Book fair organised by Rotary Club
The book fair organised by Rotary Club of Coimbatore West, Book Sellers Association and Bharathiar University at the Suguna Kalyana Mandapam in the city on Sunday.Amid cake and carol festivals, there is one more attraction in the city this season: a book carnival.Organised by the Rotary Club of Coimbatore West along with the Book Sellers Association and Bharathiar University at Suguna Kalyana Mandapam, the fair is an attempt to revive a fast dying reading habit, especially among children.With over 67 stalls, the collection of books has variety. Encyclopaedias, dictionaries, atlases and general knowledge books are in the forefront though. All the stalls offer a discount of at least 10 per cent.Among fiction, Indian and international authors share space. Fredrick Forsyth, Robin Sharma and John Grisham seem to be in the limelight at the fair. “In one day, we have sold five copies of Sharma’s “The Monk who sold his Ferrari.” This is great considering the rate at which fiction moves,” says H. Ashkar of Choose and Read.S.T. Nousath, proprietor of Choose and Read substantiates this. “In the last two years, the sale of fiction has dropped significantly. He attributes this to a growing interest in computers among the younger generation and lack of time for reading.
A patient browse through the book stacks at each stall can lead to precious tomes that are a pride to possess. The plays of Checkov and Rubbaiyat of Omar Khayyam can fall into this category. Most of the great classics in English literature too have found places in some of the stalls.Apart from these are books on yoga, meditation, cookery, gardening, science, and spirituality. Choose and Read has a stall specifically for second-hand books where you could pick up six novels for Rs.100 and magazines for Rs.10 to Rs.40. For children, the choices are plenty.They can pick up comics, colouring books, and Enid Blytons and Harry Potter.
Having roped in some of the major publishers and book stalls such as Higgin Bothams, Cambridge, New Century, Choose and Read and Kandasamy Pathippagam, the organisers expect at least 200,000 visitors this year.“We have been conducting the exhibition for the last 13 years,” says A.V.Pathy, president of Rotary Club of Coimbatore West.Special competitions also add to the fun at the book fair. Painting and pencil sketching contests for children will be held on December 24 at 5.30 p.m.On December 26, fashion wear competition will be held, which is open to all. Elocution, ‘Best Friends,’ ‘Best out of Waste,’ and quiz will be held on December 27, 28 and 29. The fair is on till December 30.
