Why I Didn't Went To The Colombo International Book Fair This Year...

For the first time in my life I didn't visit the Colombo International Book Fair. I've been hearing a lot of negative comments regarding the state of the Book Fair over the years. It's all true, since I know for a fact that the fair left a bad taste in my mouth last time. I’ll tell you why…

When I first visited the book fair it was as it was named “Colombo International Book Fair”. There were so many International books which were hard to find in Sri Lanka, available for purchase. My kind of paradise. However, there was also so many local books but with good quality and by great authors; our time and past.

Over the years, the Fair degenerated into something unrecognizable. It began to turn more into a “Fair” rather than “Books”.

Gone are the good International Books and even the publishers stopped showing up (is it true that Expo Graphics left the fair this time?). The Book Fair became a haven for bad authors and mediocre publishers.

The CIBF became a carnival for people to visit Colombo and have something to eat. Boys come to check out girls, girls come to check out boys. So, who’s coming to check out books?

Also, when hungry and tired after walking all over the fair to find books, there was no place to rest or get a snack for a decent price. Everything is expensive.

So, I said to myself “why bother this time?”