As the Pongal holidays began in the city, the 47^th edition of the Chennai Book Fair saw many people visiting it for its collection of historical books and manga.

According to publishers at the book fair, customers have been interested in buying historical and self-improvement books, which was the trend last year as well. At many of the Tamil book stalls, a lot of historical novels are in demand. “The interest in historical novels has been increasing steadily. While Ponniyin Selvan still draws a big crowd, people are looking at other books too,” said Uma Natarajan, who manages the Rhythm Book Distributors stall.

There has also been a demand for spiritual and social books. Stating that people have also been moving away from mainstream historical novels to social books A. Vennila, who manages the New Student Book Agency, said many had been requesting Kazhivarai Irukkai by Latha. “This was not the case during previous years. People do want to talk and learn more about topics that were once considered taboo. There has been a wave of more broad-minded books,” she added.

The stall of the Tamil Nadu Textbook and Educational Services Corporation is busy with people who want to get their hands on the Sangam literature books that the State has brought out. At the Thirunangai Press LLP stall, Grace Banu said the book Grace had been quite popular among children.

On the environmental side, many were searching for books on the 2017 Ennore oil spill.

Comics in demand

Another aspect of the book fair this year was the introduction of manga, which are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Though only a handful of stalls carry these, they have been well sought after. “We were not even aware of manga until last year, when many people came requesting them. Since then, we decided to stock up on the titles. About 85% of our sales are in manga,” said A. Mathiazhagan, who manages the Dream Ways stall.

The stall has on display tall stacks of One Piece, Death Note, and other series, to which people flock to. “From kids of Class IV to college students, many have come asking for copies of the One Piece series,” he added.

In the Tamil comics section too, there has been a steady number of patrons. “We recently published the Tintin series in Tamil. The comics have been more popular with men,” said Jagajothi G., who manages Muthu Comics.

However, some publishers who have set up stalls for years claim that people’s interest in reading has dwindled. “The crowd used to be so much more, and people generally wanted to buy books, but now it’s been difficult to see anyone who really wants to read,” said a volunteer who manages the Aruvi Puthaga Ulagam stall.