Here are a few scattered notes regarding Sunday afternoon's kickoff of the 22nd annual Miami Book Fair International.

The first event was An Afternoon With Margaret Atwood, author of dozens of books but best known for The Handmaid's Tale. She is touring to promote her new book The Penelopiad, a retelling of the Odyssey from the perspective of Penelope, wife of Odysseus. Atwood has a very droll humor, and a good reader, if a bit too soft-spoken for the room and restless crowd.

When asked the traditional author question — "Where do you get your ideas?" — Atwood responded with instructions for the questioner.

"How do you get ideas? Put your left hand on the desk, put your right hand in the air, close your eyes, and wait. You have now turned yourself into a conductor for ideas, like a lightning rod. Ideas will course through you, and if one happens to go through your brain, you have a good chance of catching it."

In the signing line I asked her how work was progressing on her Unotchit machine. To my surprise she looked up from the page with her eyes glowing, and proceeded to launch into an explanation of the current state of the project. The technology is sound, they've done a real-world demo now, and early next year will see the first public use at an English bookseller. We were starting to discuss the technical hurdles she has faced in development when her handler gave me a very evil look and started sliding more books under Atwood's pen. A raised eyebrow and a shrug later I was on my way.