Venturing to the LifeLine Bookfest

 

So I wanted to go this year to the LifeLine Bookfest. I have been starting to get back into reading books and the LifeLine Bookfest delivers an array of genres ready for your purchase. 

I caught the train and got off at Roma Street. I stopped at 7/11 to get some snacks (because I was in a rush to get the train I forgot the snacks.) I walked a bit further and found the Kurlipa bridge to walk across from to get to the Brisbane Convention Centre at Southbank. 

I walked along the river front because to be honest, I couldn’t really remember where the Brisbane Convention Centre was but I thought if I follow the river, it should help me get there. (Of course if I really got lost, I would just use Google Maps). 

The water sound was crashing on the other side of the path. It was very peaceful. And even though it was sort of early there were many people walking and riding bikes on the path. 

About LifeLine 

Going to the Bookfest you feel great that you are supporting such an amazing and much needed charity focused on preventing suicide and providing a call service and now text service for someone who is in desperate need. 

The Bookfest happens every year 

Normally it is held in January, but I also believe this year it will occur again on June 2025. This one was in Brisbane. 

What it was like

It was incredibly organised. I spoke to the greeter volunteer who offered me a map and I said this is my first time and she suggested I get a trolley. I did go in with a plan to get ten books so I went and got a trolley. She mentioned that even if you carry books it’s just easier to use a trolley. Now, after the event, I completely agree. Plus mid way through I realised you could buy bags to put the books in so I decided I would just buy as many books as I wanted because I could use the bags to carry them. 

I got there on the last day and they don’t always do this but this time they dropped the $2.50 section (a massive section) to $1. 

So I dived in. I bought 17 non-fiction from gardening books, to cooking, travel and finance. 

I got in just after 8:30am (when it opened) and left about 10am. 

Everyone was polite. Nobody was rude. Everyone was just browsing through the very many long desks of different category books. The volutneers were also lovely. And there were bathrooms and a little eatery. Plus it was air conditioned.

For those interested, there are a few other sections. Once you pay for your $1 books, you can go to the more expensive better quality books. I was already two bags deep so I didn’t venture there. However I will admit the quality of the $1 books were quite good. There were only some that had some ripped covers or a bit of dirt on the front you could baby wipe clean once you got home. I believe there was also a comic section … hmm now I think about it, I could have checked out the comics. 

Recommendations 

If you are going to take your children, I suggest you go twice. Spend the time by yourself just looking through every book and then the second time go with your children and just focus on them searching through every book for children. 

Also, if you didn’t take a car (which is completely fine if you don’t). Walk to the Southbank station and catch a bus and go to your location or be dropped at the nearest train station and catch a lift home on public transport. The books are heavy. I bought 17 and a couple of them were heavy hard cover books. Walking far is really hard on the body with the bags. So I suggest you don’t walk over the bridge to get back to the city, just catch a bus. 

Would I go again? 

Absolutely. I love the big range they have. I love how cheap it is. And I love I am supporting a charity.

I can grow from reading and learning and not feel guilty that it would normally cost $30 for one new book. And if I get bored of the book or find I have no further use for it, I can donate it back so next year it might go back into the bookfest regiving to LifeLine’s much needed funding.