Festival of Books preview: Meghan Daum Q&A

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After writing a collection of essays about living (not-so-large) in New York, and a novel about living (differently) in Nebraska, Meghan Daum wound up -- where else? -- in Los Angeles. Now a columnist for the L.A. Times, she will be on the Festival of Books panel ‘Nonfiction: Laughing Between the Lines’ on Sunday at 2:30 p.m.

Jacket Copy: Your memoir and novel both evoke a clear sense of place. Now that you’ve lived in Los Angeles for a while, what do you think of the city? How do you talk about it to your friends back in Nebraska?

Meghan Daum: I’ve lived in Los Angeles for about six years now and I love it. Sometimes I even have an irrational exuberance about it. I love landing at LAX. I love driving on the freeway. I love the magic hour light and the air after it rains (I realize I may have just unintentionally quoted a ‘70s soft rock song.) What I love most is my neighborhood in the hills of Echo Park. I bought a house here four years ago and I couldn’t possibly have picked a better spot.

That said, I’m very loyal to Nebraska and I miss it all the time. I have many Nebraska friends I talk to regularly. I’m also going there in June to teach a master’s class in nonfiction writing at the Nebraska Summer Writers Conference in Lincoln.

JC: Can you tell us about your latest project?

MD: My next project? It’s always my next L.A. Times column. But I’m also working on a book about real estate and identity, which will be out from Knopf in 2010.

JC: What books have you read lately that got you energized, in either a good way or a bad way?

MD: I read and loved Katha Pollitt’s ‘Learning to Drive.’ It’s a beautifully written, honest, rigorous and self-deprecatingly hilarious book that too many people associated solely with one controversial essay. There’s so much more to it than that. She’s equal parts poet and a social critic. You don’t see that too often.

JC: What are you looking forward to at the Festival of Books?

MD: The chocolate fondue fountain at the reception after the awards ceremony.

JC: Why do you think they schedule the Festival of Books for the same weekend as Coachella, year after year?

MD: Same weekend as Coachella? I didn’t even realize. That is how old and out of it I am. But if you told me it conflicted with the Police reunion tour I’d say ‘an outrage!’

JC: And finally, what’s a great place in L.A. to grab a beer or cocktail, and why?

MD: Best place in L.A. for a beer or cocktail? My patio! Alternatively, the lounge of Taix in Echo Park. Also, let’s face it, the lobby of the Chateau Marmont. But only if you’re feeling OK about your hair.

-- Carolyn Kellogg