This year readers can expect panels, readings, and discussions from an impressive collection of writers, thinkers, and critics, both on the international stage and locally grown. Expect to hear from heavyweights like Amartya Sen, Gish Jen, Joseph Stiglitz, Joyce Carol Oates, and Dennis Lehane, to name a few, at various locations around the Copley Square area. “There are so many things to do people will have a hard time making a choice,’’ says Porter. “It is a literary city. We need to make books and culture as important as sports in this town,’’ she says. Wishful thinking perhaps. “People laugh and say “yeah, right,’’ but I think it’s a city that’s particularly interested in ideas and books and technology.’’
Boston Book Festival, tomorrow. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. www.bostonbookfest.org
EATS
Festivalgoers will have a pretty full slate of ideas to consider. Keep the conversation going after, or during, with a stop at the nearby Trident Booksellers and Cafe, just down Newbury Street. For 26 years, Trident has been a meeting place for book lovers hungry for the written word — or hungry for a healthy smoothie, some comfort food, or just a good cup of coffee. It’s not just a cafe in a bookstore, cafe director Megan Mount says, explaining their longevity when so many other independent shops have closed.
“In general it’s the sense of community that people tend to have here.’’ Inspired by something you hear at the festival? Her staff is prepared to talk about it with you. “We have a pretty educated staff, people that don’t just sell books, but really enhance the experience of buying a book.’’ Talking about books over lemon and ricotta stuffed French toast or pumpkin and short rib ravioli, or just a beer or cappuccino at the cafe bar — now that’s an idea that deserves some lengthy deliberation.
Trident Booksellers and Cafe, 338 Newbury St., Boston. 617-267-8688. www.tridentbookscafe.com
Luke O’Neil can be reached at lukeoneil47@gmail.com
