It’s the sound of a binding cracking open for the first read shattering the silence of the library as the smell of book pages fills the air. It’s snuggling up under the covers with a flashlight and your favorite novel past bedtime. It’s sipping iced tea poolside on vacation with the latest paperback in your hand. It’s the moments that bring you, the booklover, to life.
This past weekend, booklovers across the nation congregated in Denver for the 28th annual Rocky Mountain Book and Paper Fair, hosted annually by the Rocky Mountain Antiquarian Booksellers Association (RMABA). The largest event of its kind west of the Mississippi brings together booksellers, booklovers, and other reading enthusiasts from all over the country for a weekend of shopping, discovery, and discussion.
“Book Fairs have been around since the 1600s,” says chairperson Lois Harvey. “Someone in Germany
had the idea that it’d be great to get a lot of books together in one place so that everyone could see what was available, discover new books and meet people with their same interests.”
And meet they did. Book fair attendees were able to mix and mingle with authors, publishers, and sellers while exploring the numerous booths set up displaying everything from bestsellers and first-edition novels to vintage and rare paper goods, including postcards, maps, art prints, old travel brochures, and posters.
Browsing was not the only event happening during the fair, held August 3-4 at the Denver
Merchandise Mart. This year, the theme “Books into Film” highlighted the ever-popular trend of launching our favorite characters onto the silver screen. Film trailers played on the venue walls as book lovers wandered from stall to stall. A panel of local film experts including Channel 4’s Greg Moody, film critic Elisabeth Rappe and former Rocky Mountain News film critic Robert Denerstein convened to discuss the topic on Saturday afternoon.
The fair provided an enjoyable weekend for everyone from the most devoted of book collectors to casual gift-givers alike. With a selection including thousands of one-of-a-kind novels and bestsellers alike, there was truly something for everyone.
Avery Johnson is a 303 Magazine intern for the Arts & Culture section. She is a Colorado native currently majoring in English and Communication Studies at the University of San Diego. When she isn’t writing, she’s all about gettin’ active outside or baking up a storm. She rarely leaves the house without a good book. Click here to follow her blog.
See the information about the 2013 Rocky Mountain Book and Paper Fair, Friday and Saturday, August 2 & 3 at the Merchandise Mart, 58th & I-25. We are bulging at the seams with great books, paper, maps, poster, post cards, ephemera. Check it out at http://www.rmaba.org/rmbpf/2013/rmbpf2013.html. Be sure to see the Featured Items. Special Events this year – Building and Preserving Your Collections. Everything at http://www.rmaba.org.