When I left you, I was in the clouds heading to L.A. Once I hit the ground, it was one whirlwind of a trip. Friday I had a lovely lunch with Lisa See; we were thrilled to find fish tacos on the menu as we had dined on those in the Caymans a few years ago. Lisa shared stories from her months of traveling and meeting readers for her tour for the paperback release of SHANGHAI GIRLS, which took her across the country. We had great fun comparing the stores that we both have visited and talking about how interesting it is to meet readers as we travel. She’s working on the follow-up to SHANGHAI GIRLS and is so excited about it. I never quiz authors on what they are writing since I know ideas germinate before they can be shared, but she clearly is loving writing it, which means we should be in for a treat.

The long days of sunshine and the greening of the landscape here in the northeast have been so welcome after a long gray winter. I feel like there is a real spring in my step!

Earlier this month, I learned some very frustrating news about libraries. In an effort to reduce budgets and save money, many town governments across the country are seriously considering cutting funding and resources for libraries, or even closing them. My mother recently attended a town meeting where this topic was put on the table in my hometown, and it immediately got a lot of people up in arms.