No Small Wander

This week I visited a yacht full of books—the Logos Hope, the world’s largest floating book fair.

I’ve seen this book fair all over my TikTok, and people were raving about it—the world’s largest book fair! It’s on a boat! It’s total social media candy, for people who love books, and people who love the luxury about life at sea.

But there’s something that the TikToks didn’t mention: this is a very Christian endeavour.

I don’t mind a bit of religion—my thoughts have always been, as long as you’re not hurting anyone, worship however makes you happy. But as an agnostic, there’s something isolating about entering any denominational space that feels isolating. It’s not really for me. It’s not that I’m closed-minded; I explored Christianity growing up in the church, I decided it’s not for me.

So showing up to the world’s largest book fair, I was a little put off when I realised a little late that this was a religious-themed boat I was on. This boat costs £1, and when entered, shows an educational movie about the work Logos Hope does.

From here, it’s an IKEA-style system through the book shop. You’re allowed to enter through one doorway, make your way through the shop in one direction, and end at the cash registers. Because the boat tours internationally, each book has a “point” system, and those points are converted to local currency. Cash is accepted, but any card payments will be charged in Euros.

Beyond the cash registers, there’s a café where hot drinks and popcorn can be purchased. There’s even a walled-off space with long benches, very reminiscent of church pews.

But back to the books; when you first get on the boat, the first reading materials you encounter are free, and all Christian-themed: stories about prayer, and turning your life over to God. But when you get into the actual shop, there is actually a large selection of kid’s books.

You move through fiction, non-fiction, and then…Christian lit. This place is 75% Christian lit. It’s bibles, stories about devotion, journals for prayer (divided by gender for some reason?).

I went through twice—which I probably wasn’t supposed to do, but I’ve found that if you walk confidently people rarely stop you. But I was worried that I was so distracted by all the Christian lit the first time that I missed good books (I picked up at least five books thinking they were about money, or business, or self-help, only to figure out on the back that they were about finding God).

On my second go-round, I found there were a lot more books that were more my speed. Memoirs from women who took non-traditional paths; books about finding direction that didn’t have to do with religion. I ended up buying Rebecca Minkoff’s memoir about building a fashion empire, and a book on how to focus on goals. Neither was religious, and I’m looking forward to reading them!

To be honest, I can’t really recommend this book fair unless you’re in the market for books about Christianity, non-religious self-development, or kid’s books. The books are well-priced, and the kids books section was full of fiction, nature, and science books. But if a lot of religious-themed literature is a turnoff, maybe give this one a pass.

The Hope Logos is currently docked at the Excel Centre, where it will be until July 5^th. For more information, click here.