A Bookish Day…and the Sarajevo Haggadah

I took yesterday off away from the computer (well, ok, but 15 minutes of twitter is not much!). I had a very bookish day and thought I would share it with you!

Some people might get the impression that I am only a fan of ebooks, but I deeply love physical books. Here is some proof!

First up, we went to the University of Queensland's book fair which was amazingly popular. Arriving 10 minutes before the doors opened, the quere was already halfway down the street. The Red Cross were handing out tea and biscuits (seriously!). People were laden with suitcases, bags and boxes ready to storm the warehouse sized conference room. We all filed in like civilised people but it was carnage at the popular tables. People were loading up big time! I soon found out why – the books were generally under $3 even for very good quality nearly new fiction. In a country where books are expensive (AU$30 for new paperback), this was heaven!

I picked up some great bargains: Robert Dessaix (and so forth), Masaru Emoto ‘The Secret Life of Water', Geraldine Brooks ‘People of the Book', E L Doctorow ‘City of God', Robert Graham ‘How to write fiction', and Tom Peters ‘The Circle of Innovation', and National Geographic on the lost gospel of Judas. A good haul for$20!

Then we headed to one of the best bookshops in Brisbane, Folio Books, which is brilliant for a browse. It also happens to be near The (fountain) Pen Shoppe which is another pilgrimage. Much coffee and pleasant conversation was also indulged in!

With our bookish loot, we headed home and I spent the rest of the day in the hammock reading Geraldine Brook's
People of the Book: A Novel. I have a theology degree and have spent time in Israel and the middle east so I love books on religious themes.

This is a gorgeous story around the Sarajevo Haggadah, a (real) decorated Jewish prayer book that has survived centuries of persecution and destruction. It weaves the personal story of the Australian medieval book restorer with the tales of how the book travelled all over Europe to finally rest in Sarajevo. I highly recommend it for bibliophiles everywhere – a book about a book and the protectors of books.

Wonderful!