h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Yes, it's that time of year again !

It all started the way it does every year. Around the beginning of March, I bought my train and entry tickets.

Then, in the week before, I painstakingly researched which writers would be there on the day I went, to try and decide who I absolutely needed to see, who I would like to see, and who I wanted to avoid.
Their search engine is not very good, so that took a while.

I also saw that the website for the event specified that visitors would not be alloweed to enter the venue with their own books.
That was not the case in the previous years.
That clause meant that whoever had been given a book for Christmas could not bring it along to get it signed by the author.
Several of us emailed the organisers, who answered that yes, they knew it wasn't ideal, but that was the only solution to avoid theft.
Oh.
So the previous years' solution that consisted in putting a sticker on the books that people had when they arrived and putting stickers on the books they paid for at each stand, that wasn't good enough.
Ok.
So much for having people give you books, then.
and


The day itself started before 7, as my train to Paris was leaving at 7:43. I managed to catch it, and settled for the 45-minute trip.
If you've been paying attention, you'll understand that I didn't have a book with me, so I looked out the window.
It was foggy.

When I got Paris, I still had 45 minutes on the metro to get to the actual venue.
The bad point was that there was a pollution peak thingy.
The good point was that the metro was free because of the pollution.


I got there around 9:20, but the fair opened at 10, so I had a little while to breathe and relax before all the running.


10 o'clock.
The doors open.
The people rush forward.
The security people metal-check everyone, as well as checking inside every bag.
They also refused entry to anyone with a bag that was "too big".
Those people had to go to the cloakroom, leave their big bag or trolley there, and queue back in.
Just obeying orders here, not my fault, it's security, Vigipirate, blah blah.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vigipirate
Because I spent all of last night making sure the bomb I was bringing would look exactly like an empty trolley.
That makes perfect sense.
There was an old lady before me who had a folding stool in a big plastic bag.
She had to leave the bag and carry her stool around.
But it was ok, you see, it was for her *security*.
and

So when I finally managed to get inside, it was already almost 11.
And I had a lot of work to do.


I then spent the next 9 hours running around and queueing and getting my books signed.
And running back to the cloakroom to get rid of a load of books, ready for the next.


In the afternoon, I met up with my friend V. from my book club, who was there with her three teenagers.
And we ran around together for a while.

At 8pm, the fair was closing for the night, and we were pushed out.
That's when I realised my train home was leaving half an hour later So I hitched a ride back with V., who (lucky for me!) had one empty seat in her car.


And I got home around 11, one hour later than the train would have been, but the ride was much more fun.



Famous people I saw this year :
Yves Coppens, co-discoverer of Lucy and patron saint of my library.
Anne Perry, writer of Victorian detective stories.
Joseph Joffo, mostly known for "A Bagful of Marbles", his autobiographical book about his childhood as a French Jew in World War 2.

François Hollande, President.
He wasn't signing books, though, just visiting.
Well, I say I saw him.
I saw a swarm of bodyguards and cameras and microphones, and after jumping up and down several times, I saw his left eyebrow or something.
Still, that's probably the closest I'll ever get to a French President, so...


The Sunday was a time to relax, rest, and take stock.
Pay day is still a whole week away, so I shall mostly be eating pasta, but it was worth every single euro cent.
And this only happens once a year, so if I divide the fortune I've spent by 365, I think I can (safely?) say I've been quite reasonable !

OH wow, what a day!

The ban on bringing your own books is obviously just to make more money, and can't possibly have anything to do with security.

What if you brought an e-book reader? You couldn't get it signed, but at least you'd have something to read on the train..... (although I often use my mobile phone for that, too)

Thanks for that inside look at book fairs.

Ooo-La-La! Sounds like you had a great time.

Well done.

Does that mean you now have to perform a cull?

Happy reading.

MMF

I'm not sure if I've ever read anything by Anne Perry, though some of her Christmas story collections look familiar. Anyway, I've put in a request for her "Face of a Stranger" at my local library.

A book cull ?! How *dare* you say such horrible things, MMF!!!!!!

Paulh, Anne Perry has written several series of Victorian detective novels, as well as one series that takes place during World War One.

Thanks, Superfrenchie. I've seen her books in the paperback section in my library, especially her Christmas anthologies. "Face of a Stranger" was nominated for a prestigious literary award, so I'm starting with that.

It's hard to get my head around all the must-read books out there .

The Hugo awards for science fiction and fantasy alone involve winning entries every year in the following categories:
Best novel
best novella
best novelette
best short story
best related work
best graphic story
best dramatic presentation, long and short [2 awards]

That's just one award in the science fiction genre. The Nebula awards have many of the same categories, but also has best young adult.

The mystery/murder/detective fiction genre has many different award groups: Edgar, Agatha, and at least a dozen others, including some in England, japan, and elsewhere.

Multiply all of the award recipients by five to reflect the four nominees that *didn't* win, and you have a mind-boggling number of choices, though to be fair there are some entries that are on numerous nominee lists.

The New York Times, Boston Globe, Washington Post, and numerous other newspapers come up with list of "greatest books of he year" every year, and there might be up to 100 books on a given list, fiction and nonfiction.

There are also some bestseller lists.

Isn't it funny that more people have become writers at a time when fewer people read?

. Just checking. Thought it unlikely. I find it hard too, but occasionally has to be done. Then regretted.

MMF

paulh, was it Thoreau who said "Read the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them at all".
From what you're writing, it looks like no-one will ever get the chance to read them all !

MMF, I occasionally give them away to a good home.
Don't forget that every time someone destroys a book, God kills a kitten.

"was it Thoreau who said 'Read the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them at all'". [Superfrenchie]

As in so many other things, Thoreau was right about this! I was even thinking about arguing that Thoreau illustrated best the notion that the arts and the sciences are joined at the hip. His "Walden" is celebrated as literature, and also has been used by scientists to examine climate change, i.e. different dates at which plants emerge from winter sleep. I don't know if many people know this, but "Walden" was polished and rewritten over a period of at least two years. Thoreau did not stay in his little hut all day; he frequently went back to town and visited friends. He was not the recluse that many imagine him to be.