Kozhikode: Reading is spreading, not just the traditional ways but also on the new web-based platforms.
Entebook.com, an e-commerce startup, is conducting its fourth used book fair aiming to spread reading habits among students and public at old BSNL building in Malappuram.
More than 75,000 Malayalam and English secondhand books in various categories including, fiction, non-fiction, children-teens and dictionaries are available here.
The central attraction is 'box challenge' where according to their budget readers can pick a box, which is mainly in three sizes, small, medium and large.
They carry price tags of Rs 599, Rs 999, and Rs 1,499 based on its size. A reader will get a chance to pick as many books from the exhibition until the box picked by them gets filled.
"New Malayalam and English books are also available here with attractive offers, and also I got the dictionaries at a low cost," said Hisham, an undergraduate student of Calicut University.
"All the books displayed here are difficult to get in the market. Here we get it at low cost. Box challenge helped me to select more books without fear of price," added P. Kashyap, another student.
Families are visiting the festival along with their children to introduce them to the world of books. For the children below 8th standard, the festival organisers are providing free books.
They have arranged a facility for the readers to sell their books as well.
Kozhikode, Thrissur and Trivandrum hosted the previous editions of entebook.com fairs.
"Entebooks.com started the venture with 500 books. Now more than 10,000 books are available on our platform," said Bilal M. Shareef, one of the organisers.
"More than 75,000 books were available at this festival. We collect Malayalam books from readers and English from publishers. We are getting tremendous response from readers, inspiring more such festivals." The festival will conclude on May 7.
