Hide Behind a Good Book

I remember the first time I went to the Book Fair (Feria Internacional del Libro) in Miraflores. I was 17 years old and a mime. The university invited my drama group to perform after the dean’s boring lecture about the importance of not being boring.

Parque Kennedy is by far one of my favorite places in Lima. Its benches are full of stories and some of our darkest secrets. The best place to mix books, make friends and meet the old ones. The fair opened its doors on Nov. 27th and every stand has something really good to offer.

I went last Tuesday and I felt I was 17 again.

Everything was so familiar but so new at the same time. I found a secondhand Frank Sinatra CD, Songs of Love, and other CDs from newspapers and magazines collections, with prices between 10-45 soles. In my opinion it’s a pretty good deal, especially if you collect CDs but you have a small budget like me.

I also visited SBS and they just took my breath away when I saw a book with one of the men in my life, George Harrison –The George Harrison Photo album (120 soles), It’s, in my opinion, the perfect Christmas present for the little Beatle fan inside of us. I also found The Beatles 2009 Calendar (50 soles). One thing to consider if you don’t have a VISA card is to take some cash with you because they don’t accept Master Card.

Crisol was my favorite stand but stay away from the pushy sales assistants. They offer from 25-40% in almost all their books. I bought two, No me esperen en Abril by Bryce Echenique, and La tia Julia y el Escribidor by Vargas Llosa — paperback — and I saved a chunk of change.

When I said that the Book Fair was the best place to meet old friends I really meant it. I haven’t opened a Bryce (another man in my life) in a long time. I was mesmerized by the cover and the feeling of holding a book that I sat down in one of the benches, and I felt so… good.

Yes, there’s no place like Parque Kennedy and sometimes when Lima decides to be a big bitch there’s nothing better than hiding your face behind a book and waiting for her period to be over.

$1 = avg. S/. 3

by Olga Rojo

6 Responses

  1. Amy says:

    So… are you still reading books?

  2. Rarely buy them after amazon started selling e-books. Now, I have a Nook color.

    • Amy says:

      Really? Amazon digital content isn't available outside the US, so I'm not able to do anything with it. However, the rare ebooks I've been able to get, I find them tough to read. I still prefer hold a book and turn the pages before going to sleep…

      Reading digital books tires me faster :S

      • Bill says:

        Yes, really. I was reading The Sign of Four last night with Stanza on my iPhone. Got the font face I like, with the size that is best for my eyes, with white letters on black text. Usually will read for several hours in bed. I rooted the Nook color so that it is basically an Android tablet so that I could use the Amazon app on it so that I can read any kind of ebook on it. Controls are good for contrast so it is not much harder on you eyes than a Kindle. I can read it for about six hours in one sitting.

        Between e-books and Audible I find that there is almost no reason to buy treeware.

  3. olga says:

    Woow! that was zillions years ago!

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