The Izmir Book Fair has been met with great interest from Izmir book lovers since it opened its doors on April 18. Book lovers who shop for books at the colorful stands set up in Kültürpark and meet with their favorite authors at autograph sessions also have an enjoyable weekend with author talks and various stage events. The international guest of honor of the fair this year, world-famous philosopher Wilhelm Schmid, had a sincere conversation with his readers about his most-read work, “Being Unhappy.”
Hosted by the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality and organized in collaboration with İZFAŞ and TACT Fair Organization, the İZKİTAP-5th Izmir Book Fair offers a true cultural feast at Kültürpark with the theme of “Children and Art”. The fair, which is full of second-hand booksellers, auctions, guest authors and various exhibitions in addition to the stands of numerous publishing houses, also offers its visitors a rich program with talks and autograph sessions. The international guest of honor of the fair, German philosopher and author Wilhelm Schmid, met with his Izmir readers at the Uzun Havuz Event Area. Schmid, who gave a talk on his book “Being Unhappy”, which has attracted great attention in Türkiye, shared his in-depth thoughts on happiness and unhappiness and sincerely answered the questions that the readers were curious about. After the talk, Schmid signed his books for his fans.
“We Become Unhappy While Chasing Happiness”
Wilhelm Schmid, who expressed his surprise when he learned that his most read book in Türkiye was “Being Unhappy”, stated that the most frequently asked question to him in Germany was “happiness”. “All over the Western world, people are after happiness. We go crazy for things we don’t have. When people are not happy, they go after happiness. Happiness is one of the oldest questions in philosophy. Deep down, all people know that life doesn’t only have beautiful aspects, but also unpleasant and sad aspects. They know that there are not only successes but also failures. However, modern people have difficulty accepting this. Modern people only want life to go positively. This becomes their source of unhappiness. People experience unhappiness while pursuing happiness. Then the real big problems begin. As long as the state of unhappiness is not accepted, it cannot be dealt with. However, as long as we accept it, we can deal with it.”
Book Lovers Pleased with Fair Atmosphere
Izmir residents visiting the fair expressed their satisfaction with both the variety of stands and the events organized. Book lover Elvan Emekli stated that holding the fair outdoors created a much better atmosphere, and talked about her interest in political and psychological books, and said, “If you can’t travel much, definitely give books a chance. There are currently too many communication tools and methods that steal attention, but the life and battery of a book never runs out.” Another book lover Figen Varol expressed her satisfaction with the presence of more publishing houses at the fair, emphasized the importance of the habit of reading books at a young age, and said that she mostly buys books in the science and research genres from second-hand booksellers.
Little Bookworms Enjoyed the Fair
Children from Izmir also showed great interest in the fair. 11-year-old twin sisters Ayça and Cemre Yavaş stated that they really liked the fair, had the chance to meet many publishers and authors, and said that they liked dystopian books and would read them in turns. 13-year-old Mina Sevimlican said that she found the books she was looking for at the fair and had her photo taken with her favorite author Nagihan Kabal, and said that she loves reading books and that you can start at a young age and move on to classic novels. 13-year-old Ayhan Zafer Ertürk, who visited the fair with his family, also stated that he was very impressed by the variety of books at the fair, and emphasized that children should spend more time reading books instead of using their phones and tablets. 10-year-old Hamza Eren and 11-year-old Tutku Yardımcı expressed their happiness at buying books and participating in various activities at the fair.
The Fair Awaits Visitors Until April 27
İZKİTAP-5. İzmir Book Fair will continue to host book lovers until April 27. In addition to the guests of honor of the fair, Behiç Ak and Wilhelm Schmid, many important writers such as Ahmet Ümit, Enver Aysever, Murat Yetkin, Pınar Öğünç, Sinan Meydan, Banu Avar, Ayşe Tolga, Zeynep Altıok, Akın Birdal, Ahmet Telli, Tacettin Bayır, Mustafa Balbay, İlber Ortaylı, Aret Vartanyan, Murat Ağırel and Timur Soykan will meet with their readers through talks and autograph sessions. The fair continues to offer a full cultural weekend to the people of İzmir and book lovers from the surrounding cities.
