On September 25th, 2010, the annual National Book Festival will begin on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Hosted by the Library of Congress, this event is a must-see for book lovers of all ages. Each year, fifty nationally published authors, illustrators, and poets are invited to the festival where they give lectures, sign autographs, hold readings, and more. Past authors that have attended included R.L. Stine, John Irving, and Tim O’Brien. This year, authors such as Julia Glass, Anchee Min, Scott Turow, and many more are scheduled to attend. Unfortunately, it is probably too late to plan a trip to attend this wonderful event if you hadn’t already planned for it. That doesn’t mean, however, that you can’t start planning in advance for National Book Festival 2011. And if you do plan to attend that festival, MetroFlats.com has a number of vacation sublets located in the Washington DC area, making it a great choice if you are trying to get some cheap vacations under your belt.

A lot of people like to say that reading is dead in America. They say that the Internet age has taken over and that people, especially kids, are more interested in surfing the net and playing video games. But if that’s the case, why did the National Book Festival attract over 130,000 people last year? In fact, that was an all time high for attendance for the book festival, proving that books still have a shelf life (excuse the pun) in this country. And keep in mind that the weather was hardly ideal at National Book Festival 2009, with rain pouring down on the grounds of the National Mall and the National Gallery. Yet still, people flocked from all over to see their favorite authors. And this was not just adults in this crowd--there were many children in attendance as well, who were treated to readings from famous children authors such as Jon Scieszka (who is best known for writing The Stinky Cheese Man). Head on over to the official website of the National Book Festival for even more info about last year’s event (as well as this year’s), as well as a chance to print out your very own National Book Festival poster!

Now from all accounts, National Book Festival 2010 is supposed to be just as crowded, if not more so, than last year’s event. As per tradition, the President and First Lady will be in attendance, making it even more of a draw. So what does this all mean for 2011? Well if 2010 and 2009 are any indications, it should be a spectacular event indeed. So if you are interested in attending National Book Festival 2011, head on over to MetroFlats.com and check out our selection of Washington DC sublets and vacation rentals. There is no better way to save money, that’s for sure.