18th Delhi Book Fair: E-books, religion and kids

New Delhi: The 18th Delhi Book Fair that kicked off in the capital over the weekend has more than just books to offer to little bookworms. From vocabulary building sessions to interactive books - there are many mind building activities for children this year.

Lallan Singh, Grolier, Divisional Manager, says, "With time and with education, people have realised that education is important for kids and specially the growth in children's books is brilliant.

Another big attraction are the religious books stalls with many takers for books on Lord Krishna and Lord Rama and even the Upanishads.

While religious books are flying off the shelves, there also seems to be a big demand for Hindi translations of popular English titles, be it Khushwant Singh's 'On Women, Sex, Love and Lust' or Shobhaa De's 'Shobhaa at Sixty'

GC Goel, Marketing Manager, Full Circle, says, "You see everybody wants to read a good book and it becomes more popular if it's available in Hindi as well."

This year, organisers are also making a pitch for e-books and even have a lounge designated to spread the word.

Mahima Kaur, Associate Business Acquisition, 'Readwhere', says, "It's a new concept and it will take time to pick up. But right now, a lot of young authors are available on e-books. Publishers are also trying to understand that e-books are a workable concept."

The fair is not just about books. A festival of films like 'Guide', 'Slumdog Millionaire', 'Parineeta' and '3 Idiots' that have been inspired by books, is also a part of the Delhi Book Fair which is on till September 9.

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