Snakes in a Barrel

I finally went to the National Book Fair.

I have always wanted to go to the Book Fair since I came to D.C. three years ago. It's a little sad that it took a class assignment for me to muster up the gusto to go.

When we got there, it was bigger than I had imagined. Honestly, I thought it would be maybe a few tents and a few books for sale here and there but it was really a reader's dream. A lot of the the tents seemed to be geared for children. I think having that many tents geared for children is great because they are the upcoming generation of readers. It is hard to get children to read these days with all the other distractions they have for kids out there (video games, tv shows). Reading is almost a dying art in a child's world of today. I probably wouldn't be where I am today without reading.

My group and I sat in on a children's author's question session. I thought it was really nice to have the children ask what could be their favorite author questions. Surprisingly, a lot of the kids had a lot of good questions. Event though I had never heard of the author or his books, I enjoyed his playful banter with the children and the children seemed to enjoy him.

The Library of Congress' tent was also really nice. I enjoyed looking at the pictures and trying to figure out what was happening and when it was taken. I guess it helps that I'm a history major. I thought it was a fun tent to show people that the Library of Congress was more than just a bunch of old books.

Overall I enjoyed the experience. I think it would have been "better" if I had small children with me or my favorite author was there but it was nice to just walk around and enjoy the conviviality between me and other avid readers. I will definitely be back next year!