Since someone was designated as an official "stuff watcher," I headed down to the cocktail party for drinks and hors d'ouvres. I managed to nab three glasses of red wine and one bite of something called "lobster pudding."

And I recognized no one. I'm sure I was in the presence of many great writers, but I had no idea. Thankfully, Levi and Sarah were readily able to match up names and faces. They've been pretty pleasant so far about my constant question, "Who's that?"

At one point, I saw a bunch of photographers run over and begin frantically photographing someone. Someone who I thought was Francine Prose. So I ran over and snapped one of my own:

Yeah, I'm no Annie Leibovitz. And that isn't Francine Prose, who, I just discovered, isn't 85 years old. The headless cane holder you see there is none other than Joan Didion, the recipient of The 2007 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.