This past weekend, I attended the AJC Decatur Book Festival, and IT WAS AWESOME. I always love these things, but this was my first time going to this one. It was well organized, filled with like-minded book lovers, and had a ton of tents overflowing with books, many of which were collectible and/or rare. Needless to say, I was in heaven! In this post, I’ll share photos and recap a little about the weekend.

On Saturday, my dad and I went to the Superheroes Redefined panel and signing with Gwenda Bond (author of the Lois Lane series and the moderator), Leigh Bardugo (on tour for Wonder Woman: Warbringer), and Jason Reynolds (on tour for Miles Morales: Spider-Man). It was SO COOL. The three of them are such intelligent, fascinating people. Listening to them was an unreal experience. As someone who loves to read, I know that the people who write the books I’m reading are uncommonly smart. Of course they are. They wrote a book. But hearing them speak in person, not just about their own novels, but about how they were striving to interweave important themes, was incredible! Bond, Bardugo, and Reynolds touched specifically on the influence superhero stories can have on today’s youth, especially in a political climate where very few real-life examples of moral good exist anymore. I have never read anything by Bond or Reynolds yet, but after this panel I am definitely going to pick up their work. read more