a few hours at the 32nd manila international book fair

The two times I've been at the SMX Convention Center previously were to watch Al Gore's lecture and to watch my sister's oath-taking as a registered nurse. The third time I dropped by was to check out the 32nd Manila International Book Fair with my sister, my cousin, and her daughter.

Here's one thing: the book fair was no library. I expected it to be a relatively quiet event, something like being inside Powerbooks or National Bookstore; instead, I browsed through titles as music played overhead, spoons and forks clinked with plates, and a lecture on direct sales was being conducted on one side of the exhibit hall. The lively vibe fit very well with fast movement of people going from one exhibit to the other. With lots of ground to cover in such a short time, people really had move fast to see all exhibits.

While there were lots of activities going on, two things caught my attention during the few hours I was at the book fair: (1) there were a lot of credit card agents and (2) a lot of public griping going on among sales staff in the booth of one of the bigger exhibitors.

At the entrance of the book fair, credit card agents were strategically positioned. They greeted the people entering the venue with promises of free shopping bags if these people showed their credit cards. They snubbed people carrying supplementary cards but did not want to let go of people who were principal card holders. While there is nothing wrong with taking a look at another person's credit card, I find it really bad that these agents just proceed with copying the owner's details onto new credit card application forms WITHOUT asking the permission from the owner of the credit card. I've seen these credit card agents in other exhibitions before... the ones I saw, previous to those at the book fair, blocked the corridors; conference participants couldn't get to their sessions in time. The agents' behaviors in both events give them a bad reputation, sadly. The organizers of the book fair, and of other conventions, should take a closer watch on these people, I think.

Past the credit card agents, I was looking at the travel guides and at the management books in one of the booths. There were sales staff huddled by the travel guides holding a loud gripe session, hidden from the supervisors. They were so engrossed with their complaints that they never noticed that they were blocking the view of book titles and they weren't helping potential customers. I had to to reach across the huddled staff for the travel guides, interrupt their conversation, and make them realize that this was the sales floor. Earth to these sales people!

Despite these hiccups, I had a good time at the book fair. I bought a few books and a compilation of easy piano pieces. The salespeople at the music stores were very helpful to customers looking for specific titles (or categories) of music sheets. The people manning the booth around one particular book set were also accommodating to potential clients asking about the history book compilation (which I'd really like to buy someday).

And then there were the rare books! The publishing groups of the University of Santo Tomas, of the University of the Philippines, and of the Ayala Museum had a lot of interesting material that were about literature and history rather than medicine and business. And the titles from these publishing companies were unique; no other exhibitors carried their titles (as far as I saw at the time). I never realized that the technical writing book I used back in college is now included in the rare editions! Some of the smaller booths scattered all over the exhibit hall also carried used books: those books whose value grow because of their age. A perfect resting spot for book collectors. 

After a few hours, we just had to leave. If we stayed any longer, I would've bought more books than I had planned.