On a perfect sunny day -- clearly, the weather gods are readers, too -- thousands packed the streets and classrooms of Miami Dade College for the 26th edition of Miami Book Fair International's street fair.

And it was good. Where else could you start your day with Al Gore and end it with Iggy Pop?

Parents and kids packed the many activities at Children's Alley at the fair, which runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. There was so much to do. Comics fans debated whether Archie should have married Betty instead of Veronica. (Yes! shouts Team Betty.) The PEN International panel discussed the sobering topic of censorship while political insiders Gwen Ifill and Taylor Branch explored how things work in Washington. Fiction fans gloried in the choices while struggling to make them, grinning at Jill McCorkle's delightful story Me and Big Foot or, perhaps, giggling at the personable Wally Lamb cracking himself up while reading his Christmas novella Wishin' and Hopin'.

Even bigger laughs came courtesy of The Daily Show contributors John Hodgman and Larry Wilmore, who have never done a live appearance together before but handled the task like old comedy pros. Hard to say what was funnier: Hodgman using his audio book discs for coasters or Wilmore's deadly accurate Chris Rock impersonation.

And readers weren't the only ones having a good time. In the fair's hospitality suite, Betsy Carter, author of the novel The Puzzle King, marveled at the audacity of Mary Karr's memoir Lit. And thriller writer Michael Lister, author of Double Exposure, had a close encounter of the author kind he won't forget.

``It's such a cool experience,'' he said. ``I'm in the author's lounge this morning getting some orange juice, and Joyce Carol Oates sits down next to me. Where else does that happen? . . . . I love it. It's my favorite book fair.''

Yes, there were some snafus: The air-conditioning units in the Auditorium Pavilions were a bit too loud, rendering the writers inaudible on occasion (the Auditorium is undergoing renovations so tents acted as a substitute). As always, random knuckleheads forgot to turn off their cellphones.

But the ticketing process worked smoothly in the Chapman Conference Center, indicating patience on the part of book fair volunteers and readers, who have grown accustomed to what used to be a confusing process.

On a day like this one, optimism reigned. Susan Bishop and her fourth-grade daughter Julia from Coral Springs got to the fair early to see former Vice President Gore speak. Julia attends Heron Heights Elementary, which her mom says is the first ``green'' elementary in Florida.

Ask Julia what she thinks of the climate situation, and she doesn't hesitate.

``I think we're going to help everybody and save the planet,'' she says.

In telling the audience about Lit, memoirist Karr told her audience that ``when we read we sort of take communion together.'' Her story, she said, is ``about how reading saved my life.''

Ours, too, Mary. Ours too.

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