Feature: On World Book Day, Egyptians reluctant to buy books

As the World Book Day arrives on Thursday, Kareem Anwar, a booker seller in downtown Cairo, Egypt, was not busy selling books, but chatting with his colleagues.

"This is how it always looks, a calm day with a few customers," said Anwar, a bearded man in his early thirties who has been working for the state-run Dar al-Maarif publishing house and bookstores.

The young man complained that the business has gone down since the 2011 social unrest that ended the 30-year rule of former President Hosni Mubarak.

"We barely sell half of what we used to sell before the uprising in 2011," said Anwar as he sipped tea from a cup on his desk.

Although he is supportive to the popular protests that unseated Mubarak, Anwar believes that the revolution had negatively impacted on the economy and businesses in the North African country, including book selling.

Over the past four years, book prices in Egypt have been doubled, and Anwar blamed that for the recession of his business.

He explained that the prices of imported papers, machines, ink and other materials used for printing have skyrocketed, which consequently led to a notable increase in book prices.

"Most of those who buy books are either students or middle class intellectuals. The growing price has made them reluctant to buy books specially amid the current slack economic situation in the country," he added.

Even those who buy, says Anwar, just come to buy cheap religious books and novels and ignore other kinds of books that are sold for higher prices.

To avoid further business bleeding, said Anwar, the publish house has to sell books at half price. The organization also participates in book fairs inside and outside Egypt.

But the demands are still low and unpromising, he added.

Author Suleiman Kabo did not oppose the Anwar's views behind the downturn in book sales, but he believes that publishers should take more steps to encourage readers to buy books.

"I know that it costs publishing houses a lot to print a high quality book, but they should also make a cheaper low-quality version of the same book, this would help people with middle and low income buy books because many of them just do not buy books for their high prices," he said.

He added that the government should also intervene so as to let people read more.

"The government attracts readers by selling books printed at its publish houses for low prices, but still it needs to do more," he said.

World Book Day, also known as International Day of the Book, is an annual event on April 23, organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), to promote reading, publishing and copyright.

Since 1969, Cairo holds an international book fair that is considered the most important event in the Arabic publishing world, drawing hundreds of book sellers from around the globe and about two million visitors each year.

In 2002, UNESCO chose Egyptian city of Alexandria as the World Book Capital for the quality of its programs to promote books and reading and the dedication of all players in the book industry.

To mark the World Book Day annually, the Egyptian government distributes large numbers of books as gifts to reader and libraries. It also holds seminars and conferences on the importance of reading and how books have enriched peoples' practical and cultural lives.

Despite all these efforts, architect Mona Hashem said the spread of the Internet and social media outlets has minimized the role of books.

"The younger generations have no appetite to buy or read books, they get all they want through the Internet and this is not good because they simply take more steps away from the priceless element in knowledge and culture, which is the book," said the lady.

She also recalled that her father used to buy her novels and cultural books because he always wanted to let her know that "reading is the key to life."

Hashem added that family has to play a role in handing books to their kids and telling them that a book has the kind of values that cannot be obtained through any other means.

"I did not and will not buy smart phones for my kids, and I urge parents to do the same; buy your kids a book, not a phone as that would ruin their thoughts and waste their time," she said. Endit