I have been busy in the past few days visiting the Feria Internacional del Libro de Bogotá (Bogotá International Book Fair 2024), running from April 17th to May 2nd. It is one of the biggest book fairs of the Spanish-speaking world. This year, the invited country of honor is Brazil.
I have had the pleasure of browsing through the stands of large international publishers, Colombian academic publishers, and bookstores from Colombian cities such as Bogotá and Medellín, as well as stands representing different countries. Not only have I browsed through dozens of fascinating books in topics as diverse as literature, science, philosophy and history, but also had many interesting conversations with authors, translators, publishers and bookstore owners.
It is good to know that notwithstanding the increasing space of the digital world, there are still many publishers working to print important new texts. I encourage my readers to support their local bookstores, and to attend local book fairs, wherever they might be living.
In some of the following posts, I will discuss some of the books that I have bought.
The charm of the printed book is unmatched. A beautiful book ought to be read.
That is great! So far the local bookstores here sell Harry Potter and books about sexual mysticism. I've almost given up hope.