I was flippin’ bored. Unless you are into hearing presentations from authors and meeting people in the industry, the book fair doesn’t offer much. I have a friend who is going on all 3 days and is loving it, so there are people to whom it appeals, but for the average person who just reads a few books now and then, there isn’t much on offer.
There were very few show specials so you wouldn’t get cheaper books. Each stand only had a limited selection so you wouldn’t find new books. I walked around the whole fair in half an hour and didn’t see anything worthwhile. I was quite intrigued by the stand which was only books about Russia (in Russian) and another huge stand called ‘books from China’.
I eventually sought solace in the Leopard’s Leap Wine Down Lounge. A couple of glasses of wine and a chat and I felt a bit better, then I went home.
I am definitely not going next year, unless I am invited to give a presentation on the book I wrote (I haven’t written a book, so the odds are slim).