I attended the first reading of The Creepy Case Files of Margo Maloo by Drew Weing at Avid Bookshop with Alex Mitchell. It was his birthday and Avid made a cake for him. He read the beginning of the graphic novel and had volunteers read particular characters. He explained that he lived here in Athens and wrote and illustrated graphic novels for a living with his wife.

I think this event impacted me as a reader because it is out of my comfort zone. I typically am not a big Graphic Novel reader. However, by attending this session I was made aware of the book and got to meet the author behind the work. He was very approachable and allowed Alex and I to snag a picture with him. He drew a character and wrote a note in everyones copies that he signed. This made me connect to the book on a different level. Since I appreciated him more as a person, I too could appreciate his text more. I think reading events like this will only strengthen my identity as a reader. I would love to go to more of these events if time permits it.

This event affected me as a teacher, because it brought to my attention a graphic novel my students might enjoy. I am in sixth grade and many of my students seem to love graphic novels and creepy stories. This book hit both on the head. Since this books is not one that I would normally gravitate to, I was excited to see it and hear it in person. Another cool thing it showed me is that the author of this book lives in Athens, where I student teach currently. It would be cool to have my students write to him, or see if he could come speak at Clarke Middle.