Inside Singhi Palace, on Gariahat Road, has appeared a world of books to entice the bibliophiles of Kolkata till the end of this month.
Organised by Kitab Lovers, an e-commerce website, the offline book fair Load The Box started with over 10 lakh books on July 28 and has become a favourite haunt of bookworms in the city.
“We’re trying to come up with books for everyone. This book fair has different sections like kids, teen, fiction, young adult, crime, thriller, mystery, romance, new arrivals, non-fiction, coffee table, hardcover and self-help. Things have begun to look up since the pandemic,’’ said Ram Kishan Shanker, who was looking after the stock on the opening day of the fair.
Visitors at the fair browse through books stacked on tables and shelves. Ritagnik Bhattacharya/My Kolkata
Apart from taking books home, you can also donate books at the fair and take back new books. Further, there is an option of selling your books and getting discounts in return. “You can donate and sell your books at the fair. If you’re interested in selling your books, we’ll be attaching a certain value to your books which will be deducted from the box you are going to buy,’’ explained Shankar.
Boxes full of books
Probably the best part of the Load The Box fair is that you pay for boxes and not the books. Once you purchase a box, you can take in as many books as you can fit inside it till the flap completely closes.
Three categories of boxes are now available – The Money Saver Box for Rs 1,100, The Wealth Box for Rs 1,650 and The Treasure Box for Rs 2,750.
Tables and shelves of books greeted visitors at the fair. There are cookery books for those who want to don the chef’s hat; art and craft books for those interested in creative work; visual and picture books for tiny tots. The ‘new arrival’ section is the most popular as bookworms rummage through it for the best buys.
Kendriya Vidyalaya student Kunal Bhattacharyya (left) with his friend at the fair. Ritagnik Bhattacharya/My Kolkata
Pritha Pramanik, a student of Class XII at Nava Nalanda High School, dropped by on her way to school. ‘’I’m here to browse through the books. Other than Harry Potter and Feluda books, I also like Novoneel Chakraborty’s works. I want to come back here and buy some books later.’’
Kunal Bhattacharyya who just completed his Class XII exams from Kendriya Vidyalaya loves the fantasy genre. “I have already put inside my box an illustrated edition of Games of Thrones by George R. R. Martin, Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling and Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke. I’m also keeping an eye out for the works of my favourite fantasy writer, Brandon Sanderson.’’
Reading lists and rare books
Many visited the fair with a reading list to find rare books. Not only did they manage to tick some of the books off their list, but also chanced upon new authors and their works.
Computer Science student Avishree Roy with her box. Ritagnik Bhattacharya/My Kolkata
“I wanted to add some classics and science fiction books to my reading list. I have already dropped A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens into my box. I also have GoldFinch by Donna Tartt and Running Wild by K.A. Tucker. Besides these, I have stumbled upon two new authors — Alexander McCall Smith and Pettacus Lore,’’ said Avishree Roy, who is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Computer Science at the Banaras Hindu University.