Photo courtesy of Jean Bayaborda
Doha: An expat in Qatar creates wonderful serendipity for the community as she hides free books all around the country. With a bag full of books, Jean Bayaborda often goes around Doha to hide books in public places for other people to find. To fellow bibliophiles, she is popularly known as Qatar's official "Book Fairy".
The Book Fairies community is a group of more than 10,000 passionate book lovers worldwide who hide books for other people to discover. It has sought the participation of well-known actress Emma Watson in 2019 when she hid copies of the book "Little Women" in celebration of the film's release in which she played the role of Meg March. In May this year, The Duchess of Cambridge Catherine also joined The Book Fairies in hiding copies of her book "Hold Still" in the UK in celebration of its publication.
The initiative of literary treasure hunt was launched by Cordelia Oxley in the UK in March 2017, and has now garnered popularity and engagement in more than 100 countries.
Jean discovered the Book Fairies through Emma Watson’s Instagram account during the International Women’s Day in 2017. Fascinated by it, she purchased the official Book Fairy stickers and started hiding books around Doha. Eventually, the founder offered her to become an official book fairy and manage The Book Fairies in Qatar.
Thus began her journey to the selfless act of book sharing in the country with a simple goal — to encourage more people to read.
"I’m always interested in anything that has got to do with books, and the fact that I am sharing this passion with other people makes it even more special," Jean told The Peninsula.
Her role as a book fairy is simple.
"A book fairy must leave the book without being seen, but the book should be visible enough for the next person to spot it. The books can be hidden anywhere," explained the Filipina expat.
A few of the best places to spot them in public are on a chair, in a café, and even at the farthest locations such as Wakra and Al Khor.
The hidden books can be identified through its distinguishable Book Fairy sticker, an eye-catching sign saying FREE BOOK!, and a ribbon wrapped around it. Book finders can also find a note inside the book and connect with the book fairies on social media, either through a tagged post or a direct message.
As a book fairy, Jean also never runs out of books to give. She shared that, at first, the books she had hidden were from her own collection but as more people discovered the initiative, avid readers in Doha have also started donating their pre-loved books.
"You'll be surprised by the number of readers in Doha who are willing to give out their books to support our cause of promoting reading," she said.
However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, her plans for The Book Fairies in Qatar had to be paused. This resulted in a few months of hiatus before restarting book drops again during the Eid Al Adha holidays.
When asked what made her push through despite the current circumstances, she said: "This is a strange period of time for every single person in the world. So in my own little way, I try to keep providing random acts of kindness when they are needed more than ever."
To date, Jean has hidden over a hundred books in the country and has inspired more than 10 people from the community to be book fairies as well.
The Book Fairies community is open for everyone and anyone can be a book fairy by simply availing its official stickers on their website and place it on the book then hide it for the next reader to find. Stickers in Arabic are available as well.
The Book Fairies in Qatar also noted that books hidden in the country are culture-appropriate and have been sanitized before being dropped in public places.
Sharing her experience as a book fairy for four years, she said: "It’s a great feeling to read messages from people who were thankful for finding a book from a book fairy. Some of them would say they’ve discovered a different genre of book, or that they’ve learned about a great independent author. The most heartwarming part is when they would say that reading the book they’ve found from a book fairy somehow eased the pain of difficult times. It's refreshing to have this element of happiness and fun in the process of 'book-fairying'."
She also conveyed her hopes that, through this platform, she can inspire and encourage more people to start reading as well as serve as a platform for gift giving and acts of kindness through literature.
In a simple message to fellow bibliophiles and book finders, she said: "There is no pixie dust, or magical transformations involved — there is, however, some magic and a lot of love. The love for reading and the desire to spread it. This is what Book Fairies are all about. So, do you believe in book fairies?."
