Thursday 2 April 2015

Books in Bodrum

I've always been an avid reader; from the age of seven I preferred reading to sleeping. I still do and when I first came to live in Bodrum all those years ago, my bag had more books than clothes. Finding something to read in the 1980s in Bodrum was often a struggle as my Turkish wasn't good enough to enjoy locally published novels.  I was lucky to work in the travel industry and guests were very generous with their finished books.  I would also collect old newspapers and magazines and save them for months to make sure I'd devoured every word.  The local English speaking community wasn't very large but we shared what books we had, making sure the diving archaeologists were the last to read any paperback as they'd take them underwater with them and read as they slowly made their way to the surface.   In the 1990s we had a book-swap in our travel agency which turned into a good way of meeting newly arrived English speakers on the peninsula and kept me in reading material if I wasn't too fussy.   If someone had told me then that in less than two decades I'd own a machine which would let me read the book I wanted within 5 seconds of pressing a button, I would have thought them delusional.
Despite electronic readers and the internet, most of us still enjoy the feel of a real book and in Bodrum we have the chance every few months to peruse long tables of reading matter and pick up a good read for a few lira.


Linda Bennett, smiling as usual. 

About 10 years ago, a group concerned at the sad state of the peninsula's stray cats and dogs decided to form a charity to help them. Their efforts were thwarted by bureaucracy, but they did start raising money by holding jumble sales.  It was soon noticed that the book stall run by Linda Bennett raised more than the rest of the stalls put together and thus the regular book sale was born.  

John Lloyd behind the counter.
Each year, over 5,000TL is raised and goes towards treating sick and wounded animals and neutering those living on the street.
The next sale is this Sunday, 5th April at Defne Restaurant in Bitez  from 11:00 to 13:00.  If you are in the Bodrum area, give your Kindles a rest and come along and reacquaint yourselves with the smell and feel of a real page turner.

20 comments:

  1. Something new to read and helping animals...really can't be beaten.

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    1. Also nice to wander around and get recommendations from friends.

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  2. Is Perking the Pansies on sale? I do hope so!

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  3. Nice cause, B to B. I particularly like the neutering part. On the book front, the electronic readers have indeed been quite a boon. I also never thought I'd be so enthusiastic about them but not having to devote so much of our living space to book shelves, particularly when living abroad, is a good thing. Good luck to Linda this weekend.

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    1. Neutering is the way to go. I love my kindle when travelling.

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  4. it's an excellent idea that has caught on all over - your 'depot' seems very well organised though!

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    1. Linda is the "go to" person when anything needs organising properly.

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  5. Fantastic idea, how I wished to make it - another thumbs up for Bodrum - will share on my fbook page, all the best, Ozlem x

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  6. I own a Kindle and have had it for two years. In those two years, I've read 2 books on it. Barry dislikes it, too. We're both book people. This is a great idea, especially when the money is going to a good cause. :)

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  7. Hello,

    Well, if we were in the neighbourhood, we should certainly be popping in.

    As you say, there is really nothing to beat the feel of a book in the hand whilst reading. We have not been seduced by the Kindle and are sure we never shall. Your book event looks to be the perfect way to meet people, have a good time, pick up a bargain and help animals in distress. Perfect!

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  8. A real win-win situation, Annie. I have an e-reader (a Nook) but I still; buy a lot of books, including from charity stalls. I hope the sale is a huge success.

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  9. I'm just catching up on blogs so I've missed this sale by a day. I am however aware of the good work being done by these lovely people in Bitez. They have also supported y work too.

    I haven't succumbed to a kindle and don't think I will as I love real books. I have a stack waiting to be read but just don't seem to find the time these days.

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    1. I'm sure they would love to meet you. Hopefully you can get to the May one.

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    2. Do you know what date it is?

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    3. I'll let you know as soon as I hear.

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