/

Date: September 2, 2017
Washington DC Convention Center

So it's coming up in less than two weeks. We've not talked about the annual meet up at all.

I'll be there, but mostly just to socialize with other attendees

Enthusiasm spiraled downward with the switch from the mall to the convention center. To the extent that I've thought about the book festival this year, I've assumed that nobody cared enough to organize a meetup. And I can't do justice as a day trip, the niece I've visited in previous years has moved away, there's an LT meetup in NYC the following weekend...

>3 qebo: I'll be honest. I completely forgot it was coming up this year until someone mentioned it on another thread.

I'm putting together a plan for a breakfast meetup that day. There's a 75 Book Challenger coming into town for the book fest that norabelle414 and I want to get together with. Plus there are some authors I'm planning to see if possible - McCullough, Vance, Leland Melvin, Dava Sobel, etc.

>5 drneutron: I plan to be there. I'll be happy to invite BCinDC to our morning breakfast. We also have a few Little Free Library stewards who might want to join us. Would you post the details about the breakfast, and I'll get the information out to BookCrossers and LFL stewards? Thanks so much, Jim!

Which 75 book challenger is coming into town?

P.S. Out-of-towners are invited to lodge that weekend at my house if I've met you in person before (or if I have a good enough sense of who you are!). Private message me for details.

where's the meetup in NYC?

>6 SqueakyChu: Great! Right now, nittnutt (Jennifer) is the only out-of-towner I know is coming. Let me finalize some plans and I'll let you know.

I can highly recommend Madeline's lodging! :)

(Unfortunately I won't be making the trip this year, but maybe I can see some of you around Thanksgiving.)

I'm very interested. Will check with the family. Personally, I'm not so sure that the venue change is keeping people away. There's a lot to be said about AC in DC summers and about real bathrooms instead of portapotties. DrN, may others join your challenge breakfast?

>8 drneutron: Great! It will be fun to meet her. I haven't written to her here on LT for a long time.

A few of us are planning a meet up for Saturday, September 2, for breakfast prior to the National Book Festival in Washington, DC. Please join us at 8:15 AM or so at Le Pain Quotidien, 433 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC! I'll be there until 9:15-9:30 before heading to the Convention Center for the book fest.

>10 WildMaggie: Yup, everybody's welcome!

>11 SqueakyChu: Pass the word!

>12 drneutron:. Thx! The invitation was extended to BookCrossers and Little Free Library stewards.

>12 drneutron: drneutron--Thanks! I will try very hard to be there.

Just so it's on record, I'm not going to make this year. Not even a quick in to say hello.
I've got other things I'm working on/planning/focused on.

>15 gilroy: Our NBF crowd is thinning out. I was thinking of not coming, but I'll still try to make it.

From 7 a.m. Saturday through Monday, four Red Line stations will be closed: White Flint, Grosvenor-Strathmore, Medical Center and Bethesda. Free shuttle buses will replace trains between Friendship Heights and Twinbrook.

On the Orange, Silver and Blue Lines, trains will run every 24 minutes because of single tracking. On Orange and Silver, single tracking will take place between Clarendon and East Falls Church. On the Blue Line, it will be between Van Dorn Street and Franconia-Springfield.

Thanks for the info! We'll be coming in from Glenmont, then. :)

I'm going to skip the breakfast. Sorry! The Metro schedule looks too daunting to be sure to get there on time.

Squeaky, come down from Glenmont. That's what we will do. It's not all that much farther from you than Twinbrook.

It's not worth driving to Glenmont. I can walk to the Twinbrook Metro. I'll think about it. It *might* be doable since the yellow and green line are okay. Don't be surprised if I show up.........late! :D

My experience with the bus bridges has been that they go much more smoothly than you'd expect. From Twinbrook you can get on a direct bus that will drive straight to Friendship Heights without stopping at any of the inbetween stations. So it shouldn't take much longer than usual.

Hello, I just moved to the DMV area about a month ago, and I think this is my first time in a place where there are actually other active LTers, haha, so I would love to join y'all!

>22 norabelle414:. Yeah. I really like those buses. If truth be told, it's getting up so early on a non-babysitting day that I don't like. True confession. D

>23 omargosh: Meet a new LTer? Okay, I'll try to come. :)

>23 omargosh: Sounds great! Please do join us!

>24 SqueakyChu: mrsdrneutron mentioned that we'd have to get up earlier than on a workday. I reminded her we have a three-day weekend! 😀

By the way, for those I've not yet met, I'm the guy on the left in my profile pic. PM me and I'll provide a cell number if you like.

>23 omargosh: Welcome!!!

Sorry we missed you guys at breakfast. Did not set an alarm.

I wimped out. Maybe next year...

Anyone get a chance to hear Scalzi? He really was the only one I wanted to see.

>31 gilroy: Yeah! He was great. He was going to read an excerpt from his new book but he said it was kind of a downer and we have enough downers right now so he read two short stories instead.

It was a pleasure meeting you, norabelle414 and drneutron!

And a pleasure to meet you! I'll post the meeting pic once I get it off the phone and cleaned up a bit.

>31 gilroy: Yup, he was a hoot!

Here's the meet-up pic. Left to right: Jim (drneutron), Nora (norabelle414), Max (omargosh). Unfortunately, weather and transportation issues kept a few from joining us.

Love it!

Thanks Jim!

>36 drneutron: Great picture! So sorry I didn't make it down to the meetup. It was way too early in the morning, the weather was so lousy, and the trains seemed unpredictable. I hope to catch up with you guys next time.

I did get to meet up with _Zoe_, radicarian, jessibud2, and torontoc in Toronto, Canada, for Canada Day this year. That was my first international LT meetup which was great fun.

I hope we get another chance to hang out together soon.

Welcome to the DC area, Max!

>39 SqueakyChu: No worries - we'll have another opportunity to get together soon.

This year's festival is coming up in a couple weeks: http://www.librarything.com/topic/294543