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Lezima Gomes
Doha
The Book Fairies are a community of book lovers who hide books around the world every day, for people to find, read and then leave for the next person, adding a little bit of magic to the lives of people.
Actress Emma Watson, famously Hermione in the Harry Potter movies, helped launch The Book Fairies worldwide back in March 2017, on International Women's Day.
Based in London, the organisation was founded by Cordelia Oxley who was inspired to take her work with Books on the Underground (a five-year-old London programme of leaving books for travellers on public transit to encourage reading) on an international level. Since then the Book Fairies are going around the world, spreading the love for reading and a desire to share books with others.
Qatar too got its first Book Fairy in Filipino Jean Bayaborda. A licensed physical therapist, she first heard about Book Fairies through Emma Watson's Instagram account during International Women's Day last year."Her tweet said 'the book fairies around the WORLD will start hiding feminist books to mark #IWD' and then she tagged the Book Fairies main account. So naturally, I checked it out because it had something to do with Hermione, and with books," explained Bayaborda.
She immediately ordered the stickers from The Book Fairies website and then started leaving books around Doha for a few weeks till the founder of The Book Fairies, Cordelia Oxley from the main Head Quarters based in London, sent her an email asking if she wished to become an official book fairy and manage the Book Fairy Qatar account."It's one of the best things that ever happened to me, because besides the great feeling you get every time someone finds a book you hid, the best thing about becoming a book fairy is I got to meet readers around the world, who, along the way, became my friends and my second family," she said.
The idea of The Book Fairies is simple: to encourage more people to read by hiding books in public places. She said there is an increased chance of bringing joy to a person's day."We've had comments from book finders who mention things like bringing them out of a reading-block where they hadn't picked up a book for a while, getting them to discover a different genre of book, helping them find out about an independent author who may not have their books in shops yet, and the most frequent one - easing the pain of a difficult day. It's refreshing to have this element of fun in the process of 'book-fairying'," she said.
Bayaborda now leaves books everywhere, indoors and outdoors wherever she believes people will spot them. They can be hidden anywhere: on a chair, or in a tree, in a cafe. With great excitement, she narrates her first book drop, which was at her work place and around where she lives."I always make sure I have books with me whenever I leave home. So far, I've been to all malls in Qatar and have left a book or two in most of the well-known tourist spots in Doha. The books can be identified by a Book Fairy sticker and ribbon that indicates that it's a gift to be picked," she said.
Most of the books she initially left for people to find were from her own collection. In recent times, she has got a lot of books that have been donated by book-readers here in Doha who stumbled upon the social media account."I usually receive messages asking if I accept second-hand books. You'll be surprised by the number of readers in Doha who are willing to give out their books to support our cause of promoting reading."
Though Bayaborda was the first Book Fairy in Qatar, she has been joined by many more since she started out. She said,"I'm so proud to say that I have a pretty great number of fairy wings since I started. I have met a lot of readers and"bookstagram" bloggers here in Qatar and most of them have been helping me drop books around Qatar."
So far she has hidden more than 100 books. Most book finders post it on social media and tag our account saying that they have found the book. There are also some who just send her a message informing that they've found a book."Letting me know that they've found them is also a great enough motivation for me to drop more book," she said.
Speaking about the type of books she usually chooses, she said,"I always make sure that the books we drop are"culture-sensitive", and in different genre. Or, if we happen to have a theme for that day or month, we follow the theme."
Book Fairies in Qatar organise various activities to spread the love for book reading. They have recently started collaborating with the Doha Bookworms in creating a group for book lovers here in Qatar and held their first meet-up at the Qatar National Library.
Along with other Book Fairies in Qatar, Bayaborda recently helped set up a new community library in Uganda."We want to reach areas of the world where our Book Fairy magic can make a real difference to children and adults alike," she said.
Bayaborda, who loves reading, said that reading has always been an escape from the hurly-burly of daily life. She especially encourages reading among children as she believes that it not only enhances a child's vocabulary but it also helps children absorb knowledge."Reading exposes children to different words or phrases that they may not hear otherwise in their day-to-day lives. The more words they know, the better it would be for them to communicate well with others. It also teaches children to be creative. Most of all, it enhances their imaginative power, and this is one of the most amazing things you experience when you're reading."
She recommended her favourites the Harry Potter series, Roald Dahl's books and Wonder by RJ Palacio.
Find the Book Fairies at: Instagram - @bookfairies_qatar | @thebookfairies
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/bookfairiesqatar | https://www.facebook.com/thebookfairies
Twitter - @bookfairies_Qat | @the_bookfairies
Want to become a Book Fairy yourself?
Just order the stickers from www.ibelieveinbookfairies.com which costs A£2/- or QR10/- with FREE SHIPPING. Arabic stickers are also available!
