Not this year

Good day bookies! Stand by for news and comment.

This past weekend was MidSouthCon, the now fairly large annual SFF convention here in the Memphis area. I have attended almost every year that I can remember. But not this year.

It's not the economy, either. As many of you know, (actually, you should all know, since I've said it often enough) I have been selling off large chunks of my personal book collection for the past year. The reasons for this are partly political and reflect my views on what I expect to happen in the next few years, but largely because I was running out of space. You reach a point, I think, where too much stuff becomes a burden.

Anyway, this year I skipped MidSouthCon because there just wasn't anyone there I was anxious to meet enough to make a long drive during the NCAA tourney. Also, the last few years the line for signings of the more popular authors and illustrators have been so long that the convention placed a limit on the number of items you could get signed. I understand the need, of course, but it still leaves a sour taste when you spend (as I did) 9 hours on a sunny Saturday in March waiting for Terry Pratchett to sign your books, only to come away with one signature.

So, I didn't go. And, truth to tell, I'm feeling guilty. So today's blog is cathartic. I feel like such a bad person.