Book fair!

The annual book fair is going on at the Yemen Expo Center. It's an interesting affair. Vendors have come in from all over the gulf area. Saudi, Kuwaiti, and Emeratian, plus maybe some from other places as well. The book selection was noticeably different than what I've seen in the west. Most of the place was filled with textbooks and religious writings. There were a fair number of children's vendors as well. There was a heavy concentration on learning English in many booths, and there were even some English titles available. Oddly enough, I saw at least 3 booths filled with medical models, various types of internal anatomy and what looked like CPR dummies. I have no idea what they were doing there.

I had to buy some stuff of course. I can't be around that many books and not buy anything. I got a couple Qran recitation cds, I got my requisite Qran (I can't be in a Yemeni book fair and not get a Qran) and a few English titles. My Qran is pretty nice, although I did see some nicer ones. They have running commentaries alongside the suras. I decided not to get one of those since I don't know my commentators at all.

The English titles they had available were impressive. They were for people studying English, the English speaking population isn't big enough to support a dedicated market. A local asked me, in broken English, if I could make a suggestion for him. He explained that he was studying English and was midway through his course. He showed me a book called "The great cave" or something like that. It was sealed so I couldn't get a feel for the content, but it looked like a "young adult" book. I would guess the target age was 11-13 years old in the states. Then he showed me the other book he was thinking about getting, "A Tale of Two Cities." Hmmm, I like to encourage people to read the classics, but he was having trouble asking me which book I thought he should get. As diplomatically as possible, I told him that Dickens uses an older style of English and that it might be a little difficult for him.

They didn't just have Dickens there either. They had a slew of Shakespeare, the Bronte sisters, Austen, and a few more. I picked up a copy of "Dubliners," a book that I would be astounded if any Yemeni could understand. My favorite purchase had to be D.H. Lawrence's "Women in Love." I have never read any of his stuff before, and I have no idea if I'll like it. I bought the book because of the delicious irony of finding what must be an incredibly haraam work at the Yemen book fair. Maybe this is a book about innocent love, but the title and the author's reputation makes me think that's unlikely. Anyway, I've got some new things to read, things that I would never have thought of finding here...

tags technorati : yemen books english