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?”
