“A Book of Verses underneath the Bough,

A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread – and Thou

Beside me singing in the Wilderness –

Oh, Wilderness were Paradise enow!

So goes a translation of a quatrain from The Rubaiyat of Omar Khajjam, the works of a Persian poet, philosopher, astronomer and mathematician who lived between 1048 and 1131. And although almost a thousand years have elapsed since the poet coined the verses, they may still hold true today as book lovers roam through the 31st Paris Book Fair in search of the elusive ‘Book of Verses’ which can change the wilderness into a paradise.

The 31st Paris Book Fair, which is being held at the Porte de Versailles, opened yesterday and is running till Monday as it once again offers a golden opportunity for book lovers and book sellers to meet and evaluate the current trends and changes in the sector at a time when the digital and computer age seem to be taking over a fair share of the market.

Visitors at the fair have the chance to roam about and observe different aspects related to the book trade. They can go to The Author’s Pavilion, the Digital Space, The Scene or the Conference Room where discussions and tributes are held while some 40 authors from various Nordic countries such as Finland, Iceland and Norway are this year’s guests of honour on the premises. Featured authors also include Ian McEwan from the UK, and Katherine Lasky of the United States. And to put the cherry on the cake, French First lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy has also taken to the Paris Book Fair this year as she paid a visit yesterday and through the Carla Bruni-Sarkozy Foundation is joining the fight against illiteracy by giving out books to children.

In this way this Parisian showcase offers amateurs and professionals of the book genre an excellent fresh spring welcome into the world of literature as it offers a kaleidoscope of styles fit for consumption, be it fiction, poetry, cookery, biography, compilations, music, bestsellers or any other reading material that suits the eye of the beholder.