Turns out you do love to read!

I leaned against the third-floor glass railing overlooking the vast atrium inside the Jacob

Javits Convention Center marveling at the size of the crowd beginning to stream through the

front doors.

Thousands upon thousands of attendees were slowly ushered in, people who had paid

anywhere from $60 to $90 for the privilege of wandering amid hundreds of booths sponsored by

publishers, bookstores, and independent authors eager to meet those who still embraced the

printed word. The line extended down 11th Avenue, and by the time the convention opened, the

wait for those just arriving was roughly forty minutes.

Amid the excitement (and extraordinary lack of chaos, as everyone seemed to be in a

good mood), a young woman stood not far from me, a smile on her face and arms upraised in

triumph. Below, a young man (her husband?) took one photo after another, motioning her with

grand gestures to move left or right for the perfect image.

As an author, it was a joy to see such exuberance.

A decade ago I traveled to Javits to attend Book Expo, a forerunner to BookCon. Back

then, the first day was open only to industry professionals. The second day was dedicated to

readers, as publishers and booksellers gave away books and advanced reader copies until

supplies ran out. When I settled in to sign “Dead Jed: Adventures of a Middle School Zombie,”

more than a dozen people were in line to receive their free copy.

At BookCon, however, readers had to dish out more cash to purchase books. While free

ARCs were occasionally dropped and quickly scooped up, nearly everyone else was appealing to

fans to spend even more to take home a signed copy. Unknown authors, like me, would

occasionally call to passers-by like carnival barkers. There was no line of readers waiting for me

this time, I had to work for attention. And I loved it, because each of the sixteen people who

walked away with a copy of “Upton Arms” believed in the book enough to spend $18 above

their already sizable investment. I sincerely thanked each one of them for giving it a chance.

Many more attendees chose to walk by without a glance, which I completely understood.

So many books and so little time, not to mention dwindling cash. I was gratified they were there

at all, each one keeping books alive.

It was a reminder that in a digital world, people still loved holding books in their hands

and immersing themselves in alternate worlds. If given the opportunity, I’ll be there next year

trying to steer people to “Upton 2: Way Past Deadtime,” measuring success not by sales, but by

meeting those who still appreciate the written word.