I spent the last few days in Toronto at Bouchercon, the be-all and end-all of mystery writers and readers conventions in Toronto. I had vowed I would not bring back a suitcase full of books. Any of you who read this blog can guess how that turned out. But it wasn’t my fault. Honest. First, in our registration goody bags, there were three free novels. Then, the Simon and Schuster table was giving away three books if you signed up for their newsletter. Who is not going to take advantage of that? As I met new friends, I bought their books as a show of support. In the book room, stocked with a vast array of books from many booksellers, I found several volumes that were hard to find in other venues, so I had to snap them up when I had the opportunity. I need not go on.

But in addition to carting home books I arguably did not need, I met lovely people, many of whom I knew only from our online contacts. The authors on the panels were delightful, and so, so gracious in person. I was also happy to meet so many attendees who were librarians or library support staff. I’m ready to sign up for the next one. Now I just need to start pumping iron at the gym, to be in shape to drag home the next haul of books.