Recently, a friend sent a picture of an advertisement to me.The ad gave information about an upcoming book fair which was going to be organised for a week in Indore. It said that books could be bought per kg. Rs. 100/- for thinner books, Rs. 200/- for thicker books, and so on. I though it odd that books could be weighed and sold per kg as if they were fruits and vegetables!Nevertheless, I decided to pay the fair a visit.
There is a small number of people whom I know in Indore who like reading. Libraries and bookstores are also fewer in number when compared to other cities. Thus, I was a bit apprehensive of the number, types as well as the quality of books offered at the fair.
We paid a visit on the second last day of the fair. As it was coming to an end, I wondered of the stock of books. It was being held in a room on the ground floor of a restaurant. On reaching, I noticed a poster hung outside the hotel, announcing the number of days left before the fair came to an end. A random assortment of books, both old and new, lay on a long table just outside the room.At the entrance, a table was placed on the right hand side upon which thick books were piled. On careful observation, I noticed that they were Reader's Digest volumes of condensed stories! These were massive and leather-bound. A teacher had once lent a similar volume to me and I had immensely enjoyed reading some of the stories. Some of them were fiction, while others took inspiration from real life incidents. I was pleasantly surprised to find such a wonderful collection of books!
But the major hit was yet to come! When I entered the room, I was absolutely blown off my feet!Rows and rows of books stretched away. A beautiful yellow glow lit the room. Classics; children's classics, like The Secret Garden as well as plays were stacked. Some books contained information on health, wellness and nutrition. As I headed down one of the aisles, I noticed the sheer number of books which were stuffed, some arranged along shelves, while other shoved down in such a way that only their spines were visible. There were books of every possible genre! Adventure, mystery, tragedies, romance, fiction, non-fiction, self-help, you name it.I would have loved to spend a whole day there, just scanning the books; but as that was not possible, I had to judge the books by their covers!
I picked the books with the titles that seemed the most interesting to me and scanned their synopsis. Each book had a white, yellow or red label stuck on its cover, determining the price at which it was to be weighed per kg. Further ahead, Chicken Soup for the Soul books were piled against the wall. Many new editions as well as compilations of different stories had arrived. That book fair; for me, was a small taste of paradise!!
I picked up three books of my liking, walked across the room and placed them on the weighing scale. To my absolute and utter surprise, the scale showed exactly 1 kilo!
My book haul consisted of: 'Lottery', 'The Magic of Christmas' and 'The Other Side of the Story'. I've never read any of the other books written by their authors. I have yet to start reading the books which I bought at the fair. Hope they'll be interesting and suit my taste!
It was the first book fair I ever attended. The variety of books was vast and I got three books for the price of one! What more can I ask for?
There is a small number of people whom I know in Indore who like reading. Libraries and bookstores are also fewer in number when compared to other cities. Thus, I was a bit apprehensive of the number, types as well as the quality of books offered at the fair.
We paid a visit on the second last day of the fair. As it was coming to an end, I wondered of the stock of books. It was being held in a room on the ground floor of a restaurant. On reaching, I noticed a poster hung outside the hotel, announcing the number of days left before the fair came to an end. A random assortment of books, both old and new, lay on a long table just outside the room.At the entrance, a table was placed on the right hand side upon which thick books were piled. On careful observation, I noticed that they were Reader's Digest volumes of condensed stories! These were massive and leather-bound. A teacher had once lent a similar volume to me and I had immensely enjoyed reading some of the stories. Some of them were fiction, while others took inspiration from real life incidents. I was pleasantly surprised to find such a wonderful collection of books!
But the major hit was yet to come! When I entered the room, I was absolutely blown off my feet!Rows and rows of books stretched away. A beautiful yellow glow lit the room. Classics; children's classics, like The Secret Garden as well as plays were stacked. Some books contained information on health, wellness and nutrition. As I headed down one of the aisles, I noticed the sheer number of books which were stuffed, some arranged along shelves, while other shoved down in such a way that only their spines were visible. There were books of every possible genre! Adventure, mystery, tragedies, romance, fiction, non-fiction, self-help, you name it.I would have loved to spend a whole day there, just scanning the books; but as that was not possible, I had to judge the books by their covers!
I picked up three books of my liking, walked across the room and placed them on the weighing scale. To my absolute and utter surprise, the scale showed exactly 1 kilo!
My book haul consisted of: 'Lottery', 'The Magic of Christmas' and 'The Other Side of the Story'. I've never read any of the other books written by their authors. I have yet to start reading the books which I bought at the fair. Hope they'll be interesting and suit my taste!
It was the first book fair I ever attended. The variety of books was vast and I got three books for the price of one! What more can I ask for?
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