I am probably the world's slowest reader. I was late to the game of reading and had a very hard time learning to read as a child. There were a bunch of reasons for that which began with my first grade teachers going on strike – first grade being THE year of school when you learn how to read – and ended up three years later with me in a class for “special” children. This was in the days before the IEP, learning skills testing and developmental reading programs. Suffice it to say, that on top of the strike, some dyslexia issues and the need for glasses left me way behind.

But, I still loved the stories and the feel of the book in my hands. One of the ways I coped through my elementary school years was by memorizing the books that were read to me. That's how I fooled everyone for such a long time before my 3^rd grade teacher, Mrs. Bratton, figured it out.

Words fascinate me, so I read each one individually, which is not how you are supposed to read. The characters took me to another world where I was pulled into my imagination.

What is the difference between the following two statements?

“I ain't gonna do it.”

“I am disinclined to participate in this endeavor.”

I think you probably know. Yes, they are both saying the exact same thing, but you already have a backstory in your mind for the two different people who may have said it, based solely on the word choices.

This is what great writing is about. And it's why, now as an adult, and even as the world's slowest reader, I love to read. It's also why I got involved in the Gaithersburg Book Festival.

When Gaithersburg had its Book Festival last year, I went to it just to check it out. I had read maybe one or two books by the authors who were speaking. I had never been to a book festival before, so I didn't know what to expect.

We all have a stereotype of “The Author” in our heads. For some reason, I always think of one of two things. First, the beatnik woman poet, with a black beret and a scarf on, who spouts the tragedy of life through readings of heart-wrenching lines in a pained, growling voice. Or, I picture the polar opposite: the old bespectacled academic, scratching his close-cropped beard, pipe in hand, wearing a tweed jacket with patches on the elbows. I guess I've watched too many films from the 1950's.

Of course, that is not what I found when I went to the festival last year. The authors there covered every possible description of a human being. Short, tall; long haired, bald; young, old; wispy, tough. These people wove for us a thousand story lines, from war strategy to love strategy and everything in between. The festival included not only non-fiction authors, novelists, children's writers and poets, but also musicians, kid's activities, workshops and food.

Of course, I went there because not only do I like to read, I like to write. You may have guessed that if you've been reading my column for the past year. I've never written my own book, but I'd like to. The idea has been taunting me for decades.

The great thing about books is how they are a window into one person's mind, unique and individual as each person is. Even if they are writing about the same subject with the same story line, in the same genre, the words and characters that come out will never be the same. We all have a special set of words inside us. 

The bad part of my experience at the festival last year was that I had not read a lot of the authors that were speaking. So this time, I looked up the festival's website --www.gaithersburgbookfestival.org-- and found the list of writers on the lineup and decided that I was going to try to read as many books from those writers as possible before the festival. I wanted to really know about their work before I saw them, so that I could know what they were talking about.

I swore that I was going to read all of these books in time for the festival. I had a stack two feet high on my night stand. I started ordering books on my nook e-reader. I went to the library and walked out with books falling out of my arms as I made my way to my car.

As I sat in my special chair, dog at my feet, blearing-eyed from reading late into the night, my husband stumbled out of the bedroom, half asleep, and asked me, “Did you re-enter college without telling me or something?”

I have several jobs. I have little kids. I have a dog that needs walking and dishes that need washing and well, mildly put – I am time-challenged. As you may recall, I am the world's slowest reader, so this became a sort of “holy grail” situation. Every day, I've been reading. I've gone through chick-lit, non-fiction, ghost stories, mysteries and memoirs. I've read about nasty kids and lifelong friendships and murderous men. These books have taken me as far away as India and as close by as Bethesda.

I did not make it through all of the authors who will be at the Festival. There are over 80 of them! I need a little more than a couple of months for that. But I'm thrilled to be able to have discovered so many great writers who are all going to be right here in my neighboring community this weekend.

Come Saturday, I'll be one of the worker bee volunteers trailing around after Jud Ashman, the Gaithersburg council member who heads up this shin-dig.

I even get to introduce Amy Dickinson, the “Ask Amy” columnist and author of The Mighty Queens of Freeville! This is extra exciting for me, since I basically pestered her into participating in this festival via her facebook page. But I think she'll enjoy it.

I think you will, too.

The 2^nd Annual Gaithersburg Book Festival is this Saturday, May 21, 2011, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., on the grounds of the City Hall, 31 S Summit Ave, Gaithersburg, MD. Entrance and parking are free.