Top Ten Tuesdays: Book Events/Festivals I’d Love to Go to Someday

Welcome back to the weekly posting for Top Ten Tuesdays hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl.  Today’s topic is “Book Events/Festivals I’d Love to Go to Someday.”  The events could be real or imagined.   

This one took a lot of thought and I originally thought I would have a really tough time coming up with even five events.  Then, I started writing and ideas just kept popping through my head.

First, my imagined events (and I might be stretching it a bit here):

1.  If we can ever actually socialize again, I would love to have a potluck dinner with all the Cook the Books co-hosts and regular participants.
2. This one is totally imagined, but I would love to host a dinner party with these foodie authors:  Julia Child, Anthony Bourdain, David Chang, M.F.K. Fisher and Ruth Reichl.   Can you imagine the conversation (and drinking on Bourdain and Chang’s part)?
3. Any author event at Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloane.
4. The farmers markets depicted in Sourdough by Robin Sloane.
5. A literary journey through New Mexico:  Willa Cather and D.H. Lawrence are possibly the most famous authors that belonged to Northern New Mexico’s literary colonies.  Arts patron and author Mabel Dodge Luhan had a fascinating life and I just read that Cormac McCarthy was also in the area during their time.    I don’t know if a literary vacation tour package even exists, but I would definitely book it if it did (and throw in an O’Keeffe side trip).  Actually, I just found this information which adds lots of stops and attractions to this dream vacay.

These are the real events (past and present) that I would like to attend:

1. As a personal life event, I would love to rummage through Larry McMurtry’s bookstore in Archer City, TX.
2. Holland Hall, a private school in Tulsa, OK, has hosted the state’s largest book fair for the last 60 years.  Alas, but this year’s event (February 2020) was the last one.  Tearful sob.   We usually buy at least 20-30 books at each event and have even gotten some rare, antique, and signed books.  I will miss this event.  This apparently will be an imagined event for me from now on.
3. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
4. Poet Laureate Inaugural Reading (happened in September 2019):   Joy Harjo gave her inaugural reading as 23rd Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry. She was joined by Robert Muller and Howard Cloud in a special musical performance.     Harjo is currently serving another term as Poet Laureate.
5. An Evening with David Sedaris at the Gillioz Theatre (Springfield, MO) on June 25, 2021.  Springfield is only about 3 hours away and hopefully in a year from now we can all start attending live events again.

Well, that was easier than I thought.

Next week’s Top Ten Tuesday is a freebie, we can do whatever we want.  I already have an idea.

Be safe and well!