Hong Kong Book Fair

Today was the opening day of the Hong Kong Book Fair, which I went to today. I have meant to go in the past few years (the event is held annually around this time at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre) but I kept missing it because of my schedule and forgetting to put it on my calendar.

I'm really quite surprised by the number of people who go. I never think today's people, especially in Hong Kong, would be interested in reading. With today's media, such as TV, DVDs and the Internet, I would hasten to think that reading a book would be looked upon as an eerie hobby, only done by people whom would be considered weird. Yet I think it is important to read, especially fiction. Reading is supposed to stimulate the mind and improve the imagination, as well as broaden horizons. Maybe everybody was there just the books were cheap?

In an effort to get my cousins to read (and to improve their English skills) I bought them a book, a children's classic which should appeal to them and shouldn't be too difficult for them. I was going to go for 'The BFG' but decided that 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' would be much better, considering they knew what it was from the movie.

For myself, I got "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee and "1984" by George Orwell. I've been hoping to read these two during my two week vacation in Phuket. Apart from my favourite author Nick Hornby, I like my books to be thought provoking, such as "To Kill a Mockingbird" for its racial issues and "1984" for its look on the government's role in control the population.

So if you have time, please go and buy book at the fair. Last day is Monday and I believe the hours are extended to 2 am on weekends (but you better check yourself).