When written well, books should inspire ideas. And it’s okay to have your own when it comes to cherry-picking what panels you’ll want to attend at this week’s Boston Book Festival (THU 10.23 – SAT 10.25). However, if you’re lazy and can’t muster up the Herculean energy required to scroll through the roster of authors, presenters, and keynoters—the list is over 150 deep—we’ve saved you time by selecting a few of the folks who make our synapses snap, the people who you’ll want to devote a bit of your already strained attention spans to. And while you’re there, buy a book, goddammit.