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15:20 
17:26 
The term book or reading is tragically fast becoming (if not already) synonymous with the moniker nerd, or even geek. Imagine then the tag assigned to an entire festival dedicated to the sole purpose of promoting literature.
The Emirates Airlines International Festival of Literature (EAIFL) was launched in 2009 to dispel that very prejudice; the notion that books are for ‘losers’ and reading for bores.
Following its successful advent the previous year, the second edition of the EAIFL was officially inaugurated this morning at the Intercontinental Hotel, Dubai Festival City, in the presence of a full house of authors, dignitaries and bibliophiles.
Collaboratively sponsored for the second time around by Emirates Airlines and Magrudy’s, this Lit Fest has every intention of bringing back to life the dying practice of reading in the Dubai community.
Boasting a diverse line-up of more than 80 authors (including quite a few heavy weights of the business), this year’s event kicked off to a very promising start. Throngs of book-lovers marked their presence from the early hours of the morning until the end of the day’s sessions; keeping busy with the numerous discussions and ‘conversations’ scheduled for the day.
Favourites of Day 1 included the insightful Inspiration-Why We Write discourse featuring Bahaa Taher, Yann Martel and Imtiaz Dharker, The Book Club Phenomenon conversation with Chris Cleave, DJ Taylor, RJ Ellory and Rachel Hore, and the much-anticipated session with Martin Amis.
Also very well-received were the sessions with Robert Greene, Conn Iggulden and Youssef Ziedan.
Author sessions and workshops vary in price, and entry passes to each session can be either pre-booked online, or purchased at the venue itself (albeit with no guarantee of availability). Book signing sessions follow each discourse, and all titles of participating novelists (just in case you don’t have a copy in hand) can be bought at the makeshift (yet fully operative) Magrudy’s outlet at the venue.
The Lit Fest is scheduled to run from the 10th-13th of this month, so those eager to attend have 3 more days to get in on the action. The more anticipated discourses scheduled for the rest of the festival are the sessions by Marjane Satrapi, Jeffery Deaver, Alexander McCall Smith and William Dalrymple (to name a few).
To have a look at the entire schedule or for more information on session reservations, visit the EAIFL official website: www.emirateslitfest.com
For individual reviews of the festival’s sessions, visit www.moneymunot.com, www.shaahima.wordpress.com, [hishamwyne.wordpress.com] , and [ana-aqra2.blogspot.com]
13:17 The newly enforced (and long overdue) ruling in Dubai against the levying of service tax at restaurants has turned the cards in our favour, for both expats and locals alike. For many a night out we’ve failed to take into account with how much weightage that 10% obligatory service charge is reflected on our tabs; especially at the more fancier eateries and watering holes. Quite the damper it was, yes.
And now that the days of the dreaded service tax have been put behind us, our meal bills are considerably less exorbitant and our wallets slightly lighter. What we fail to realize however, is that although the charge has ceased to exist, the kind folks who serve us our meals are still very much alive.
In fact, now there’s more a reason than any to actually tip our servers and busboys; for now we can be certain that this little gratuity from our end really does make it to their pockets and is not another addition to the sum total of the outlet’s logbook instead.
Just like we’re encouraged to give credit where credit is due, let’s also tip those who are clearly deserving of it. Pay that 10% anyway, just because your waitress delivered service with a smile. Exchange a ‘loaded’ handshake with the valet who retrieved your car, even though you’ve got the parking ticket stamped. Let your cabbie keep the change, and spare the gas attendant a few for having taken the trouble to wash your windows.
We’d all like an appreciative pat in the back at the end of a job well done. And in times like these, it’s best sometimes to let the money do the talking.
