Top 10 Things to do at The L.A. Times Festival of Books (For People Who Don't Like Books)

Some of us aspire to be more bookish, but can’t seem to find the time. Others would prefer reading daily blog posts, breezing though the comics on xkcd or watching Sports Center than reading an entire novel. This post is for you. Here are our top 10 things to do at the Los Angeles TimesFestival of Books this weekend if you don’t know the difference between Alison Bechdel and Margaret Atwood or Jack Halberstam and Jamaica Kincaid—and really don’t care.

Saturday

1) Highlights from the new Netflix series, Orange is the New Black, will screen at 12:30 pm at the School of Cinematic Arts, followed by a Q&A with series creator Jenji Kohan (Weeds), author Piper Kerman, and stars Taylor Schilling and Danielle Brooks. (Conversation 1151)

2) At 1 pm at Bovard Auditorium, comedy great Carol Burnett is in conversation with Mary McNamara (Conversation 1052)

3) At 12:10 pm on the LA Times stage, Molly Ringwald (Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink), talks about her book, When It Happens to You: A Novel in Stories .

4) At 2:30 pm, Lisa Loeb takes to the Target Children's Stage for a music set: Lisa Loeb’s Songs for Movin’ & Shakin’

5) William Friedkin, director of The Exorcist and The French Connection, is in conversation at 3 pm at Taper Hall with Christopher Goffard

6) On the Hoy Stage at 3:30 pm, there’s a solo theatrical performance by Ric Salinas of Culture Clash.

Sunday

7) At 12:10 pm, Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, husband-and-wife team, talk about their new novel, A Story of God and All of Us: A Novel Based on the Epic TV Miniseries ‘The Bible.’ (How does one make a companion novel to the Bible? Guess you'll have to check it out to see.)

8) The Cooking Stage has two interesting events back-to-back. At 12:30 pm, actress Valerie Bertinelli is interviewed by LAT food editor Russ Parsons for her cookbook One Dish at a Time, followed by a cooking demo at 2 pm by Ludo Lefebvre, who also just authored LudoBites.

9) There’s a screening of Peeples (Lionsgate) at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts at 2 pm. A Q&A follows with actors Kerry Washington, David Alan Grier, S. Epatha Merkerson, Kali Hawk, Malcolm Barrett and Tyler James Williams, director/writer Tina Gordon Chism and producer Stephanie Allain.

10) The Dustbowl Revival, the Venice-based alt-bluegrass-jazz-roots band, takes to the new Pop & Hiss Stage at 3 pm.

There's so much more to do over the next two days. Check out the Festival's Full Schedule.