For one week, twice a year, an enormous hall at the Brisbane Convention Centre is filled with trestle tables loaded with books of every genre and topic. These are books which have been donated and as such you can strike gold one time or silver the next.
All proceeds raised from book sales help fund Lifeline’s many counseling services. So you have the double bonus of buying great books and knowing the money you pay is being used to help people.
I have never come away with no books. OK, I admit I love books of every type (except horror). I have found many specialist books at Bookfest including University textbooks, computing books and of course history books.
I spent one hour looking through the books then went off to a wonderful get-together with Genealogists for Families group where we had a lovely lunch and then chatted genealogy for ages. Then back to the Bookfest for three hours.
I attended on the last day when the prices are reduced and you have options of filling a plastic (biodegradable) shopping bag for $5 but even so I only spent $55 which included the books below as well as forty-five five others.
The Greater London Street Atlas was very heavy and if I had bought this new and paid for postage from England it would have cost close to this amount.
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A selection of my Lifeline Bookfest treasures |