Right off the bat I was immersed in two rows of tents each
containing an author or publisher whose purpose was to introduce us and the
world to their intellectual property. I immediately began to think about
Ray Bradbury's 1953
novel of great suffering and injustice entitled
Fahrenheit 451 whereas
the plot surrounds the burning of any place that contained books. Well, I
thought, they would need the assistance of many fire departments to censor the
more than
500 authors and publishers on display at this year's fair.
The
Miami Book Fair is also proof that the digital media has not overcome or
overwhelmed books in
2D that contain real pages to turn between two
covers. There is something really special about picking up a real book and
delving into the world that it takes you to or through. On that note I
encountered my first author
Byron Conner,
MD, at the
Oasis
Bookstore & Kaffee tent who was gracious enough to provide me with a
signed copy of his book
The Face of
Hunger along with a neat bookmark.
The subtitle of Dr. Conner's non-fiction book is Reflections
on a Famine in Ethiopia (1983 - 1985) which chronicles his and his family's
missionary trip to that country from 1984 to 1987 after watching
the crisis on television. The 136-page paperback contains ten chapters
and is published by Readers Magnet, LLC, of San Diego, CA.
I cannot wait for the movie adaptation! Conner was born in Denver,
CO, is the oldest of 11 children, joined the Seventh-day
Adventist Church at age nine, earned his medical degree from Loma Linda
University School of Medicine from 1976-1979, and is a U.S. Army
Vietnam Veteran. The next tent that caught my attention was the Women in
Islam/Miami-Dade College. I stopped because of all the news that I have
come across on the Internet regarding women's rights in the Middle
East to include learning how to drive - something some of us spoiled Americans
take for granted as a right but is actually by law a privilege. Ever had your
driver's license taken? The organization is located in nearby Hallandale
Beach, FL., and their motto is "Love for All, Hatred for None."
I studied the Muslim religion and the Quran in college and a lot
of folks get it wrong. Reading is fundamental!
I was drawn to my next tent by a strong sense of, ummmmm,
food; almonds in particular. Yep, these authors did their homework and
delivered the goods. There is something about food and money that captures the
eyes of most human beings around the globe. It turns out that the co-authors of
Holocaust's
Child,
Amy and
WR Blocher, were also husband and wife. In
addition, he is also a
Veteran of the
Navy or
Air Force -
cannot remember which branch. I support
Veterans whenever, and however I
can because their commitment to service is like no other in this country
whereas you are on duty
24/7/365 until you are officially released by
Uncle
Sam; as I was in
2001. Their book is a tale of
"Ten Stories of
Children Who Survived" one of the most inhumane examples of man's/woman's
inhumanity to mankind/womankind along with the institution of
Slavery
around the world.
The next eye-catcher for me was the Children's Alley
which I consider the most important simply because this is a chance to
influence and steer our future generations into avoiding the premise of Bradbury's
book Fahrenheit 451 -- mentioned earlier. Young people are being exposed
to computers at such a young age today that by the time they are in high school
they are more computer savvy than a computer science major that graduated say
in the 1990's or earlier. I earned a degree in electronics engineering
technology back in the 1980's and can recall predicting most of the
technology that is available today. Unfortunately, certain technologies are
forcing our young ones into becoming more and more reliant on non-physical activities
that once required physical interaction. For example, you push a button or
swipe today and something happens as opposed to yesterday when you had to apply
physical force to achieve the same action like rolling down a car window or
opening a door. The result is a physically weaker individual. As such, I now go
out of my way to avoid certain technologies like the electric pencil sharpener
in favor of one that requires me to apply force to the rotating handle; and
physically blending my ingredients with a spoon as opposed to using an electric
blender or food processor.
These next authors grabbed my attention simply because they
were scurrying along packing up their tent like
The White Rabbit character
at the beginning of
Lewis Carroll's novel
Alice's
Adventures in Wonderland uttering the now famous line
"Oh
dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!" One of the authors was Yvette
L. Forbes whose book Testimonies:
Issues of Life is about "Twenty one Biblical women [who] share their
stories, from Eve to Mary. They encourage us that in Him is hope. No matter
what life brings He is the antidote." She was very patient and stopped
scurrying several times while I tried to figure out how to switch from camera
to video on my new Samsung phone. Her patience has paid off and is a
virtue ((2 Peter 1:5-7 King James Version (KJV)) as
Ms. Forbes
and her book are now covered in my story and you should buy a copy at your
earliest convenience as a blessing.
I had to stop at this next tent because the young lady
sitting there appeared to be just a kid. At first I did in fact think that she
was working the display for an older adult but as faith would have it she was
indeed the author who, like
Dr. Conner, was gracious enough to furnish
me with a signed copy and a really neat bookmark. She lost a few cool points
because she refused to add
Trend
Magazine Onlinetm to her note but hopefully she will make that
adjustment the next time another publication offers to promote her book. Her
name is
Emma Porter and this kid is only
22 years old and already
has her first book published. Her
fictional 201-page paperback book
(also available in hardcover and eBook formats)
The Fairy King is
"A
whirlwind tale of betrayal, adventure, romance, desperation, and the journey to
find what defines oneself." Emma traveled all the way down from
Winnipeg
Canada (born in Toronto) to present her work at the
Miami Book Fair.
This next stop was one of my favorites because of the
tropical colors and colorful publisher that showed up as I was leaving. The
Caribbean
Today news magazine is celebrating
three decades in business and their tent was laced with the vibrant colors that
suggest a very sunny and optimistic outlook. I was happy to see that they
included an update (October 2019 edition, page 20) on the devastating
Hurricane
Dorian that ravished the tropical islands becoming a
Category 5 with
185 mph winds on
Sunday September 1,
2019, leaving death
and destruction in its wake. According to the article the
Pan American
Health Organization (PAHO) is now chipping in with a special
Bahamas
Health Relief Fund. Just as I was leaving their tent their very colorful
Publisher
Mr. Peter A. Webley stopped me and we engaged in a very insightful
conversation of our ancestors' contribution to what today is known as
Miami-Dade
County and the
Coconut Grove area in particular. I will be sure to
follow up with him and hopefully something productive will develop from that
brief meeting.
Click here to plan a group visit next year!(January 2020)
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