Books are gateways to another world. I got to experience the joy of reading after I quit my vettalai (betel leaf) business and started this one. I realised I had to know the story of a book before I sold it to people. So, I flip through the pages or ask my customers for a summary. I like mystery. The Da Vinci Code shook me the first time I heard its plot from a customer.I make new friends during these story-telling sessions. I am in good terms with the police officers and advocates who drop in at my vandi to buy legal and political thrillers by John Grisham and Jeffery Archer. They also read self-help books of authors like Robin Sharma and Shiv Khera. Romance is the most popular genre among youngsters. Chetan Bhagat is still a rage. At times, his books come to my outlet much before they reach the book stores in the city. So, many collage goers flock to my vandi when a new Chetan Bhagat book is released. Amish Tripathi’s ‘Shiva Trilogy’ also resonates well with them.
I also stock Tamil books. Family novellas go well with women because they are similar to the stories of the television soaps. Books on humour also find many takers. Most of them are relatives of patients at KG Hospital. They buy these jokes books to kill time in the hospital. The jokes melt away the worries and help them see the lighter side of life, they say.
I have been selling books for the past 10 years. In the last one decade there has been a fillip in the reading trend. Parents are keen to develop reading habits in children. Children are drawn to my painting books and comics with colourful pictures of animals and cartoon characters.
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Literature lovers advise me to stock more classics and award-winning novels. They give me a list. I promise them that they will see them on my shelves the next time they visit me. And, I remind them to tell me the story once they finish the book.