The Jaipur Literary Book Fest 2011 was the breeding ground where intellectuals met Page 3 glamour and cohabitated beautifully. The fair was also a testament to the fact that book reading is not going to be out of fashion anytime soon. “ India has a very strong intellectual curiosity and, and a superb spirit for making arguments” declared John Makinson, chairman and chief executive, Penguin Group, and Pearson India Chairman, at a talk on “Why Books Matter” at the Jaipur Literary fest. This actually soothed the fears that book lovers constantly have, that is reading going out of fashion. In fact if anything, the Indian readers penchant for reading will actually serve to push up the sale of digital books online. Kiran Desai, a part of this panel, said quite categorically that while an IPAD or Kindle can supplement a book it won’t replace it. Expanding on this Patrick French said that yes while travelling long distances, it is nice to have your books loaded on to a nice slim book-like gadget. But it would not replace a book at all."
In fact, it is fairs like these that see a lot of book sales. Despite being dogged by accusations of being elitist and fashion-minded, such fairs I think should grow and prosper. Where else can we humble souls get to rub shoulders wit the likes of Pamuk and Martin Amis in a lunch line?
In fact, it is fairs like these that see a lot of book sales. Despite being dogged by accusations of being elitist and fashion-minded, such fairs I think should grow and prosper. Where else can we humble souls get to rub shoulders wit the likes of Pamuk and Martin Amis in a lunch line?
