Reading the new e-newsletter from Books & Books, I was delighted to see that Martin Amis would be coming to town to talk about his new novel. For about five seconds. Then I noticed that the store he would be appearing at was not in Coral Gables, or Miami Beach, or Bal Harbour, but in Westhampton Beach.
I should be happy that our local independent bookstore is healthy enough to expand - especially in these aliterate, post-print times. And I am. But it's a little irritating to be teased with the prospect of seeing big names, and then to discover that they - as many of the top authors will - prefer appearing on Long Island. It makes me feel a little snubbed. For over two decades, Books & Books gave readers a reason to live in South Florida; now it will remind us regularly of the advantages of living somewhere else.
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