‘Lock the Box’ book fair aims to spur reading among millennials

com, has been taking to book fairs to push reading habits among Indians. A bookworm just has to pay a certain amount for a cardboard box and fill it with as many books he or she can from a selection of one million books on display, without having to look at the pricesof the titles!

The co-founder of Bookchor.com Vidyut Sharma says the concept is aimed at enhancing readership in India. “Indians are price sensitive. Through Lock the Box, we eliminate the need for one to look at the price of a book. We see a lot of friends coming to the event together and buying books together. We’ve seen the event to be quite effective for fellow readers to interact with one another in suggesting books as well,” he says.

Even though buying books via e-commerce platforms has been growing of late, a reader cannot easily explore new authors, points out Vidyut. “One can search for an author only if he or she is aware of the writer on digital platforms. In olden times, cities and towns used to have small shops where one could rent out books, a culture which is no longer there. Book fairs are now helping in keeping up readership among young crowds,”he asserts.

Lock the Box, which began with its first event in New Delhi in 2017, has had two editions in Chennai so far. The ongoing third edition in the city has books in a variety of genres like teen fiction, romance, non-fiction, crime, children’s books, travel, etc. The event is on till December 22 at Vijaya Mahal, T Nagar.  —BA