For the Love of Books

Kate Rogan of Love Books in Melville (www.lovebooks.co.za) had the meeting enthralled last week when she spoke about the challenges facing books and bookshops.
     Interestingly enough, she believes the exchange rate is a far bigger threat to the survival of bookshops, especially independent bookshops like her own, than electronic books.
     E-books might become far more of a threat when the current generation of ten-year-olds and younger reach the age where they make their own buying decisions, but until then she has no sleepless nights over it and doesn't believe many people in the trade do either.
     Trade paperbacks that cost R350 make books a luxury buy for middle class people, and put them out of reach of the masses, she said in her question-and-answer session with Linda.

Kate Rogan telling her story

     She pointed out that Amazon was opening a bookstore in Seattle on the American West Coast, with plans for 400 more across America.
     Now that the dust has settled a bit, e-books are not the bargain they once were, she said.

The gang listen attentively

     Love Books is very active and offers a haven for book lovers. For those members who've never been there, the address is 53 Rustenburg Road, Melville. It is in the Bamboo Centre right next door to the popular Service Station restaurant.
     An ideal time to visit is when book launches are presented, often in the evenings. Club members' e-mail addresses have been passed on to Love Books so that everyone can be on their mailing list, as members requested at the meetings. This means you'll get notified about upcoming launches and which authors you'll be able to see in person.
     Kate said the artist William Kentridge was one of their biggest attractions last year, but was a bit horrified to admit that Suzelle DIY attracted an even bigger audience! A recent launch with author Zakes Mda was also very successful.

President Jankees hands over a Rotary pen set as a
 token of appreciation for the talk

     Bringing light to children so that they can study for the Matric exam, was the joyous task of our very own Lady of the Lamp, Lucille Blumberg.
     Lucille has done a lot of charity work on the side in Bushbuckridge, where her work for the NICD often takes her.
     With a few quick phone calls from President Jankees, she was able to tap into the project that Mahindra has embarked on with Rotary, and managed to obtain 100 solar lights for the Mdluli High School as part of a pack that also contained a novel and stationary.
     Lucille says it was very humbling to be there and see the appreciation on the people's faces.

Bringing light to people's lives! Lucille hands over a solar powered
light at the school

Mahindra teamed up with Rotary for the project

This week: Jankees and Frayne will be telling us about the meeting with the RI president, Ravi Ravindran, in Cape Town.
A Thought for the Week: Words without thoughts never to heaven go. - Shakespeare (1564-1616)