Monday, May 11, 2009 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 9 All booked up By PRIYA BALI Daily Arts Writer For those still taking classes in Ann Arbor, the art scene continues to be a thriv- ing resource. And it's only appropriate that a town known for its intellectually stimulat- ing culture and for hous- 6th Annual ing over 30 bookstores Ann Arbor host a spring book festi- val. The 6th Annual Ann Book Fair Arbor Book Festival will May15-17 run this Friday through Sunday. Since 2004, the festival has aimed to pro- mote reading, writing and literary apprecia- tion through author presentations, exhibits and panel discussions. Booths will be set up in the Michigan League - as well as out- side in Ingalls Mall - exhibiting 57 authors, bookstores and publishers. Presentations in the League will cover topics such as the newspaper industry, youth and creativity, how books change lives and the future of the book. The Ann Arbor art scene thrives all summer long. "The organizers who were originally behind the idea were various people in the community," said Kathy Robenalt, a Uni- versity alum and executive director of the festival. "Some were University people, book- store people, library people and a mix of writers who all felt that the community can support something like this," Robenalt added. Over the past few years, the festival has brought together over 850 authors and performers and over 8,000 students. This year promises to be a continuing suc- cess. For the third year in a row, a writing conference will be held M for those interested in sharpening their writing skills and interact- ing with visiting authors. The list of appearing authors includes Col- son Whitehead ("Sag Harbor"), Deanna Adams ("Confession of a Not-So-Good Catholic Girl") and Heather Buchanan ("Kiss & Tell"). Guest authors will also be at a reception at the Ann Arbor Dis- trict Library following the confer- ence and at the Author Breakfast i on Saturday in the League. W-4 The festival is committed to A I promoting literariness not only through the written word but also through theater, dance and music. On Friday, an event called "The Art of the Play: From Page to Stage" will feature short performances by Ann Arbor's Blackbird Theatre and The Per- formance Network. These performances will be part of the evening's examination of play production, which will also include a panel discussion featuring William Bol- com, a Grammy Award winner and former professor in the School of Music, Theatre & Dance, and OyamO (Charles F. Gordon), a renowned playwright and an associate professor of English and Theatre. On Saturday, Peter Yarrow of the folk group Peter, Paul and Mary, who is com- monly remembered for co-writing "Puff the Magic Dragon," will perform folk songs from his children's books. Returning this year is the Ann Arbor Civic Ballet, which will perform on Sun- day with original choreography set to the children's picture book "Llama Llama Misses Mama," by Anna Dewdney. The author will narrate her story as the danc- ers perform. The festival is accessible to all age groups and supports the reading and writing scene not only at the University, but also through- out Ann Arbor - a town composed of accomplished and developing writers alike. "Ann Arbor is a culture ofideaswherepeoplewant to come and hear what others have to say about different issues, and then interact with those people and have Q&A and share their thoughts," Kobenalt said. "It's a hotbed of liter- ary activity." For maps, direc- tions and a complete list of events visit www. aabookfestival.org. COLLEGE LIFE From Page 8 compelling subject matter. The decision to add and drop main characters from epi- sode to episode makes the show difficult to follow. The interweaving of the charac- ters' storylines is choppy and often confusing; the struggle of forming a coherent epi- sode from the footage taken from the lives of six students who essentially don't inter- act with each other means that the same plot points are constantly reemphasized. Another issue is the show's lack of continuity - the epi- sodes jump back and forth between months with no logical progression through- out the year. While this is irritating, "College Life" is spot-on in its depiction of realistic rela- tionships. For instance, the show's agonizingportrayal of the on-again, off-again rela- tionship between Andrea, an overzealous Christian, and Josh, her desperate ex- boyfriend, is just as annoying and drawn-out as it probably is in real life. The show's lackluster pro- duction values are certainly another weakness. The nau- sea-inducing use of shaky handheld cameras, while more personal than a typical multi-camera reality show, ultimately detracts from the show's overall quality. The washed-out, grainy student footage is strongly reminis- cent of a YouTube video. The kids tend to shoot either tight close-ups of their faces or the faces of the people they are talking to, giving the show an almost claustrophobic vibe and the viewer no sense of where each scene takes place. Multiple tertiary char- acters refuse to be shown on camera or to allow their con- versations to be taped, creat- ing a strange hybridization of scripted television and actual reality. "College Life," while not groundbreaking, is a light- weight and -entertaining piece of programming that the majority of college stu- dents can identify with. In this case, MTV's decision to focus on the channel's primary demographic of everyday students rather than wealthy southern Cal- ifornians or (yet another) "Real World/Road Rules" crossover is a shrewd one. I It ain't a party till the guy with Sun Chips shows up. ICei n tl P R E S E N T S I.BERS HOURS ion-Fri 9:00-5:00pm Sat 8:30-3:00pm SICK OF THE DORMS? CAN'T FIND A PLACE TO LIVE? Visit michigandaily.com/classifieds to see all of the great houses and apartments Ann Arbor has to offer on a convenient map! Also be sure to check out the Classified Pages for other great properties.