At the Central Library, in downtown Madison, I was at the podium alone (no interviewer, conversationalist, or interlocutor), so I got to choose what parts of my book to read and talk about. Spring was a little behind in Wisconsin—in New York the magnolias have come and gone, and in Madison the daffodils are just blooming. So it occurred to me to talk about spring and read a little from the chapter formerly called “The Sacred Way,” about Demeter and Persephone, famine and rebirth. Saw old friends—Nancy Holyoke, Louisa Kamps, Bobbie Johnson, Conor Moran (who runs the program)—and met Margaret George, the historical novelist (her most recent books are about Nero), and Barry Powell, the classicist who wrote “Homer and the Origin of the Greek Alphabet.” Between them, they presented me with about twelve pounds of books. But who stole my heart? Margaret’s tortoise, Troilus, who hung out in his terrarium behind the couch while we drank Nero d’Avola.

Good book sales! Also in Madison I caught up with the print copy of Vivian Gornick’s fantastic piece in the Times Book Review.