Last weekend I was down in Baltimore for the fall conference of the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association. When I was sitting at lunch with a group of booksellers and authors on Sunday, I realized how interesting --- and invigorating --- it is to be a part of the book community. Over lunch we talked about books --- the ones we loved and the ones that disappointed. We talked about authors --- the debut ones we wanted to champion; the established ones we wanted to hear the latest news about. We talked about readers; I got feedback from booksellers about the people who came into their stores, and I shared stories that readers had passed to me through the years. Hearing their stories and telling mine created a real spirit of community for me.

Last Monday brought a huge downpour here in the city, and I managed to get caught up in it. Normally I wouldn't mind, but I happened to be wearing a sport coat (which is incredibly rare for me; I'm not dressed up often), and I also happened to be running (even rarer) to an event at Powerhouse Books in Brooklyn. The event was a special presentation featuring two of the biggest graphic works out right now and their respective authors: David Small (Stitches) and Josh Neufeld (A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge). I'm a big fan of both, and I had already had the pleasure of interviewing them both for GNR, so I was very familiar with both books. Which is a good thing, because I was the moderator for the night's event.