Two weeks ago 6,490 librarians and 2,721 vendors were getting down to business at #alamw2019.
I'd been to Seattle twice before (
Midwinter 2013 and PLA 2004). It was nice to be back in the Pacific northwest. The skies were blue all week and the temperatures were mild.
My roommate Pat and I flew out on Thursday, January 24. We began the conference at dinner that evening with colleagues who served on the ALA Executive Board. (My EB term was 2004-07 and Pat's was 2014-17.)
I am on several ALA committees which met during the conference.
I am a representative on the Freedom to Read Foundation board which met all day Friday. The Retired Members Round Table has a business meeting followed by a book discussion that I host. The prompts this time were "a book you recommend" and "a book you didn't like." Several of us were in agreement on those we considered clunkers.
There were many book and author events. Midwinter is when award-winners are announced -- not only the Newbery and Caldecott medalists but also Andrew Carnegie winners (adult fiction/nonfiction) and Notable Books.
Publishers also promote their spring titles.
Note "Lost Roses" by Martha Hall Kelly. She is second from right on this panel. I reviewed the audio edition of her first novel, "Lilac Girls." The new book is a prequel. She was in the next seat on the shuttle bus when we went back to our hotel so we got to chat.
Debbie Macomber signed the audio edition of her latest book.
It is always interesting to see how a hotel interprets "high tea." At this Gala Author Tea the food was the best yet -- real cucumber open-faced sandwiches, a variety of tea, and delicious sweets.
My Magpie friend Gina was my guest. It was great to meet her in person at last! Author Juliet Grames based her first novel on her Italian grandmother's life story. A nice connection to Gina's Italian heritage.
(I've since finished
The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Foruna. It is great!)
I was in the second row for Rick Steves' presentation, "Travel as a Political Act." It was like being in PBS special.
"When we travel history becomes real. We humanize humanity. We need to carbonate outlook with different passions," he said. His favorite country is India but his beat is Europe. "Europe is the wading pool for world exploration." He travels four months out of the year -- northern Europe in the hot months and southern Europe in the colder months. "Fear is for people who don't get outside very much. It has never been safer to travel than now."
"Travel with an open heart, open eyes, and a rolled-down window."
He asked us to circle around him -- "a mosh pit of librarians" -- for the book signing.
Another special event was a screening of the forthcoming movie
The Public . Emilo Estevez wrote, directed, and stars in the film which is about a librarian and dealing with the homeless people who come to the downtown library every day. It has drama, humor, and suspense.
Pat and I had second-row seats for the screening. Estevez and co-star Jena Malone answered questions afterwards. I asked a question . . . and the next evening when I got on the hotel elevator to go out to dinner, there was Estevez! He said, "You asked a question last night, didn't you? And I answered, 'It's only a movie.'" He got off at the 7th floor and I went down to the lobby. My brush with celebrity! (Though I was more htan happy just to see/hear Rick Steves.)
There was time time to be tourists, too! I spent an afternoon at
MOHAI, the Museum of History and Industry. It was easy to get to by streetcar ($2.00 round trip).
The museum is all about Seattle from the Native Americans to the present day.
Pat and I went to the Space Needle and
Chihuly Garden and Glass (They are adjacent and there's a combo ticket package.)
This is as far as my toes would let me go on the glass floor. MOHAI is at the center of the top left photo.
We had lunch at Collections Cafe which showcases Dale Chihuly's eclectic collections -- lead soldiers, toy irons, shaving brushes, cast iron vases.
The Chihuly museum is spectacular. There are indoor and outdoor installations. It turned out that I dressed to match one of them.
We were supposed to return to Chicago on Wednesday, January 30, but that was the day of the polar vortex -- the high temperature was -21. Our flight was cancelled! We rebooked (no charge) for the same flight the next day. The hotel allowed us to stay at the conference rate. We spent the bonus day at the Seattle Art Museum, lunch at the Public Market, and at the Seattle Aquarium. We saw the sea otters and the giant Pacific octopuses being fed (separately, of course).
The flight back to Chicago was uneventful. The limo was there to meet me and I was home at 9:30 p.m.
The boxes of books and swag that I shipped back arrived on Tuesday. Here's the haul! Lots of good reading ahead.
P.S. One last box arrived a week later. :)
I quilted X Marks the Block last week, just in time to donate it to the UMW silent auction. The high bidder was delighted.
