came home with the book but a lot more besides

I attended the book launch last night, arriving with five minutes to spare – thanks to a longish wait at the bus stop.
I purchased my book. Said hello to the familiar faces from the history department crowd squashed into the back of Readings bookshop. Tried to worm my way to the counter for a drink.
Then settled back to hear Greg Dening speak which is always a joy. He doesn’t launch books, he said, that’s for WMD. But he opens them. And that’s what he did.
Then followed a few really gracious words from the author – who was also my thesis supervisor many moons ago – where he thanked those who had helped along the way. He was so kind and generous about my contribution to the project – which was wholly unexpected given that it seems to me that anything I might have contributed was in a time long ago and a land far away and a bit inconsequential anyway.
I’ve always considered myself fortunate to have worked so well with someone I consider a very fine scholar. While I didn’t ever finish my own thesis, it meant a lot to me that some of the work I did then could have played a small role in the making of something much larger.
I went home with something much more than just a new book.