Qatar expat leaves books in public places to encourage reading

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.