Over The Coffee Mug: Individual Assignment 1 - Books & Beer promotes "R & R"

Entrance of Switch by Timbre on 3rd November

Books & Beer promotes "R & R" - Refreshing & Recycling

On the 3^rd of November, “Books & Beer” was conducted at Switch by Timbre from 5pm-7pm. This travelling book swap was part of the Singapore Writers’ Festival 2012, and promotes recycling old books while enjoying beers at a discounted price.

The Singapore' Writers' Festival (SWF) is an annual literary event that features writer's from not just Singapore but other parts of the world. It is a multilingual event organised by the National Arts Council (NAC) Singapore, and was conducted from the 2nd to the 11th of November 2012. This year's theme for the event was "Origins". "Books & Beer" was one of the free events in conjunction with SWF this year.

The event was organised by Melissa Low, a 25-year-old Energy Analyst at the Energy Studies Institute with the National University of Singapore and Eileen Lee, a 24-year-old Communications Executive with the Singapore Business Federation.

“We wanted to bring about a revival in the reading culture amongst busy young working adults, which we feel is lacking today. I think that there aren’t many pro-bono event planners out there because it’s time consuming and unless you have an interest in doing it. Whether it’s to meet new people, get a weekend beer, or create a platform to catch up with old friends or family, most people shy away,” said Melissa.

Eileen added: “I think the best part of this is that it’s open to everyone and anyone. As long as you read, and you’ve books you would like to share, we welcome you. Having books as a common topic also helps strangers interact; you get far less of the awkwardness and contrived statements.”

Bar at Switch - here's where you order your discounted drinks

Participants are supposed to bring a maximum of 10 old books, place them where there is space, and take some of the books that are already there. Books left over from the book swap are carried forward to the next book swap or donated to charity. Those who registered for the book swap got the drinks at 10 per cent discount.

People surrounding the book section - place your books here and browse the titles

Nelissa Hernandez, an In-Flight Magazine writer who participated in the event for the first time, said: “I read about this event from the Singapore Writers’ Festival. I like it so far because the organizers don’t hover around you, they give you time to look around.”

When asked about the variety of the books, she commented: “I read a lot, so I’ve read most of the books here. There are so many different people here with different tastes, so you can’t really expect to find mainstream books. I’m looking for travel related books, and I managed to find a couple.”

Nelissa Hernandez (left) with friends at Switch

Amanda Ng, student and first time participant also heard about the book swap online. “I think it’s really cool to have this sort of event in Singapore. There aren't many books around, maybe because not many people are here, but I would definitely come again,” she mentioned.

Joey Dawson, secondary school teacher and first time participant said: “I heard about this from a friend and I thought it was a brilliant idea. You can bring it your old books that you don’t use anymore and exchange it for new ones instead of getting rid of it.” She found the variety limited, but mentioned that she would like to attend again.

Now, the swap is usually conducted at cafes, bars, concept stores and restaurants. The locations that agree for the event allow it to be held there for free for the duration of the book swap, which usually lasts for a couple of hours. Finding a location has been a challenge for the organisers, but they have “managed to work with some very understanding and helpful hosts so far.”

Other free to attend events by SWF this year were the "Rare books tour", which is a tour that allows attendees to view rare materials otherwise not open to the public, "The Ukulele Girls", a musical performance at the Singapore Management University (SMU), and "Suara Dari Muara", which is Malay for "Voices from the Bay", a malay poetry performance.