29th annual Chennai Book Fair

The 29th annual Chennai Book Fair opened on Jan 6th at the Quaid-e-Milleth college grounds. The show is set to roll till 16th Jan.

I always use this Book Fair to catch up with whats kicking in Tamil Literature and books. This is the only place one could find such a huge collection of Tamil books.

Fact File:

• 250 Publishers and Book sellers have put up their stalls.
• Around 5 lakh people are expected visit this time.
  

Facilities:

• Eventhough the oragnisers say arrangements have been made for Credit Card payments, Most of the shops still dont accept Credit Cards and prefer cash only.
• Stalls put up by BSNL, Sabols etc. looked a bit odd in a book fair.

Rating: A

Shop Layout and Organisation:

• The overall layout looks more organised than last year's.
• Thank good, they didnt provide eateries at every corners. Which kinda creates a jam near the eateries.
• Walkway is more spacious.
• Entry and Exit at two ends can ease the congestion at peak hours.
  

Rating: A-

Books:

• The quality of the print has improved a lot by the entry of publishers like Kizhaku, Uyirmai etc. It can match the standards of english books in print as well as design.
• Stalls by Vikatan, Kizhaku etc.. pulled in lots of crowd.

Rating: A-

Canteen:

• This time Canteen is run by Sangeetha's. By any scales, its far better than the last year's one.
• The quality of food is Ok and the cost of some items are bit prohibitive.
• Space is too less and not sufficient.
• No proper handwash facilities.

Rating: B+

Suggestions:

• Publishers and Book sellers can put up a list of "Top 10" best selling books in their stalls. Which will help the buyer to find good books easily or atleast it would help the buyer not to end up with some crap.
• Like every year, only few stalls atract much crowd. May be its because of the publicity those Publisher/Book seller has got. Bapasi can put up a site/prepare a directory with the details of the books being displayed/sold by various publishers atleast.