New Delhi :Visit the Delhi Book Fair and you may get books as cheap as Rs 20.
The second-hand books are a hit at the annual fair here, giving competition to the traditional Sunday market at Old Delhi’s Daryaganj which is famous for books at cheap rates.
While the larger part of the 21st edition of the Delhi Book Fair seems to be deserted, crowds can be seen at stalls displaying the message ‘Rs 20 only’ and ‘Three for Hundred’.
“I can see a lot of popular authors like Agatha Christie, Jackie Collins, Sidney Sheldon, John Grisham and Ian Rankin available in second hand for low rates,” says Salman, a book lover, while browsing through a pile of old books.
“The book fair is just an air-conditioned version of the Daryaganj book market, but with a lesser variety of books I would say,” he added.
Expectedly unorganised, the books are kept in piles and heaps and a customer is required to dig really dip to get a book of his or her choice.
Among the books that are bound to peep out every now and then are those authored by Dan Brown and Stephen King, which have multiple copies of the same edition.
A volley of detective or crime fictions, mostly one-time-reads, can also be purchased at throwaway rates.
“What has really worked for us are books by Paulo Coelho, Nicholas Sparks and Indian authors like Chetan Bhagat, Robin Sharma and Ravinder Singh,” says Sushil Kumar, who was managing the sales of General Book stores at the fair.
Autobiographies of famous personalities like Pope Francis, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rajnikanth are also on offer at the stall for Rs 50 each.
23-year-old Geetika, who loves to collect books finds joy in the little notes or writings that one usually finds in older editions of popular books, particularly classics.
“It’s a good idea to buy the older edition classics at the Delhi Book Fair. Firstly, they are available at a much cheaper rate and also, if you are lucky, sometimes they even come with little inscriptions which is delightful for a book collector,” she says.
Geetika bought a bag full of books including former journalist Mark Tully’s “Heart of India” and the complete collection of Romantic fiction “Mills and Boon” in not more than Rs 1000.
PTI