July 12th, 2025
So: the Book Fair For Grown-Ups by Inbound Brewing Co. happened today at the State Fair Education Building after going viral last year at their brewery. I thought it was such a neat idea and signed up immediately.
Now: I do a lot of events. My expectations are always as follows: I hope to talk to some cool people today. That’s it. That’s all I hope will happen. This is why I’m generally so genial at events. They almost always meet my reasonable expectations.
The Book Fair For Grown-Ups radically defied any rational expectation I could have had for it.
I don’t think I have ever seen so many people in the Education Building before, and it was all a bunch of delightful nerds. There were cookie blind dates with books. I saw old friends and made so many new ones. We laughed and we cried, seriously. We opened at noon and I sold out of The Weirdos by 3:30?! I got interviewed by NPR?! Who the heck thought it was a good idea to interview me?! (Btw, thanks, Juan!)
Look, I know there were line issues. But I am here to say that the only events that don’t have growing pains are the ones that don’t grow. Do with that information what you like.
Thank you so much to: Inbound, Rachel, anyone who worked or volunteered, all the other vendors, but especially to every single reader who showed up today. Wow. You made this a day to remember and I am so grateful to have been a part of it.
I am so excited that there are dozens more people who will get to the middle of Theia and say “wtf dude. really?”
The Den 