Look, people…I’ll be the first to admit that things are pretty good for me (knock on wood). I can’t complain much. Mostly, my complaints stem from the fact that I’ve still got jet lag after getting back home and the fact that the watermelon juice that I just drank isn’t sitting well in my stomach as I write this. These are not horrible things, especially considering the state of the world at the moment. I trudge on.

I also produce this newsletter. Some of you read it; some of you do not. I did not create this newsletter to make money. It was created as a way to stay in touch with former students and it turned into something stranger over the last several years (we’re coming up on ten years soon…).

But as of today, I can now say that my newsletter DOES in fact make money, as I had my first, official, PAYING subscriber last week. So, shout out to TOO FOND OF BOOKS in my hometown of Tahlequah, Oklahoma. This spectacular, independent bookstore officially subscribed to the newsletter last week, giving me ACTUAL money for these fine words that I send out electronically each week. I don’t have any subscriber bonuses, so in lieu of that, I will give them a huge shout-out to the many subscribers that read this newsletter each week and say that I admire the fact that they have managed to successfully created an independent bookshop in a small town, in a time when people seem to have forgotten how to calm their brains to focus long enough to absorb the written word. If you’re not buying from a place like Too Fond of Books, then you’re contributing to the downfall of society.