On Sunday, I went to DragonCon. According to the web site, and I have no reason to think otherwise, it is the largest fantasy & science fiction gathering in the world, right here in Atlanta.

While I enjoyed Chris Hoofnagle’s lecture on Internet Privacy (and had fun with him not recognizing me), and found a good book in the dealer hall, I also realized how spoiled I was.

When I used to regularly attend WSFA meetings, I would actually get to talk to people about books!

I’m sure those conversations were happening at DragonCon, but it was drowned out by the thousands of wildly costumed people, the dozens of anime DVD and wild costume vendors, and the sheer overwhelming number of people.

DragonCon extended across 3 hotels, and I never was able to find the Young Adult literature "track" — which was the other big draw for me.

So I fought my way through the vendor and exhibitor halls, bought my book from the one small publisher I found (skipped buying at Waldenbooks’ booth — why not shop at a local independent bookstore instead?), and after a couple of hours of wandering around, hiked back to my car and went home. And Jill went to PushPush Theater’s production of Chekhov’s The Seagull. (Which made both of us happy, as I’m not much of a Chekhov fan.)

I think that if I go to DragonCon again, or really, any Cons, the key is to find a friend or two to join me. That slightly lost feeling annoyed me at BaltiCon when I went a few years ago, at least until I ran into other WSFA-folk. Cons are kind of like concerts for geeks, and I’ve always preferred smaller conversations to large group events like concerts. But with the right company, the big events can be fun too.