Saying that I love books is like saying that the sky is blue, or that water is wet. I've always liked reading, but I truly fell in love with literature when I was twelve and read the "Harry Potter" series for the first time. Ever since then I've always had a book on me (I currently have The Lady's Guide to Pettie Coats and Piracy by Mackenzie Lee next to me as I'm writing this article).

I have been lucky in the past to meet a couple authors and found singed copies of some of my favorite books hidden on shelves in bookstores (I proudly display my signed copy of the Book Thief on my shelf at home). But I had never been to a book con or festival of any kind, until last Saturday.

Every year Boston host a book festival. One of my friends convinced me to with her as a way to celebrate her birthday. For years I had been watching Book-tubers go to cool events like Book-con and meet a bunch of authors but for some reason never thought I'd be cool enough to go. Turns out I am, and just needed a little nudge from a friend (thank you, Sarah!).

For those of you who don't know, at Boston Book Festival, there are a bunch of panels you can go to that feature authors talking about a similar book related topic. There are even writing workshops aspiring writers, or even writers who are looking to improve their craft, can attend. The panels also allowed time for audiences to ask questions and authors stuck around to sign their books. There were books available for purchase at the signings, but pro tip: if you go to a book fest, and you know an author you love will be there, bring your own copy to the event so you don't run the risk of them running out of books to sell.

When we got off the train and arrived the first thing we did was get breakfast at Dunkin, because we woke up at six am to catch the train and desperately needed food and caffeine, as any good New Englander does. After that we went to our first panel, Feminism and Romance. Just the title was interesting, since romance isn't the first thing when someone thinks of feminism. Romance isn't the first section of the bookstore I walk into, so it was really cool to hear about it in a feminist context and learn about the Romance writing community, which sounds like a welcoming place.

The next panel we went to was about fun feminist historical fiction. We got there a bit late since it was right after the first one, and an eight minute walk away. But it was really exciting because one of the authors was Mackenzie Lee, who wrote one of my new favorite books "The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue." She singed my copy and the sequel, which stars my favorite character from the first book. She was even kind enough to let me take a video of her saying hi to my best friend and her girlfriend, since they love the book even more than me.

After lunch we went to a writing panel which was all about character, another good one. But the highlight was definitely the keynote panel featuring Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli (Becky wrote "Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda," the book "Love Simon" is based off of, one of my all time favorite books). Perhaps the best moment was during the audience Q & A, when my friend took the mic and got to not only ask her question, but tell Adam Silvera how much his books mean to her, it was beautiful. Then during the signing I got a hug from Becky.

So yeah, it was a really good day. Even an incredibly packed train ride back couldn't ruin it. I think it's gonna have to be an annual trip to Boston Book Fest from now on.