In an age dominated by television and the Internet, this past Saturday, the eighth annual National Book Festival gave Americans the opportunity to renew their dedication to reading.

While perhaps disappointing to the English major anticipating an intellectual event, the National Book Festival forced the country’s attention to return to the importance of literature, even if only briefly. With a little help from Bullseye, the Target dog, Ms. Frizzle’s Magic School Bus and a slew of other contemporary literary greats, the festival got a new generation excited about the adventures of reading.

On Sept. 27, the National Mall temporarily exchanged its hordes of tourists for a crowd drawn by a premise unrelated to monuments and past presidents. From 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., over 120,000 booklovers braved showers and soggy grounds to attend the Library of Congress’ National Book Festival. The festival is an annual celebration of “reading in America” that connects award-winning authors, poets and illustrators with their audience. This year, over 70 of the biggest names currently in print including Cokie Roberts, Philippa Gregory and Louis Bayard gathered to present their works, personal stories and — most important for college students — tips for overcoming writer’s block.

Organized by the Library of Congress and hosted by First Lady Laura Bush, the National Book Festival annually invites Americans to “indulge their imaginations” and “spark a passion for learning,” according to Librarian of Congress James Billington.

This year’s attendees wandered amongst six “presentation pavilions” identified by labels such as fiction and mystery, history and biography, and children and teens. Each served as a venue for half-hour presentations during which participants detailed their writing process, passion for literature and most recent works. In the last five minutes of each session, devoted readers and aspiring writers were allowed to bombard presenters with questions such as, “How do you start the writing process?” or “Who are your favorite authors?” or, more than once in the children’s pavilion, “How can I grow up and be just like you?” These were patiently answered with smiles and allusions to failed first attempts, often resulting in authors relying more on tact than truth. In response to a question regarding how she became an author, award-winning poet and novelist Marisa de Los Santos offered tidbits of a “word-obsessed” childhood and even admitted to having composed lists of words selected “just for how they sound.” However, de Los Santos’ final reflection that she ultimately wrote when she “had a story to tell” verbalized a conclusion shared by all the participants.

In addition to the presentation pavilions, three larger tents offered information on reading-related organizations and opportunities for the general public. The facilities and resources of the Library of Congress were on prominent display including a brief introduction to the library’s latest undertaking, the World Digital Library. In the “Let’s Read America” tent, corporate sponsors of the National Book Festival proudly advertised their efforts to promote reading and education nationwide. Most visitors, however, were more interested in taking advantage of the photo opportunity with Bullseye in the “Big Read” chair than in learning about philanthropic efforts. Finally, the Pavilion of the States encouraged visitors to connect with literary resources back at home by visiting one of 51 booths representing every state and Puerto Rico. In addition to a number of author appearances, representatives from each state answered questions about their state’s writers, libraries, book festivals, book awards and reading promotion activities. Book sales were limited to a tent at the edge of the festival, safeguarding the celebration from the distraction of revenue production. The only exception to the festival’s non-profit safe zone was presenters’ inevitable allusions to their latest and, of course, “best” publications. As mystery writer Peter Robinson joked, “Your favorite [work] is your latest work. You really want to tout the newest one.”

In hopes of maintaining the momentum spurred by the National Book Festival, the Library of Congress has constructed a Web site that offers further resources for interested readers. Podcasts of interviews with participating authors as well as a “Young Readers’ Toolkit” will hopefully allow the festival to have a continuing impact on a wider audience. While these long-term results remain to be seen, it is safe to say that the National Book Festival reminded at least one person this year why and how reading can still be fun.