Bound by Books

This past weekend, I joined authors, publishers, librarians, and booksellers in Oakland, CA, for the annual Northern California Independent Booksellers Association convention. It can be just a tad overwhelming, seeing so many books in one place. But it is also a truly very cool thing that so many people still care so passionately about the stories that get told.

Over dinner, Saturday night, I was entertained, regaled, diverted, delighted (there's got to be a better word) by Jennifer Laughran and Shannon Mathis of Books Inc., who told mind-blowing stories about the events they've put on to honor authors (picture 500 people going elbow-to-elbow to hear a favorite writer within the walls of an urban bookstore, and you get the idea). I listened to Dennis and Linda Ronberg of Linden Tree talk about what makes for classic children's tales (something about the wash of sound, the float of language, the intrigue of imagery). Richie Partington, the reviewer and librarian, named his favorite books of the year and said just why (visit his web site (http://richiespicks.com/) so that he can tell you himself), while Storyteller's Ruth and Melissa Manlove made it clear that books get sold one by one—that books have to fit their readers. Finally there was the story that Hicklebee's Ann Seaton told about how long favorite childhood books live on.

I wouldn't have been privy to any of this, had it not been for Kristin Bowers of HarperCollins, who had read UNDERCOVER and been enthusiastic about it, and who had brought all these fabulous people together for the sake of friendship and books. Which left me thinking, as I lay watching the moon through a hotel window that night, that there is still so much that is honorable about books. Forget the publicity machines and the Amazon ratings. Forget the chase for reviews. In the end it's the way books bring us together that counts. It's the laughter over martinis and spice.