Nikki Duncan's Blog - Posts Tagged "inspiring-books"
Inspiring Readers
This last weekend I took my children to the North Texas Teen Book Festival. Now, as an author I'm pretty used to going to reader conferences, but it's been a very long time since I've attended one on the reader side. I've never attended one with young kids as the readers. It was an awesome experience.
Like I do for every conference, I printed out the schedule to plan the day. As expected, my oldest daughter (who rescheduled a college tour for the sake of attending this festival) had her own list of authors she wanted to see. So we split up a couple of times with her going her way and me taking the youngest her way.
The youngest, who does enjoy reading, discovered a new level of excitement. She was there specifically to see one author, so you might be able to imagine that our schedule for the day was fairly focused on finding that author. This meant going to every panel he was going to be in, but being in the same room with him wasn't going to be good enough for her. No, she needed to be on the front row of his workshops even if that meant I had to sit four rows back because the rooms were completely packed.
Between panels, she sat in the hallways and read his book. After his last panel, she hustled, and I do mean hustled, to where he was going to be signing so she was one of the first kids in line. When there was enough space, she was all out running to get in his line. Then, when she saw him entering a room or approaching she would poke or punch me over and over telling me "He's coming. He's right there."
Then when the time came, she would walk right up to him to ask a question that didn't get asked during the panel. And during all of that, she befriended another girl who was stalking the same author and we ended up finishing the day with them. I've seen readers connect with each other at conferences. I've seen an outgoing reader draw a less outgoing one into conversation over the shared love of books, but this weekend I watched a 10 year old girl draw a shy 13 year old into conversation.
I witnessed a little girl who often thinks she doesn't fit in with anyone (at school) jump into conversations with kids her age and older without a moment's hesitation. I saw her find a place where she knows she can always belong, and when that happened I watched a flicker of interest in reading blossom into the brighter burn of a love of books and the worlds they can introduce readers to.
In addition to the impressive efforts of all the event organizers and volunteers, the miraculous day was primarily possible because of the authors who are willing to share themselves with their readers.
As a reader, what author made a difference in your life? Tell me your story.
Nikki Duncan
Like I do for every conference, I printed out the schedule to plan the day. As expected, my oldest daughter (who rescheduled a college tour for the sake of attending this festival) had her own list of authors she wanted to see. So we split up a couple of times with her going her way and me taking the youngest her way.
The youngest, who does enjoy reading, discovered a new level of excitement. She was there specifically to see one author, so you might be able to imagine that our schedule for the day was fairly focused on finding that author. This meant going to every panel he was going to be in, but being in the same room with him wasn't going to be good enough for her. No, she needed to be on the front row of his workshops even if that meant I had to sit four rows back because the rooms were completely packed.
Between panels, she sat in the hallways and read his book. After his last panel, she hustled, and I do mean hustled, to where he was going to be signing so she was one of the first kids in line. When there was enough space, she was all out running to get in his line. Then, when she saw him entering a room or approaching she would poke or punch me over and over telling me "He's coming. He's right there."
Then when the time came, she would walk right up to him to ask a question that didn't get asked during the panel. And during all of that, she befriended another girl who was stalking the same author and we ended up finishing the day with them. I've seen readers connect with each other at conferences. I've seen an outgoing reader draw a less outgoing one into conversation over the shared love of books, but this weekend I watched a 10 year old girl draw a shy 13 year old into conversation.
I witnessed a little girl who often thinks she doesn't fit in with anyone (at school) jump into conversations with kids her age and older without a moment's hesitation. I saw her find a place where she knows she can always belong, and when that happened I watched a flicker of interest in reading blossom into the brighter burn of a love of books and the worlds they can introduce readers to.
In addition to the impressive efforts of all the event organizers and volunteers, the miraculous day was primarily possible because of the authors who are willing to share themselves with their readers.
As a reader, what author made a difference in your life? Tell me your story.
Nikki Duncan
