Singapore Writers Festival – Off The Page: Books and Beer

It was a very simple set up in Switch by Timbre.

It started with a problem faced by all books-lovers:
Too many books that had nowhere to go
so Books and Beer started
over a crate of beer.

Two twin sisters, one 3 minutes older than the other.
One loved reading whilst the other preferred beer. Together
with a good friend met over Copenhagen’s Environmental Youth delegation,
Books and Beer was born.

In order to give the books a new lease, they called up cafes and pubs
who were willing to lend a space,
usually between 3pm to 6pm, when the cafes are in lull.
Then they call up their friends, it gradually extended to friends of friends who found their FB page
where they announce their next pop-up book swap session.

Basically people who came, left their books neatly stood up against the wooden block furniture of Timbre, and browsed through what the rest had to offer,
to pick up pre-loved reads.

The precious part of this entire book swap session was at the end, when we are done browsing and beaming with an armful of good reads, we sat down at a table to read. Strangers at first, but we know for sure, that one another are connected by their love for books. People started talking and mingling over their selection of books. I found my Murakami in the hands of a pretty young lady at my table, whom has just returned from studies abroad. She majored in Humanities, aspires to write and/or impart literature to young minds. It was much easier to break into a conversation, judging from the collection of books one has taken. This is a great idea, to gather around and talk about the books and authors we love, and to a certain extent, find like-mindedness.

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Event details:
Date: 3 Nov 2012, Sat
Time: 5:00 – 7:00pm
Venue: Switch, NTUC Trade Union House