'Thousands of English books available'

The National Council for Culture, Arts and Literature opened it 42nd Annual International Book Fair yesterday at the international fairgrounds in Mishref. The fair runs this year from November 15 to 25.

When you arrive at the exhibition grounds in the Mishrif area, do not bore yourself by looking for a nearby place to park your car, shorten the time and park it as far as you can. At peak hours, dozens of yellow school buses, thousands of students and scouts, together with visitors of all classes will be thronging the halls. Near the entrances, the smell of corn, nachos and shawarma is here to save the hungry after long hours of walking in the corridors of the expo.

Despite the continued specter of censorship, this is a flourishing cultural event intended to promote reading and writing in Kuwait and the Gulf. The exhibition is accompanied by book signing parties, seminars, and workshops, as well as participation from some embassies such as the French Embassy and the Embassy of the United States of America. You might think that the book fair is devoted to Arabic books only, but there are tons of English publishers with their own stalls and thousands of English-lanauge books to browse.

By Athoob Al-Shuaibi