[applause] the National Book awards are a huge part of that mission, and it is a thrill to be here with everyone tonight recognizing exceptional literature and increasing the visibility of books which are among the most powerful weapons we have against what has lately felt like an often hostile world. I think this past year has felt overwhelming and disheartening to many people. Its also felt exhausting for women, for people of color, for immigrants, for muslims, for the lgbtq community, for so many groups. To remain on the defensive in nearly every waking hour takes its toll. For some of us, books provide a welcome escape into someone elses world. For others they serve as a valuable resource for arming ourselves with indispensabling knowledge of history. But all books offer something we need so desperately right now; broadened perspective. Books allow us to view circumstances through the eyes of someone else. They cultivate empathy. They inspire action. They make us feel less alone an
Everyone to the 68 National Book award. [applause] like most people here tonight i have always been an avid reader and i come from a family of avid readers and i have birthed at least one avid reader, the jury is still out on the younger ones. As an only child and the daughter of two only children it wasnt uncommon in our house to find everyone in separate corners, each of us buried in a book. Huge nerds, you might have called us. Its a privilege to be in his room full of huge nerds. I feel right at home. My mothers father was a rare book dealer in chicago so the nerd gene goes back even farther in my family. One year there was a terrible fire and my grandfather store and the fire itself didnt reach the volume the fire hoses did. Water, water, everywhere. His whole inventory ruins and my grandfather felt he had no choice but to close up shop. My grandparents packed up and moved to the ozarks in the heart of missouri where my grandmother was from and they both were effectively retired a