Folks Browsing at the New Orleans Bookfair

I don’t feel too hot today–I’ve got that icky feeling in the back of my throat that says something’s off. But it was such a beautiful day, and a beautiful day for a bike ride, so I sucked it up and went downtown to enjoy the sunshine and dry air and crowds at the New Orleans Bookfair and the Bywater Mirliton Festival. (I was running late–no time to stop at the Scandinavian Festival!) I snapped this picture of folks perusing one of the many tables of radical “anarchist” lit for sale. I love the guy selling the books, that cigarette lolling out of his mouth, looking too cool to do business. There were a number of vendors like this, alongside authors selling their own comics, fiction, memoir, and coloring books. My very favorite bookseller was in town from Oakland, CA; I’m always happy to see them. I love this bookfair. It is always a good collection of books and authors you just don’t see at the Borders on St. Charles. I spun over to the Mirliton fest afterward to listen to music, watch people, and table for the Metro Bicycle Coalition, a group that advocates for policies friendly to bikes and bike safety. This was my first time working with MBC, and I left excited for their upcoming Bike Bash and happy to have gotten to swoon about riding bicycles in the city with a bunch of people I don’t know. I rode home through throngs of LSU fans, their cheers pouring out of doorways, though they would ultimately be disappointed. I love how many ways there were today for people to hang out together in the sunshine in November.