Gujaratis turn to books with passion

Harry Potter leaves you dazzled, The Da Vinci Code justifies your mistery hunt and One Night @ The Call Centre keeps you asking for more. Bookstores such as Crossword have changed the reading habits of the Amdavadis, who were not known for their reading habits.

"Earlier, customers preferred to read only books by well known authors but gradually the trend has changed. Now, they like to experiment with a new range of books and authors," said Gaurav Shah, franchisee owner of the Crossword bookstore, Ahmedabad, who went on to add that Harry Potter is among the often read books, followed by books of authors Robin Sharma and Chetan Bhagat.

The potential of the book business across India is about Rs 500 crore, while that of Ahmedabad is at least Rs 30 crore, of which, Crossword contributes about Rs 8 crore, Shah added.

He further said, "By August-end, we plan to open a 15,000-sq feet store opposite Gallops Mall. This apart, two corner stores including a 3,000-sq feet one in the Gurukul area and another one in the Vastrapur area, which will cover 1,500-sq feet, are likely to start by mid-September this year."

However, the claims made by Shah are contested by RJ Jani, owner of the 30-year old Kitab Kendra, who says, "Compared to Surat and other metros, Ahmedabad is not reader-friendly. Over the years, the market for books has declined. There are various factors affecting the trend. Television, internet, improper library facilities, costly books, etc, are some factors that dissuade children from developing a taste in books. Parents too, do not motivate their children to read books."

Nowadays, books are sold purely on the basis of reviews done either in the newspapers or on the television, he added.

"We do not fear Crossword, as the category of people visiting us and them are different. The youth prefer going to Crosswords, as it offers good music, as well as items apart from books. But for the people, who are really interested in genuine reading, ambience does not matter. All they need is satisfactory service and personal attention by the seller," added Jani.

He adds that despite Gujarat having lots of Gujarati writers and authors, people prefer reading English books. A reason, which could be attributed to the current trend is that there is no proper collection of books in the stores or libraries.

However, according to Shah, "Crossword is primarily an English bookstore, but here, we focus more on Gujarati books. Today, Gujarati books contribute seven per cent to total book sales."

Talking about the new fever of graphic novels, Shah said, "Graphic novel is a work in the comics book format, usually with lengthy and complex storylines, often aimed at more mature audiences. Well, certain bookstores in the city do stock such novels, but we being a family bookstore do not encourage such novels."