Books and Beer
Alcohol, long considered the social lubricant of the masses, and key to successful adventures in dating, has been embraced by a book collecting club in Brussels.
“The club was formed by a handful of book lovers six years ago. Today there are around 350 members and a new, bigger venue above The Duke, a pub in the fashionable Chatelain area.”
Apparently, after a few stouts, trading books among the members of the club commences fast and furious. “The concept is as straightforward as a Martina Cole thriller. You bring a carrier bag of books and swap them for the same number.”
Are there any such clubs in the U. S.? Does the collectible book community meet anywhere for ales, pilsners, porters and lagers while trading volumes amongst themselves? May a book interest be determined by the type of beer one drinks? Does the light beer drinker read popular fiction while the stout imbiber prefers heavy tomes? There is a master’s degree thesis here somewhere.
It is probably a good thing that when club members are selecting their trades to bring to the meeting, they begin sober. That way one does not take a rare collectible book to trade for a Michael Crichton paperback.
If a club is started in the upstate New York region, I’ll be there. You buy the first round.
Read more at Brussels Bibliophiles Bond over Books and Beer
November 3rd, 2008 at 11:14 pm
The Bibliophiles of Oklahoma meet once a month and bend an elbow, but we don’t trade books. At least not yet.