The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Thursday, September 10, 2009 - 3B

A celebration for Ann
Arbor bibliophiles

Coffee: the experience

BookFest features
book writing, printing
and consumption
By MOLLY MCGUIRE
Daily Arts Writer
The finest members of the Ann Arbor literati will
be hitting the brick and cobblestone
streets of Kerrytown this Sunday for
a day filled with books, high-pow- Kerrytown
ered discussion, a touch of mystery B0kFst
and some delicious and belletristic
confections. It's the seventh annual Sunday
Kerrytown BookFest and, as always, 11 a.m. -5 p.m.
there's a frenzy of book-related Around Kerrytown
activities planned for the day. The Farmers' Market
activities, which begin at 11 a.m., are
centered at the Farmers' Market.
Although the program for the book festival changes
every year, its focus is always the same: the celebration
of reading and Ann Arbor's thriving book culture. In
addition to all the authors and distinguished speakers
who flock to the BookFest, at the heart of the festival
are those who actually create books. The likes of book-
binders, papermakers, letterpress printers and book
artists will be there, some of them showcasing their
craft for visitors.
"There's a big focus on the book arts," President
of the Bookfest Board Robin Agnew, who owns Aunt
Agatha's Mystery Bookshop downtown, said. "It's a
really unusual additional focus for our event."
"Culinary Michigan" is this year's theme, and events
on the topic take up about half of the programming.
Drawing in local food connoisseurs along with gastro-
nomes from out of town, the BookFest will have panels
headed by culinary celebrities. Take for instance Jane
and Michael Stern, the "Roadfood" adventurers from
National Public Radio's "The Splendid Table." They'll
be participating in a panel called "Local Foods in the
World and Global Foods in Michigan" along with Ari
Weinzweig, co-owner of Zingerman's, and Jan Lon-
gone, the University of Michigan Clements Library
culinary historian. And this panel is only one of many
- the rest of the topics are as varied as food blogging in
"Eating Online" and gastronomic whodunits in "Mys-
teries to Cook By."
The Sterns also have a cake job set up judging the
Edible Book Contest. The rules to this contest - which
unites food and literature - are simple. Turn your
favorite novel, author or character into something
edible. Puns are encouraged. For example, "if you had
a beer mug with a hot dog in it, that would be Franken-
stein," Agnew explained. The hottest contenders will
duke it out for such awards as Most Book-Like, Pun-
Intended and Best in Show.
But it's not all about food at this year's BookFest.
SUMMER STORIES
From Page 1B
"Drag Me To Hell"
 The greatest horror film of the summer featured
director Sam Raimi returning to his roots with a ven-
geance. His film "Drag Me To Hell" was a mixture of
gross-out comedy and extremely horrific visuals. One
minute the audience is laughing, the next it's scream-
ing, and the whole thing is way more fun than a horror
film has any right to be. Perhaps there's life in Ameri-
can horror films after all?
"Inglourious Basterds"
Quentin Tarantino's latest film is the most impor-
tant film of the summer, simply because it's by far the
most adventurous, creative and entertaining. "Inglou-
rious Basterds" combines gruesome violence, Brad Pitt
with a funny accent and the best re-writing of history
ever seen in a movie. As always, Tarantino chooses to
let his words do the real heavy lifting, and his dialogue
here is endlessly quotable. It's bravura filmmaking at
its finest, and certainly another Tarantino's master-
piece.
Disney Buys Marvel
Disney bought Marvel Entertainment for $4 bil-

lion, acquiring the rights to more than 5,000 char-
acters, from Iron Man to Baron Von Blitzschlag. But
don't worry about Goofy joining the Fantastic Four
or Wolverine's violent rampages being toned down.
Instead expect more support for films featuring mid-
level heroes like Hawkeye and Namor. That said, you
can worry about the consolidation of the entertain-
ment industry.
Summer Festivals
Starting with May's Coachella, which landed Paul
McCartney, to June's Bonnaroo, which landed The
Boss and Phish (twice), headliners at music fests this
summer seemed surprisingly, well, old. Though Chi-
cago dominated the outdoor hipster music scene with
Pitchfork and Lollapalooza boasting headliners like
Grizzly Bear, Kings of Leon, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the
Flaming Lips, other headlining spots (Nine Inch Nails,
Jane's Addiction, Tool) saw tenured acts favored over
today's tastemakers. The Nineties, it seems, are catch-
ing up to us - and quickly.
"The Hangover"
This is a movie about the kind of night everybody
wants to have. That is, if your idea of a night to remem-
ber is waking up with Mike Tyson's tiger in the bath-
room and a baby named Carlos in the closet. The actors
all work well together to form a lineup that could rival
those in movies like "Wedding Crashers" and "Old
School." If nothing else, "The Hangover" will be giving
students lines to recite for the rest of their lives.

