Booking the best

Booking the best
The Times of India

Bangalore: Kiran Desai’s The Inheritance of Loss may have won the Man Booker, brought in rave reviews and unleashed a publicity blitzkrieg. But that does not seem to be translating to sales figures in Bangalore. At least, not at the Strand Book Festival.
With over 4,000 titles up for grabs till December 10 across three halls at Chinnaswamy Stadium, the book festival serves well as a dipstick to measure the reading habits of Bangalore. Strand Book Store’s Vidya Virkar affirms that the sales of Desai’s book is nowhere near Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things.
More bad news: The popularity of Indian authors is waning. While there was a boom a few years ago, the hackneyed Indo-US diaspora theme and the dripping romanticism of Indian authors seem to be losing ground. “They eulogise everyday instances and the writing needs to transcend the current standards,” observes Virkar.
Fantasy and science fiction are the chart-toppers, courtesy J R R Tolkein. “After The Lord of the Rings movies, fantasy has picked up like never before.” These books have also become something of a fashion statement, thanks to the flamboyance of the characters and the wild imagination of the authors. The book sale seems to be most popular among young adults aged between 20 and 35. Blame it on the high stress levels, but spirituality is seeing a great surge among the youth audience.
Children’s books too are doing phenomenally well. “Earlier, parents would spend about Rs 500 on their children’s books. Today, the average spend is between Rs 1,000 and Rs 2,000,” says Virkar.
The most heartwarming fact is the general increase in reading habits and respect for books. “Five years ago, when the internet was new and catching on, the awe factor drew audiences away. But they came back to realise that there’s nothing more satisfying than reading a book — it’s an energy bond for life.”