Hebrew Book Fair - Country Wide
Well, this is an English blog about Tel Aviv, which may lead you to believe that Hebrew does not really matter. Well, it does. Actually, Hebrew matters quite a bit in Tel Aviv and even more in the rest of Israel. But let's get back to the event at hand, the Hebrew Book Fair (actually Hebrew Book Week, or month, depends who you ask). If you wonder into the main squares in the big cities in Israel: Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, Beer Sheva... and even the smaller cities: Ramat Gan, Modiin, Petach Tikva... you will see tons of books. For a country as small as Israel, there are so many books, both written in original Hebrew and translated from just about every language to Hebrew, than you can imagine. Tel Aviv probably has the largest book fair, in Kikar Rabin (city hall plaza at Iben Gvirol). But the Ramat Gan version was also a nice browse. The Hebrew book week is not just fairs in the cities and a sales frenzy, it is also book readings, radio and television programs, school programs, and a bunch of other interesting events. The Hebrew book week was started in Israel in 1926 when a few book publishers decided to put out their latest creations on a Tel Aviv street to encourage Hebrew book sales. Apparently until the 1940's there were not enough Hebrew readers.
Some excitement and some boredom... books for all tastes and types
Zoom forward 82 years and Hebrew readers seem to be doing just fine, no need for stimulation what so ever. On a warm Thursday evening a few hundred children, adults, and a few dogs converged on the book fair in Tel Aviv. There seem to be about 20 to 30 publishers, from small ones with one book (a few poets and self published writers) to the big ones with hundreds of new titles this year. Apparently there was a good representation of the 5,000 new titles published here every year, for me that was hard to judge. Most of the sellers were offering great "deals" from buy 1, 2, 3... and get one free, to simple 20% to 50% off the regular price. For an English reader this would not be an interesting event. I could not find anything interesting and the only English books seem to be the easy reader versions of the classics for school children (teaching aids). But there were lots of books for any reader, from the easy one (mostly for children) to the esoteric biblical studies.
Live Spanish music at the Nescafe booth
There was a nice Nescafe (from Nestle) booth with live music and coffee samples, you could also buy a good cup of coffee for 10 to 20 shekels. Sit at a comfortable chair and listen to music or just read your new book. The area has plenty of restaurants so food was not part of the fair. Due to the overlap with the food fair in the Ha'Yarkon park, this time they choose this location. I guess it is easier to get there, but there is not real parking to speak of in the center of the city in the evenings (parking on most streets is reserved to residents and Tel Aviv tickets and tows cars ruthlessly). But having a nice place to drink a cup of coffee or sit and have dinner before or after the fair is a nice change. So even if you are not a big Hebrew reader, go visit the book fair at Kikar Rabin.
Some excitement and some boredom... books for all tastes and types Zoom forward 82 years and Hebrew readers seem to be doing just fine, no need for stimulation what so ever. On a warm Thursday evening a few hundred children, adults, and a few dogs converged on the book fair in Tel Aviv. There seem to be about 20 to 30 publishers, from small ones with one book (a few poets and self published writers) to the big ones with hundreds of new titles this year. Apparently there was a good representation of the 5,000 new titles published here every year, for me that was hard to judge. Most of the sellers were offering great "deals" from buy 1, 2, 3... and get one free, to simple 20% to 50% off the regular price. For an English reader this would not be an interesting event. I could not find anything interesting and the only English books seem to be the easy reader versions of the classics for school children (teaching aids). But there were lots of books for any reader, from the easy one (mostly for children) to the esoteric biblical studies.
Live Spanish music at the Nescafe booth There was a nice Nescafe (from Nestle) booth with live music and coffee samples, you could also buy a good cup of coffee for 10 to 20 shekels. Sit at a comfortable chair and listen to music or just read your new book. The area has plenty of restaurants so food was not part of the fair. Due to the overlap with the food fair in the Ha'Yarkon park, this time they choose this location. I guess it is easier to get there, but there is not real parking to speak of in the center of the city in the evenings (parking on most streets is reserved to residents and Tel Aviv tickets and tows cars ruthlessly). But having a nice place to drink a cup of coffee or sit and have dinner before or after the fair is a nice change. So even if you are not a big Hebrew reader, go visit the book fair at Kikar Rabin.
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