Book lovers are turning out en masse for the 29th Macau Book Carnival, which opened on Friday at the public Macao Polytechnic University’s (MPU) Sports Pavilion in Zape, offering thousands of Chinese, English and Portuguese titles, big discounts and nearly 40 activities.
Hosted by the Macau Association of Literacy Promotion and co-organised by the university, this year’s carnival is themed “AI for Logic, Books for Life”. The 10-day event features books spanning history, literature, children’s titles, comics and educational publications, with many discounted by 50 percent and promotional offers of two to four books for 100 patacas. The carnival also includes vocabulary puzzle books for readers to solve.
For 23-year-old Jean, the event was an opportunity to finally complete his collection. “This is actually my second time attending a book carnival here, and honestly, this venue features way more options than the one over at Tap Seac Sports Pavillion a few months ago. I finally got to purchase the last three Harry Potter books today [yesterday]”.
Meanwhile, Chloe, 19, said that the discounted prices were the biggest attraction. “I mostly came here to check out the comics and light novels, but I ended up getting completely sidetracked by the discounts. I grabbed a bunch of Diary of a Wimpy Kid books for my younger brother and a couple of Minecraft guides for myself”, she said.
Sio, 34, visited with her daughter, who is a fan of How to Train Your Dragon. “It’s great to see such a massive variety of children’s literature and multi-language books in one place. We actually managed to find some beautiful historical picture books on sale at 50 percent off”, Sio said.
Marco, 27, spent his time exploring the history section before purchasing a hardcover edition on Merchants of Canton and Macau by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC). “The selection is surprisingly deep. The atmosphere is really lively today, definitely worth the trip down to MPU”, Marco said.
The Macau Book Carnival runs through this coming Sunday, open from 10:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on weekdays and 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. at weekends. Carnivalgoers can browse books in Chinese, English and Portuguese while enjoying talks, cultural activities and special promotional offers throughout the event.
Readers browse books showcased during the 29th edition of the Macau Book Carnival at the public Macao Polytechnic University’s (MPU) Sports Pavilion in Zape yesterday afternoon. – Photo: Khalel Vallo