Once they're full, visitors will find the rest of the pro-
gramming offers a wide variety of guests and activi-
ties. Mystery buffs are lucky this year - headlining is
Jeffery Deaver, bestselling writer and author of "The
Bone Collector," who is set to speak at 4 p.m. Continu-
ing along the same hardboiled lines, there will be a
true crime panel featuring writers Mardi Link, Patrick
Brode, Steve Miller and Andrea Billups. Moderated by
writer and blogger Laura James, the panelwill focus on
true crime writing, both contemporary and historical.
There are still dozens of things to do for those
ambivalent about mysterysolving. Aspiring journalists
and newspaper enthusiasts biting their nails over fold-
ing publications might want to check out "The Future
of Print Journalism." Speakers from the Ann Arbor
Chronicle, Annarbor.com, The Ann Arbor Observer,
The Detroit News and USA Today will address the
seemingly grim outlook and share their predictions
on what's to come. There will also be a panel discus-
sion on "Counterculture and Music of the '60s," where
a biography of Ann Arbor native Bob Seger is one of the
featured books.
In addition, Michigan Notable Book Award Winner
Mary Ellen Geist will speak about her winning book,
"Measure of the Heart," which details the relation-
ship between a father with Alzheimer's disease and his
daughter. Lastly, students might recognize some Uni-
versity professors in the crowd, as husband and wife
writing teams Michael Byers and Susan Hutton, as well
as Peter Ho Davies and Lynne Raughley, talk about
their work and their experience as literary couples.
For a more hands-on approach, there's the Hol-
lander's Outdoor Mini Workshops. Visitors can make
collages, recipe books and even papyrus. It's not only
for adults, though - there's an entire children's tent
devoted to crafts for kids like paper making and paper
marbling. And of course there's no children's tent with-
out storytime. Authors Heather O'Neal and John Perry
will come by for a reading, and so will Mother Goose.
In recent years, the BookFest has been wildly popu-
lar, with turnouts of around 4,000 visitors and more
than 100 exhibitors. With the well-known headliners
this year, the seventh annual BookFest promises to
match that and more. And it makes sense: Ann Arbor,
with over 30 bookstores and an exciting literary com-
munity, is the perfect place for a crisp September Sun-
day with the best and brightest from the book world.
"It's a really great way to expose everyone in the
community to writers and to book arts, and just to a lot
of things that go in Ann Arbor that people don't know
about," Agnew said.
The Kerrytown BookFest comes but once a year. "It
takes all year to plan," Agnew explained. So take this
Sunday to go see all literary Ann Arbor has to offer -
mingle with all the erudite exhibitors who do so much
to create everything we read, pick up a snazzy copy of
a book for school and learn about true crime writing
and bookbinding. You might even get a piece ofcake for
your trouble.

Months ago, locked in
heated debate with
a friend, I made a
bombastic claim. I insisted that
Zingerman's coffee was the best
in Ann Arbor LA
and was willing KALIC
to fork over the
cold hard cash necessary to buy
my opponent's cup and prove it
to him. But the guy I was arguing
with (you know who you are) put
me in my place.
After this argument came my
first encounter with Comet Cof-
fee and IShave been inflating this
hole-in-the-wall shop's oral his-
tory with personal anecdotes ever
since. My roommates can't get me
to shut up about it. The only way
I get them to stop nagging me is
by taking them over there one by
one and proving what once had to
be proved to me. Comet's coffee is
infallible.
Excepting a brief experimental
foray into not drinking caffeine
my freshman year, I am a con-
firmed coffee lover. I drink a good
old cup of joe just about every
day, sometimes twice. Yes, I'm
not ashamed to say that I spend
most of my time and money in
Ann Arbor's coffee shops - or did
- until I met Comet.
This sudden decrease in hang-
ing out in coffee shops may be
a function of the lack of seating
in Comet (there are two tables
and they're almost always full),
but there's more to it than that.
Drinking Comet makes you want
go out and do things. There's no
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Write for Arts.
E-mail battlebots@umich.edu
for an application.

nonsense - just a solid cup of nos or other blended drinks posing
coffee and the promise that with as coffee are your fancy. Comet's
brew in hand you're about to go snack repertoire, also light, fea-
places, because, no, you can't sit tures pastries, croissants and muf-
down. There are no chairs inside. fins, punctuated by a few foreign
Perhaps it's the sea-foam green finds. Go for alfajores, a Chilean
walls that remind me slightly of treat featuring two biscuits joined
my old room at home, or the feel- together with dulce de leche and
ing you get that the metal instru- dipped in Belgian chocolate. Yum.
ments making your coffee could But don't let me distract you
easily be employed in the Natural - the coffee is the main event.
Science building a few blocks What you're paying for at Comet
away. There's just something both is tender loving care, brought to
inclusive and experimental about you in java form. It's art. There's
Comet Coffee's process. The bar the sweeping motion of the elbow
is lower to the ground, so curious as the barista pours the contents
of a stainless steel pot into your
cup, topping it all off with a few
The best cup of well-placed flicks of the wrist to
create a design in your foam, be it
joe is at Comet. a leaf, flower or heart.
But just because they're artists
at Comet doesn't mean they're
connoisseurs can sneak a peek at elitists. I once went in there to find
what's really going down. Haters the guy in front of me in line wear-
can mock the rotating global cof- ing no shoes. There was minimal
fee flavors, the faux-European/ acknowledgment of it, and when
semi-retro ambiance or even Iasked him why he wasn't wear-
the faux-hawks of the baristas, ing shoes he simply responded
but I love it and you should too, that he'd forgotten. The attitude is
because, my goodness, it's the best laid-back; Comet's employees take
cup to be had for miles around. their time and make it right. So
Every cup is rich and robust, no, Comet is probably not the right
perfectly accompanied by the spot for you to grab a quick cup if
'creamy consistency of milk if you're trying to make your class
you've got your sights set on a latte. by Michigan time and it's already
Not your speed? Go for it black. three minutes past. But come after
There's a list of the differentblends class and they'll be happy to see
posted just right of the register. you, even if you're barefoot.
Regular drip coffee, French press
and espresso-based drinks color Kalic wants to paint her walls
Comet's ever-rotating menu. This sea-foam green. Tell her why she
is not the place for you if frappucci- shouldn't at Ikalic@umich.edu.
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