بغداد/ علي رياض
عدسة/ محمود رؤوف
While spaces of cultural controversy and cognitive curiosity are frequent in book fairs, Bookettologists usually pass on funny situations that they experience at international book fairs. Especially late at night, after the doors close and a hard and enjoyable day ends at the same time, No corner or hall is without the sound of giggles from a crowd of writers exchanging stories and anecdotes.
The representative of the Arab Network for Research and Publishing, Qassem Mansour, tells Al-Mada, Many stories about strange requests and behaviors from some readers that I encountered during his multiple tours of book fairs in various Arab countries.
“One day a customer stood in front of the show, pondered a little, and then asked me, ‘Please. Do you have books, and I said to him smiling: Yes. We have books, he said, ‘Where?'”
“In another country a man came in a hurry. Pointing to one of the shelves behind me, he said to me: Brother, how much is the price of a pill? I said: Which pill of them?, And he said, “No difference!” So I said for each pill a different price He said, ‘I’m in a hurry, make me a combination to your taste and give me the account.'”
As for the strangest request he has ever had, “One day a customer asked me how many books were printed in green cover. I couldn’t hold back my curiosity and I inquired why he was asking, He said: My wife bought a dark wood library for our house and said bring green books that will look nice in the new library.”
And about the strange requests of some readers, Bilal Amer, the agent of Dar Farafat in Iraq and owner of Dar Baghdad, recounts that “one of the readers told me a series of events and said: I want a novel that carries what I told you now. I thought that he knew the events of the novel and forgot its title and the name of its writer So I asked her if he knew at least which house published and published, He said: No.. These are events in my head that I am looking for a novel that I addressed.”
Amer adds, “As for the request that most puzzled me, my affection and my laughter at the same time, it came from a sad young woman. She said she hurt her boyfriend and wants a book to give him and make him forgive her.”
While the poet, writer and writer Karim Rahi recounts a trick he once carried out to sell one of the world’s novels that was not well received, By saving the first 4 lines of the first page, And read it to those who ask about a beautiful novel To prove to him the extent of his attachment to the novel to the extent that he memorized its introduction.
Rahi then mentions, A number of funny attitudes from readers, “Someone asked me if I had poetry by Muhammad al-Maghut. So I told him, I have hair for the other who has the dot above the eye, Another Vietnamese asked if the books were for sale. Then he asked if she was in Vietnamese, And a third asked for an address that does not exist, I showed him a bookstore selling this book and pointed to the right, He went to the right end of my wing and asked me again.”
The largest category of visitors to book fairs in general and the Iraq International Book Fair remain respected readers. These situations are only exceptions to the blink.