It was both fantastic and utterly, mind-numbingly wearisome. But mostly the good outweighed the bad. ;-)

I can't wait to read Sherman Alexie's stories, he was so funny, and we all were touched by the poignant recollections of his impoverished childhood -- I know I felt an immediate kinship with him when he said books were his 'only friends, his only means of escape' from the cruel realities of his homelife. I enjoyed his speech immensely. :)