On a recent trip to Malibu to visit my sister, I was able, with very little effort, to connect with friends, both old and new. What a revelation to realize not only how things change but how they mostly stay the same.
Within two days, I had dinner at Coogie’s with my sister and three close friends. I guess I can say “old” because we all are or are getting there. All have connections to education and teaching, so they helped explain the controversy. Election results seemed to show Californians’ willingness to support education with a tax rise, once anathema to many, as voters embraced an initiative that claims to do that.
Back to Coogie’s the next day to meet with Malibu author Tom Sawyer, who always gives me a new perspective on life in the biz. He tells me about his new novel (still some secrets there), a memoir in progress, his online writing class, a new slant on a revival of his long-running TV show, “Murder She Wrote,” with new actors and plots that may appeal to younger viewers. And perhaps more importantly, we discussed how to survive in a business that has a tendency to toss out older folks and reveres youth more than experience. More of this later.
Then, on a visit to this newspaper’s office, I met someone from my past, publisher Arnold York, and the new editor, Knowles Adkisson, with whom I had only communicated via e-mail. Old stories, new connections.
One thing that ties us all together is a love for books and good writing of whatever genre. Having recently written about the great independent bookstore in my new hometown of Bozeman, Mont., I was intrigued to find that Malibu’s independent bookseller, Diesel, A Bookstore, has been at its new location for a year already. Who knew? I was still mourning the closing of its Cross Creek store, where I last saw author Al Martinez at a signing.
I went to Malibu Country Mart to find Diesel because my daughter said that an old friend, Riley Ellis, was working there. And that connects back to Sawyer, because Ellis worked in the film business for many years (at Disney Studios). Ellis says she chose to work in Malibu because of the many residents who are or were in the entertainment industry. She became friends with my daughters when they all worked temporarily for a Beverly Hills veterinarian many years ago.
Which brings us to new technology and e-readers. My daughters gave me a Nook for Christmas a couple years back so I might use it to check out books from the library. Now, it seems, most e-readers have this option, but at the time I had great difficulty getting my Nook to behave. It took a Mac-savvy rep at Barnes & Noble to help me get connected with the library-loan feature. In some locations, the large chain stores are less accommodating.
That may be the reason for a resurgence of interest in smaller, independent bookstores. A quick Internet search shows maybe a couple dozen independent bookstores in L.A. County, but some such as Bodhi and Audubon are specific to certain interests. And some local stores like the new Banks of Books in Malibu’s Westside feature used and out-of-print volumes.
Anyway, Kobo, which sells the world’s smallest full-featured eReader, is now partnered with Diesel. And I’m interested again in eReaders because my current favorite book, “Spillover” by David Quammen, is causing me neck and shoulder pain. At 520 pages (plus bibliography and index) it’s a hefty tome. How pleasant it would be to have that on a device that weighs ounces and holds up to 1,000 titles.
Kobo offers more than three million eBook titles that can be downloaded instantly over WiFi. Sounds convenient. But first one must download a free app to a smart phone, desktop or tablet (I hope this includes older laptops), after which all are in sync so one can start reading on one device and automatically pick it up on any of the other devices without losing one’s place. Sounds great, but I may need help. With any luck, Diesel’s John Evans will be able to assist even a technologically challenged oldster like me.
That will be something to ask about at the store’s one-year-anniversary party Sunday afternoon. That is if I can make it, which is still iffy.
Meanwhile, I’m enjoying all of the old and new connections made and revisited in Malibu.