Bibliophiles could look forward to make some addition to their collections as the annual Rotary book fair is back in the city, this time at a new venue at the Corporation grounds at Anna Nagar in the city.
The new venue definitely gives a more spacious and airy look to the fair. For many book lovers, the cramped arrangement at book fairs in recent past has been a thorn in the flesh as they were denied an opportunity to browse through the books in peace. Thankfully, visitors have space to move around freely on the pathways now, though they could still find their movement restricted inside the stalls as exhibitors try to use every inch of available space. The only drawback of the new venue seems to be the absence of direct town bus connectivity.
As has been the trend in recent years, children’s, personality development, self-help, cookery, spirituality and text books dominate the collection on offer. Tamil titles clearly outnumber English ones.
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Educational and self-improvement CDs for children and adults are also available aplenty. As it has become customary for any fair these days, a food court forms part of the expo for visitors to refresh themselves.
Though the exhibition offers a diverse fare, it still remains a concern for many book lovers that not many direct publishers are making it to the fairs in recent years. But the organisers say they are happy as long as a good number of titles are on offer for the visitors.
“I don’t think it is an issue as long as there is a good collection for the people to choose from. These are days when book fairs are being held at many towns and cities frequently and it is difficult for publishers to come directly. It is enough if they are represented by their distributors,” observed S.Saravanan, chairman of the Book Fair 2014.
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This time around, the book fair is also open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on all days till October 5 in view of the Dasara holidays. Although visitors have to pay an entry fee of Rs.5, organisers say that about two lakh coupons have been distributed to schools for free admission to students. A slew of contests are also being organised to encourage aspiring young writers.