Collected thoughts

The book fair was incredible. Overwhelming, exhausting, and exciting to say the least. The overwhelming part was to see all the publishers (especially the big-wigs like Random House, Harper Collins, Google, Pearson, and Workman in building 8) sitting down, talking about upcoming releases, making deals, selling rights, and forming connections. I am thankful we were there on the trade days rather than on the days when the general public were allowed in, only because this gave me an opportunity to see what the business end of publishing is really like. The antiquarian tent gave me my first real glimpse into the rare book trade and to be honest, though I was glad to see all the dealers there who appreciate the history and literature they were selling, I found myself a bit disappointed with the lack of excitement I felt there. Perhaps I was just struck by the businesslike quality of the dealers. I suppose everyone has to grow up sometime, and when it comes down to it, everything is business.

After regrouping at the end of the second day, we all had a nice celebration with the German Information Science students at their booth. Then tired and worn out, we started for the hotel.