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I’m Jessica Ferri, a writer for The Times and owner of Books from the house of the womb, a second-hand online store specializing in 20th century women’s literature. We will have a booth (No. 122) at the festival, so come and visit us! In addition to the books, we’ll be selling our author hats, so pick up your feisty Los Angeles it-girl while supplies last: Eva Babitz either Joan Didion.

When it comes to books, I think this season is an explosion of the blessings of women’s writing. Sheila Heti’s new book, “Alphabetical Diaries,” is a true bible of art. Then there’s Maggie Nelson’s new collection of essays and conversations, “Like Love,” and Miranda July’s latest novel, “All Fours,” coming out in May. In June we have Rachel Cusk’s new novel, “Parade,” and in July, Sarah Manguso’s second novel, “Liars.”

(Please note: The Times may earn a commission through links to Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookstores.)

The LA Times Book Festival is finally here!

I’m moderating what I think will be the best event of the festival, “Love and Friendship: Miranda July and Maggie Nelson in Conversation,” on Saturday at 1:30. We are going to discuss the concept of “feeling real” in our relationships: love in marriage and the dangers of having a human body. Maggie and Miranda are two of the boldest thinkers and artists, and it will be very exciting to have them on stage together.

Also, on Sunday at 12:30, Belletrista Karah Preiss will moderate a conversation between Melissa Broder, Henry Hoke, Isle McElroy, and Jennine Capó Crucet called “Make It Weirder: Body Swapping, Giant Cacti, and Celebrity Impersonators in Contemporary Fiction.” Broder’s most recent novel, “death Valley” (which I reviewed for The Times), is a book about grief that somehow manages to be hilarious. Tickets are required for both events..

The week(s) in the books

If you like literary takedowns, Ann Manov’s Book Forum Review from Lauren Oyler’s most recent book of essays, “No Judgment,” may go down in history thanks to lines like this: “Oyler clearly wants to be a person who says brilliant things – the Renata Adler of looking at her phone a lot – but lacks the the curiosity that would allow him to do it.”

Sophie Kinsella, author of “Shopaholic” and other books, announced on social media who is undergoing treatment for brain cancer. “To everyone suffering from cancer in any form I send love and best wishes, as well as to those who love and support you,” she wrote. “It can be very lonely and scary to have a difficult diagnosis.”

Scribner editor Emily Polson caused a stir when posted a photo from a box of galleys of “Didion and Babitz” by Lili Anolik, calling them “literary It Girls.” Most were enthusiastic about the book, but some disagreed with Babitz and Didion being paired together, leading Polson to issue an apology.

“The PEN Awards and the World Voices Festival are on the verge of collapse” according to literary center, due to what many consider a complete lack of response to the war in Gaza. Almost 30 writers and translators withdrew from the awards. In an open letter, they write: “We cannot, in good faith, align ourselves with an organization that has shown such blatant disregard for our collective values.”

Bookstore Favorites

Some of the 6,000 books cataloged in “A good used book”.

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

For this week’s bookseller conversation, I spoke with past festival attendees Jenny Yang and Chris Capizzi, owners of Filipinotown’s new A Good Used Book store. Here’s what they had to say about curating their new space.

What would you say your specialization is in? What characterizes “a good used book”?

We definitely love old paperbacks, which we put in wine boxes like records so people can flip through them from cover to cover. We want a whole new generation to discover them. We focus primarily on modern and classical literature, including poetry and plays, fiction genres such as science fiction and crime, non-fiction in the humanities, sciences and social sciences, as well as occultism and spirituality, modern and contemporary art and culture of all kinds . I think we’re looking for all the different ways that human experience is interpreted and expressed, and we’re looking to provide a wide variety of ways that people communicate those experiences in print.

Tell us about the new store, the location and the neighborhood.

We are located in historic Filipinotown, near Echo Park, Silver Lake, and downtown Los Angeles. We have great neighbors like Clark Street Bread, Grá Pizza, Laveta Coffee, and Butchr Bar, so there’s plenty to do. And we have Echo Park Lake just a few blocks away, with local favorite Vista Hermosa Park even closer.

What do you think of the book culture in Los Angeles? What are your clients looking for?

There are great bookstores that have been around and are still going strong on this side of Los Angeles: Alias ​​East in Atwater Village, Counterpoint Records and Books in Hollywood, Sideshow Books on Miracle Mile, Stories in Echo Park, and Last Bookstore downtown. We also can’t forget the 18-year-old comic book store Secret Headquarters, which just got a new location in Atwater Village. And we’re excited to be part of a new class, along with Untitled Books, Heavy Manners Library, and Des Pair Books, working to nourish our communities around books.

What is the most popular title and/or who is the most popular selling author?

Currently our most popular title is “Everything Now” by Rosecrans Baldwin. We call it the “gateway drug” to Los Angeles literature. It is a great book for immigrants and native Angelenos to better understand Los Angeles through its history, its artists, and its authors. And it’s just fun to read.

What are your and Jenny’s favorite books of all time and what are you reading now in terms of new books?

One of Jenny’s favorite books is “Breasts and Balls” by Meiko Kawakami, a novel translated from Japanese that sheds light on femininity through female relationships and a woman’s relationship with her own body. She has just finished reading Han Kang’s novel “Greek Lessons,” her follow-up to “The Vegetarian,” a thought-provoking thriller about how a woman’s decision to stop eating meat changes the course of her life and lives that surround her.

My favorite book of all time is probably Richard Wright’s “Black Boy,” and I’m currently finishing Kazuo Ishiguro’s latest, “Klara and the Sun,” a speculative fiction novel told from the point of view of an android companion.