The Melbourne Writers Festival

So today I had a glorious excursion into the city and particularly federation square. Why was it glorious you ask? Aside from the fact I had no classes that day and the weather was near-prefect it was really interesting to get a writer's perspective on how they approach their reading and their writing. Today I attended three sessions. The first was with Morris Gleitzman and two other authors but I cannot remember what the actual topic was other than them reminiscing about their reading techniques. The second session was with two bookdesigners who design the cover for books. It was basically a look at how they approach it and would be interesting for someone looking to work in this area. I therefore did not enjoy it as much. The final session was three people, two of which were authors, recommending books for us to read. It was interesting and I already have a few books that I will be looking out for. It finished with the announcement of the short-listed books for the 'Inkies' which is a literary award chosen by teenagers for teenagers and this was also interesting. The sessions I went to last year were focused more on the authors and their writing processes. For this reason I enjoyed myself more last year but still had a blast this year.
You should really check it out, see you tomorrow.

Books

Books open up gateways to other worlds and take us to places we couldn't dream of otherwise. Books are important in our world and provide us with entertainment as well as memories. We hold an emotional attachment to books, some more than others. Books are magical creations and it takes a skilled author to bring a world in a book alive.

Books are great sources of entertainment and can often remind people of fond times long since past. What do most people do when the power goes out or they get sick of watching television? They reach for a book. Books are always ready to transport us to far away lands and give us insights into cultures and people we otherwise have never experienced. Books are also good as they can contain information and vocabulary that will assist in education. Books are versatile and come in many categories, shapes and sizes. There are adventure books, comedies, romances and mysteries. There are large books, small books, round books and square books. Books that contain facts and books that contain fiction. There are so many different books around us and it takes a curious mind to uncover them (I totally just ripped off an advertisement just then, comment down below on what advertisement you think I copied). People often associate books with memories. Personally, I relate reading "Where's Wally" with happy car-trips with my family when I was young. Others may relate other books to past experiences in their lives. Books hold an emotional connection with people and it isn't until we look back that we realise this.

Often people hold emotional attachments to books and grow to love the characters within them. Sometimes these connections can stem out into obsessions (like Twilight or Harry Potter but not The Hunger Games [you can never be too obsessed with The Hunger Games]). These emotional connections can cause passion about a book and often we can begin to feel empathy for the character we are reading about. We may start to grow feelings of hatred against the antagonist, or feelings of love towards the characters families. Sometimes we even get upset when something sad happens to characters. Marley and Me is a great example of this. I grew an emotional attachment to Marley and so I got upset when, in the end, Marley got sick (especially in the movie, I was actually crying a little) and had to be put down. It is times like these that you realise how skilled the author must be to be able to hook a reader in and have them grow emphatic feelings towards the characters. Good authors are adept at doing this and a great book is one that hooks you in and doesn't let you go until the last word.

May the odds be ever in your favour, see you tomorrow!