I'm holding a book that has my name on the cover. The small package arrived in the mail today and I just couldn't open it. I guess some people are like that with test results or college admissions letters, but I just held the package and looked at it a while.

I don't want to diminish BP 2003 or 2004. I was and remain immensely proud of being associated with the books. This is different - it's a solo work. It's the first book from the BP stable (and more are coming.) This is one of the first tangible things I've done. There's something ephemeral to web writing and perhaps an overstatement of the value of the printed page.

It doesn't feel like that when I hold it.

I can flip the pages and see the words. I can see the pictures that Christian and Susan and Jay worked so hard on, the graphs from Dave, things that jumped from my fingers to the screen I'm looking at now to this page. Hardcover. 202 pages. It's a bit smaller than what I had in my mind's eye, but it fits nicely. It's not intimidating - a child might pick it up or a father could point to Mark Prior's grips.

It's very literally a dream come true. I want to sit down and read every word, but I already know it by heart.