Readers8217; being replaced by book-users8217;

CHANDIGARH, Feb 21: The onslaught of television and Internet, contrary to popular belief, has not affected the sale of books. The demand ...

CHANDIGARH, Feb 21: The onslaught of television and Internet, contrary to popular belief, has not affected the sale of books. The demand for books, publishers at the Chandigarh Book Fair point out, has only increased in the past few years. The reader8217; has been replaced by the book-user8217; who no longer demands literature and social sciences. Instead, 8220;self-improvement8221; books, that teach you anything from building confidence to spiritualism, well-packaged information technology manuals and management guides, are in vogue. Of course, they sell better when accompanied by CD-roms.

8220;On an average we bring out five to six new titles on computers every month,8221; says Alok Bhushan of Prentice-Hall of India, New Delhi 8212; a publishing house dealing in economy Indian reprints of foreign books on engineering, information technology IT and management. 8220;A few years ago, our main sales were in the engineering sector. Though the area has sustained itself, there has been a greater demand for computers and management. Besides, CD-roms have become a necessary accompaniment, even institutes prefer CD-roms,8221; adds Bhushan.

With consumerism setting in people are buying more 8220;even if they are reading less,8221; says Sanjeev Magu, proprietor of Om Book International, the all India distributor for UK-based Wordsworth Classics and Everyman series. 8220;The main demand is for coffee table books especially gardening and photography. CD-rom packages of Encyclopaedias and reference books are the answer to computers,8221; he says. 8220;Domestic sales are increasing,8221; says P.K. Chandran of Pustak Mahal. 8220;Our health titles and self-improvement books are in great demand,8221; he adds.

At the same time, publishers are also adapting themselves and re-packaging books and pricing them more competitively to sell more. 8220;Wordsworth Classics are priced at One pound each and we manage to sell about 50,000 copies annually, for the reference series, priced higher at 2.5 pounds, the sales are lower between 10,000 to 15,000 copies,8221; says Magu. S Rehman of Viva Books Private Limited, which bring out cheaper Indian reprints of self-help book series like 8220;How to be a better 8230;8221; Rehman reveals: 8220;These formula books sell a lot. Our editions are very affordable, priced between Rs 50 to Rs 150.8221; In fact, the demand for formula books has increased so much that the market is flooded with them. Companies which profit from publishing only these books have come up. 8220;Our company started in 1996 and we publish books which revolve around thinking,8221; says Nitin Grover of Think Inc. Their titles include books that claim to teach 8220;simple ways8221; to solving almost about any problem from making one8217;s daughterworldly-wise to even living peacefully with one8217;s in-laws.

8220;Till about a few years ago, there were only about a couple of Dale Carnegie books in this slot,8221; remarks National Book Trust India Director Nirmal Kanti Bhattacharjee. 8220;Reading has not declined only the medium is changing. In my opinion, there8217;ll be readers and there8217;ll be readers only their demands are changing,8221; he adds.