Preparing for a book fair
· 4 min read
A book fair lasts a few hours, amid noise, on a budget that melts fast. Preparation decides what you carry home: chosen books, or books by chance.
Before: a short list
Ten titles at most, the ones you're really after. With thirty you'll find none. Write down the edition you want when it matters, especially for classical texts.
Set a sum too. It will be exceeded, but by a known amount.
On site: the catalogue in your pocket
Whenever something catches your eye, check. Title, author or ISBN: in seconds you know whether you own it, whether a volume is missing, or whether it's a real find. It's the use Qimtar was designed for.
Back home: log the purchases the same day
Catalogue the books before shelving them, while they're still on the table. An unlogged pile soon becomes a forgotten pile, which is how next year's duplicates are born.