Books, Books Everywhere!

It is very heartening for those of us who, much as we may appreciate the convenience of reading on Kindle or other electronic devices, still love the shape, feel, smell and texture of an authentic book to see that despite all, the Geneva International Book Fair is still going strong. I know, for example, that my young grandchildren will almost always choose to settle down to thumb through a well-loved book even when there are other noisier, glitzier and more colorful distractions around even though they are also able to manipulate iPads, Androids and their ilk much more competently than I.

Yesterday, I visited the Book Fair with Friend J. The Fair is the 26th one to date. It began Wednesday, 25 April and will run through Sunday at the Geneva Palexpo. Part of the exposition dealt with opportunities for students to have study experiences abroad

in order to learn languages - not merely English - literally to open themselves to the world.  And yes, the Police also had a stand!

Books in French, including textbooks for the very young, dominated the displays.

In addition, there were some books in English, including an impressive display of books stressing the learning of English as a Second Language. When I stopped to take a photo of this display, one of the attendants chuckled and exclaimed that I was the first person she had seen take a photo of the English ESL books. Ah well, it takes all kinds!

There was a large area dedicated to books, mostly in French, from African authors and dealing with African topics, history and cultures.

Several people - young and old - were gathered for a presentation.

Being a weekday morning, the Palexpo was not as crowded as it will be tomorrow and Sunday. But I was happy to see that many visitors were there all the same. Reading must play a major role in any civilized society. Perhaps one indication of a society's degeneration is when it no longer places significant value on books or the learning and knowledge they represent. For a bibliophile such as myself, the experience was wonderful.

It was heightened further because the Book Fair Guest of Honor for 2012 was Morocco, a country I have long considered as a very special place and that has played significant roles in my own life, changing it entirely, in fact.

More on the Moroccan expositions in a later post ...