What’s it like to have your city flooded with book people? Not so bad, according to Bookreporter.com reviewer Amy Gwiazdowski of Washington, DC, who was among the thousands in attendance at the National Book Festival on September 21st and 22nd. Luckily, Amy was willing to share her experiences about her day at the festival with all of us who weren’t there. Read on to find out which books she’s most excited about after attending, the interesting literary question the Library of Congress posed to the world at their pavilion, and the best part about getting together with fellow readers.

On September 21st and 22nd, thousands of book lovers gathered in Washington, D.C. for the 2013 Library of Congress National Book Festival. Among those in attendance was Bookreporter.com reader Denise from Rockville, MD, who tries to make it to this national celebration of all things reading every year. Luckily, for those of us who weren’t there for the fun, Denise agreed to chat with us about her experiences. Here, she gives a recap of her favorite panels, shares which authors she was dying to meet most, and chimes in on the Franzen-Weiner Twitter controversy, which, in case you missed it, is the most recent literary spat grabbing headlines. She also reveals what surprised her most and gives advice for folks thinking of saving the date for next year.