Reading Books: On its way out? #boimela #readingasahobby

The annual carnival of books - the International Book Fair (#Boimela),  just concluded in Kolkata, India. Like in previous years, this year too saw millions of people swarming the fairgrounds, browsing through stalls, searching for titles, picking up books, flipping through covers, and finally buying some.

There have been many arguments that these fairs are more popular as hangout and adda zones, than as a serious destination for bibliophiles. But from what I saw, there were pretty serious book lovers thronging the fair, absorbed in browsing through shelves and shelves of books.

A lot of people came for the intellectual ambience, some came for the food and entertainment, some planned family outings around it, but in the end, book sales show that book reading is far from its way out.

Children and youngsters do read actual books and not just e-books. They are hooked to social media - yes, but do find solace in a good book. And middle-aged, world weary people like us find comfort, empathy and motivation through books. And those in their sunset years still rely on a good read for relaxation.

Now it is up to the publishers and book sellers to optimize their sales through these opportunities. The Booksellers and Publishers Guild of Kolkata does a fine job of bringing several publishing houses, book stores, regional and national authors, and readers under one roof, but it can do more to push up sales.

For example:

• Give an additional discount of 20% on purchase of more than three books by a single buyer
• Segregate popular titles, easy-reads, and self-help books from the classics and lesser known serious authors, with appropriate discounts on each section.
• Organize interactive sessions in the stalls itself, between lesser known authors and prospective readers (there is a literary fest organized in the Book Fair, but it focuses more on well-known authors or film personalities)
• Offer titles and books that have not sold for the past two years at a huge price cut (the attention span of this generation being what it is, it makes better sense to sell rather than hoard old publications)

These are just a few of my suggestions to up the profitability of the book fair, and push up book sales. Otherwise it remains an exercise in pseudo-intellectualism or "aantlami" (as the Bengali slang goes).