Jeff Garlin among the celebrities at the L.A. Times Festival of Books

There will be award-winning novelists and bestselling mystery writers, leading historians and experts on nearly everything under the sun. But it wouldn’t be a book festival in Los Angeles without, of course, entertainers.

Stars of stage and screen have been a part of the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books since its inception, doing readings, interviews and book signings, often playing to packed crowds. This year is no exception, with appearances scheduled by such celebrities as Alicia Silverstone, Marlan Wayans, Bernadette Peters, Carl Reiner and Henry Winkler. They’ll be talking about their books —memoirs, children’s stories, cookbooks and more.

One of the Hollywood types in attendance will be Jeff Garlin, a costar of the HBO comedy “ Curb Your Enthusiasm,” which stars Larry David. Garlin is promoting his funny and candid memoir, “My Footprint: Carrying the Weight of the World.”

The breezy “My Footprint” chronicles Garlin’s all-too-serious struggles with food addictions and his attempt to get healthy while filming the seventh season of HBO’s “Curb” — the series just got picked up for an eighth season — as well as reducing his carbon footprint.

On Saturday, he’ll be at the festival for a reading at 1:30 p.m. at the Los Angeles Times Stage, followed by a book signing at the Book Soup booth.

He’s discovered that the only people who are willing to discuss their weight issues with him are overweight women. “Heavy men don’t seem to want to talk about it,” he says. “I think it is an embarrassment issue.”

Before he started to eat sensibly about 18 months ago and exercise, the 47-year-old Garlin was in bad shape; he had suffered a stroke at age 36.

“I am doing great,” he says. “All of my numbers are good. I have no idea how much I have lost , but I am wearing a shirt right now that is smaller than I have ever worn before and it’s a bit big on me. I haven’t had sugar for 16 months. No sweets for me. I feel like gangbusters.”

Among the other entertainers at the festival are:

susan.king@latimes.com

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