Yes, this book fair was taking place south of the Mason-Dixon Line.
The Decatur Book Festival is only 3 years old, but has grown to be one of the 10 biggest in the country. There’s more info on the 2008 festival here, including the list of authors who were appearing to speak, read from their work, etc.
We actually made it to the Fest this year for the first time, but missed all the talks, including the keynote address by Billy Collins. I’ll be kicking myself about that for a long while.
Maybe next year…
Inside the Antiquarian building
I love books, but am trying to cut down on collecting anything – especially things that are heavy and take up space and are hard to move. I rarely read books twice, and most info I need I can look up online. That being said, these old books with fore-edge paintings fascinated me. I got to look at some of the non-erotic ones, but the erotic ones are a bit of a laugh. Just the idea of some old bachelor having one of these paintings commissioned for his friend’s Christmas present makes me smile. (The paintings don’t show when you look at the side of the book until you turn back the page edges – as they would be if you left an open book on a table.)
