On my trip to Ohio I discovered two excellent independent bookstores. The first was Paragraphs in Mount Vernon, a cozy store run by the energetic Lois K. Hanson, who brought in two groups for my talk, one at 6 and one at 7, so I was able to sell every book that Lois had ordered. It was my first career sellout.
Three nights later I read at Mac’s Backs-Books in Cleveland Heights. It was a miserable evening – cold rain that eventually turned to snow – and I got an understandably small turnout. But the owner, Suzanne DeGaetano, took a seat and made me feel like a wise and entertaining author. Afterwards, with few books to sign, I scanned the shelves and was impressed not just by the number of books packed into the tight space but by the quality. I was honored to think that The Joys of Travel would join them.
