WASHINGTON—A cloudy day that eventually turned into light rain didn’t dampen the enthusiasm for the thousands who turned out for the ninth National Book Festival, held September 26 on the National Mall. The event, which is free and sponsored by the Library of Congress (LOC), stimulates the imagination and passion for reading.
Young and old readers get a chance to interact with the nation’s best-selling authors, illustrators and poets. The tents stretched from 7th to 14th Street, and covered book categories from History and Biography to Mysteries and Thrillers, Fiction and Fantasy, Poetry and Prose, to Children. C-SPAN was broadcasting live from one of the pavilions.
Over 70 authors and illustrators came to Washington to participate this year and promote the LOC’s objective of “celebrating the joys of reading” and building life-long habits of reading. Spotted in the crowds, speaking to audiences or book signing were John Grisham, John Irving, Julia Avarez, Judy Blume, Ken Burns with Dayton Duncan, Jodi Picoult, celebrity chef Paula Deen, James Patterson, Nicholas Sparks, Katharine Neville, Patrick Carman and Junot Diaz.
Many youngsters surrounded author Jeff Kinney, 38, who must be pleased that his third book in his series, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw, became the number one bestseller in the country after it came out in January, according to his website. He spoke to this reporter about his fourth book in the series, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, which is to be released this October.
“This is the first time that the book is not about the school year, but about the summer” said Kinney, who came from his home in Massachusetts. At first he thought Greg, the main character, would be spending time outdoors and going to the beach, but then Kinney realized that this is the kind of kid that would, “draw the curtains and play video games.” Kinney explained that he is not a “cool kid,” or “the most popular,” and so his readers can readily identify with him.
Kinney grew up in the Washington area, at Fort Washington, Maryland and went to school at the University of Maryland in College Park where he majored in computer science and criminal justice. But as a frustrated cartoonist, he eventually found his way into writing. His advice to children is: “Do your best in everything you do, and even if you are washing dishes, try to do the best job because you’ll get a lot more out of life if you do.”
