Picture It: The Reagan Library and Museum

Those of you who are at all familiar with my political leanings will not be the slightest bit surprised that, despite the fact that I have lived, literally, down the hill from it for almost four years, I never visited the Ronald Reagan Library and Museum until a couple of weeks ago.

The Library itself isn't open to the general public, but the Museum recaps the life and careers--Hollywood, Sacramento, and Washington eras--of the late actor, California governor and 40th President through a variety of exhibits, some of which may also be interesting to a less partisan audience.

View from the Reagan Library, above Simi Valley

A re-creation of the Reagan-era Oval Office, at a slightly reduced scale

An expansion to the original museum houses the Boeing 707 that served as Air Force One for President Reagan. Visitors may walk through the plane, but no photography is allowed inside it. Notice the tables? The Air Force One Pavilion is available for private functions, including corporate events and high-school proms.

Reagan famously said, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall." A piece of the dismantled Berlin Wall is now installed on the Museum grounds.

What finally brought me to the Reagan Library actually had very little to do with Ronald Reagan, though--it was all about his old friend Walt Disney. D23, the Official Disney Fan Club, is presenting its "Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives" exhibit at the Library until April 2013, which features many artifacts--including collectibles, source materials, and props--never before seen by the public. I wrote about the exhibit in the feature "Mickey Comes to Simi Valley" for CBSLA.com this week.

Admission to the Ronald Reagan Library and Museum in Simi Valley, California includes all permanent and temporary Museum exhibits, including "Treasures of the Disney Archives." My husband and I purchased our own tickets to the Library in order to prepare a feature about the Disney exhibit for CBSLA.com "Best of LA", for which I was compensated.

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LA's Summer Reading Guide (according to me)

I'm an occasional contributor to the "Best of LA" section of CBS Los Angeles' website, and even more occasionally, I get the opportunity to make my contributions book-related. My first feature for the site, in August of last year, was a late-summer-reading roundup featuring books and authors with prominent Southern California connections.

I was pleased to be offered the chance to put together another summer-reading guide for 2012--and we got it done much earlier this year! Once again, the books and authors featured have a local/regional slant, but this year I've included a few selections that won't be out until September (technically, that's still summer, even if vacation's over!).

Here's a sneak peek at my list:

Model Home, by Eric Puchner

The Barbarian Nurseries, by Hector Tobar

When the Killing's Done, by T.C. Boyle

The First Husband, by Laura Dave

How To Be an American Housewife, by Margaret Dilloway

So LA, by Bridget Hoida

The Age of Miracles, by Karen Thompson Walker

The Next Best Thing, by Jennifer Weiner

Descriptions, links, and a few more of my book picks are in "LA's Summer Reading Guide" at CBS Los Angeles--I hope you'll go on over there to read more about them! And if you can think of any recommendations to add--books set in Southern California and/or by authors from around here--please mention them in the comments.

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Prepare to Celebrate the Festival of Books!

America’s largest public celebration of the written word, the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, takes place on April 21 and 22.

Whether you’ve been a Festival regular or are about to be a first-timer, it helps to be prepared. I've got a few suggestions, and here's one of them:

Prepare for authors. The Festival of Books is a “celebration of the written word”…and of those who create it. In addition to the authors appearing on the various stages, many more will be engaged in panel discussions throughout the weekend. The panels are held in lecture halls and have capacity limits–therefore, they are the only Festival activities that require advance tickets, and there is a $1-per-ticket service charge (although, technically, the tickets are free). Tickets are  available to the general public via the event website while supplies last. In most cases, authors will be available to sign their books after panels.

More information to help you "Prepare to Celebrate the Written Word at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books" is in my post at CBS Los Angeles' "Best of LA."  

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