Wednesday
Mar212012
An Orgy of Readers
03.21.2012 
If you've been reading Paris Play for more than, say, a week, you know we are bibliophiles. And that may be putting it lightly. Of all the possessions we moved to Paris, the majority were books. Even then, we had to give so many away, and leave so many behind. It was like severing digits.
Luckily, they LOVE books here. Just to prove it, every March Paris has a Salon du Livre, a book fair, which resembles the BEA (the old American Booksellers Association convention, now called BookExpo America), except that it's wide open to the public, too.
For the equivalent of $13, anyone can come. And everyone does.
Not only that (this is the really joyous part), students are allowed in free. So the giant convention hall crackles with the energy of thousands of enthusiatic children and teenagers, consuming everything from manga and The Simpsons, to Anne Frank, pirate tales, and Descartes (the latter in the original French, of course).
It was the first big event we went to here in Paris last year, and we were delighted to attend the four-day Salon again last weekend with cameras, and to see so many readers. Radio France broadcasts live from the show floor, and there were long lines for author signings, and cash registers. And to fire the imagination, there were costumed creatures and blow-up manga heroes to emulate.
Of course, various technologies were demonstrated, from old-fashioned printmaking to the newest way to offer up that marvelous search for lost time.
Reader Comments (4)
Wow!!! Rich, rich, rich. With all these hyper links the labyrinth of intrigue gets deeper and wider. I'll set aside a swath of time to follow the rabbit hole of goodness you provide.
You two are astounding!!!
Love,
Joanne
Joanne:
Merci. Go ask Alice.
Hugs,
--R and K
Oh, I just LOVE seeing so many people gathered, celebrating books! Maybe I've mentioned this before, but I remember when I visited Paris back in 2002, one thing that made a strong impression on me was this: everywhere I went people were reading books! On the Metro, in the parks, in the cafes, visiting the book vendors along the Seine. What a wonderful, literate culture... yet another reason to declare: Vive La France!
Hope you both had a terrific time there!
Love,
dawna
Dawna!
We do too love seeing so many readers! And you're right, it's everywhere. I saw a young woman the other day standing up on the Metro reading La Fete de Paris by Ernest Hemingway-- A Movable Feast. Everywhere, readers! It's such a delight.
Unfortunately, you see more people now walking down the street talking to themselves (on cell phones). I hope this doesn't have too great an impact on one of the best things about the French.
Much love,
Kaaren (& Richard)