Giant Book Nerd

If I haven't made this obvious yet in previous posts, I'm a great big giant book nerd. There, now that we've gotten that out of the way, let me babble a bit about the delightful time I've been having these past few days at Book Expo Canada.

This year I've not only attended the Trade show, but also the Conference that precedes it, and have to admit that I've fallen into a little piece of heaven. Friday's "Devices & Desires" sessions were really informative and fun (and, of course, getting to see Stephen King receive a lifetime achievement award from the Canadian Booksellers Association was the best way I could imagine ending the day.

I spent a good part of Sunday bumping into and catching up with dozens of friends and colleagues that I haven't seen in a long time. It's always great to catch up with them and find out where they're working now (so many of us have stayed in the book industry in some capacity) and how they are doing.

It was during a panel discussion on the topic of building a bookstore community in which there were many inspirational discussions on the culture of a good bookstore, and the wonder that occurs when book lovers come together and discuss the books they love. From that discussion I made several notes of phrases that I overheard in which I really enjoyed. Among them are the following quotes which I'm going to attribute to Sarah McNally (who runs the McNally Robinson location in New York). Sarah was an inspirational speaker who just oozed of a love for the written word and sharing that love with like-minded people.

"A good bookstore is a mirror held up to the world"


"The richest man and the poorest man in the world can hold the same book."