Booklovers Paradise 2023 National Book Festival

Apologies for cropping off your name, Tiphanie Yanique!

The Library of Congress did it again!

So many authors, books, and booklovers gathered in Washington, D.C. (IRL and virtually) yesterday, Saturday, August 12th to celebrate all things bookish.

My attempt to watch as many sessions as possible in real time was only somewhat successful because just about every creative and topic interested me. I'll spend the next few days catching up with the recordings. https://www.c-span.org/video/?529568-2/national-book-festival-kickoff-librarian-congress-carla-hayden

A few highlights:

Tananarive Due and Grady Hendrix's chat with the host of NPR's Code Switch (apologies for not knowing that brilliant human's name) offered an engaging jackpot of insights, personal revelations, and humor. It also led me to add Due's Civil Rights nonfiction title, which I'd somehow missed, co-written with her mom to my TBR list.

from the Poverty, By America chat between Matt and Fred about why poverty persists in the U.S.: "We like it this way... More for me. Less for we."

from the Q & A portion of the TJ Klune session after sharing a humorous story about a Zoom book club appearance with a very welcoming church group--minus one person: "Make them so mad about something else that they forget about the gays!"

from the beginning of Elliot Page's chat with Gina Chua about stepping into one's true self: "Why did it have to take so long?"

People focus on before and after [transition] versus integration of all the various aspects of oneself.

"The shame you're holding, it is not yours."

from Behind the Scenes with Black Writers chat with Jericho Brown, Camille Dungy & Tiphanie Yanique about a key motivation for How We Do It, Black Writers on Craft, Practice, and Skill: "... I want you to have what I always wanted" [when I started writing].

There was too much bookish excellence to share so make time to watch, listen, read the closed captions yourself!

Happy celebration, support & proliferation of literacy!!!

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