Observations

I've had the good fortune to spend a lot of IRL time with book people over the last couple of weeks, both at BEA and at a wonderful event at the Center for Fiction. And I've noticed a few things...

People are excited about books. Really excited. About different kinds of books and their varied roles in the broader book world. Lots of people want to help readers find books, and even more want to revel in stories and information.

The business of books is terribly complicated, and there are no simple answers. To anything. Pick any issue or task related to any aspect publishing, and I guarantee you will find multiple opinions--not to mention more facts than you can shake a stick at.

Even when we disagree, we share the same goal. There's been a lot of controversy swirling around lately (and I'm deliberately not discussing Hachette and Amazon, although this certainly remains the biggest controversy), but ultimately, everyone working in or near publishing in any form wants to get books into the hands of readers. I hope those wrangling over the spreadsheets remember this.

Librarians are doing God's work. Every day. They love what they do, and appreciate a little gratitude more than any group of people I've ever known.

Crime fiction authors are the most welcoming, kind, funny, smart people on the planet.

There are more, I'm sure. Mostly, this time has reminded me of how lucky I am to exist amongst you all.