From rediscovering classics to exploring non-fiction, Chandigarh warms up to book-reading during Covid lockdown
Many people, however, were still cautious about coming to the store due to which some stores are developing a home-delivery system.
With more time at hand during the lockdown, both children and adults are turning to books to help pass time constructively.
Along with the usual top-selling genres like fiction and thrillers, books about the economy and self-help are selling the most. Children have started rediscovering classic sagas like the Harry Potter series and the musings of Enid Blyton.
Dev Pahuja, proprietor of Mohindras Book Shop in Sector 32, said that children’s books were starting to sell well again. “Even books on art are selling well. Art supplies and colouring books have surprisingly become one of our best-selling items as many children not interested in art previously are trying their hand at it,” he said.
SELF-HELP BOOKS CATCHING PEOPLE’S FANCY
As per the proprietor of Sector-17 based English Book Shop, Rajiv Chaudhary, self-help is the genre catching people’s fancy most. “We are selling more self-help books now. Other genres like fiction and biography continue to remain popular, too.” However, the absence of tourists, who formed a large part of their clientele, was being felt during the lockdown, he added.
Located on the other end of the Sector 17 market, business at the Capital Book Depot is also starting to pick up. Manager Anurag Gupta said, “People are asking for the latest books. Non-fiction is in demand and books on economics like Montek Singh Ahluwalia’s Backstage, which was published in February 2019, have become our bestsellers. People are starting to get more invested in learning about the economy during the Covid-19 crisis.”
The Browser Library and Bookstore in Sector 8 has also opened its doors both for library members as well as book lovers. Chief executive officer Pankaj P Singh agreed that the interest in reading had gone up and inquiries kept pouring in: “Many of our loyal customers visited us as soon as we opened up our stores on May 4. Books for children of all ages are the current bestsellers.”
Many people, however, were still cautious about coming to the store due to which they are developing a home-delivery system, Singh added.
Meanwhile, schoolbooks and textbook sales continued to remain unaffected even during the lockdown. Vivek Manchanda of Manchanda Books and Stationery Store in Sector 19 said that parents had flocked the shop for the first few days after they had reopened, and even now textbooks were selling like hot cakes. “Since kids are confined to their homes, parents want them to utilise their time constructively and are, therefore, buying textbooks for them,” he added.