As part of the Beverly and Stoughton townwide reading programs, I had the pleasure of conducting tours of the North End. My thanks to the more than 200 people who showed up for the Beverly tour (somehow we navigated the narrow streets of the North End successfully); and for the 100 Stoughton folks who joined me for the tour and, later, for an excellent Italian dinner. One of the great joys of being an author is meeting readers in these types of informal settings, and I thoroughly enjoyed the historic North End tours.