It is estimated that books worth nearly Rs 15 lakh were sold in the last few days with quiz books, dictionaries, children’s books and fiction accounting for most of the sales. Another notable aspect of the book fair was the demand for books authored by the new breed of writers.

A few books which have elicited good response from book lovers are Purobi Bormudoi’s Santanu Kulandan, Anuradha Sarma Pujari’s Nahorar Niribili Cha, Dr Hiren Gohain’s autobiographical novel Botahat Kor Godhuli Gopal, Homen Borgohain’s Katha Suror Katha, Maini Mahanta’s Meghali Din , Dr Prahlad Kr Baruah’s Tathapi Jiyai Thakibo Lagibo, Dr Karabi Deka Hazarika’s Aranyar Cha, Yese Dorje Thengse’s Bah Phular Gundha, Ratna Dutta’s Madhuratam Samay, Manikuntala Bhattacharya’s Arundhuti, Hiranya Kashyap’s Tomar Tulana Nai, Dr Manmohan Das’ Vigyane Ki Koi and Manoram Gogoi’s Parag dar Sanidhyaat.

At the same time Manabendra Nath Thakur’s translation version of Adolf Hitler’s Main Kamph and O Henry’s collection of short stories, Dr Bhabendra Nath Saikia’s Galpa, Rupanjali Sarma Bordoloi’s Raag Tatva, Monalisa Tamuli’s Ghorote Sarag Rosu and Adhunik Asomiya Sabdakosh edited by Sumanta Chaliha has emerged as the best-selling books according to a survey carried out.

“Response from the public has been good particularly for books by new writers. Sales has picked up in the past three days,” says Gayatri Baruah of Kaustubh Prakashan, Dibrugarh, which has released a record 45 new books in the Dibrugarh Book Fair. Proprietor of Suravi Sahitya Kutir Srikanta Bharali also echoed the same sentiment. Translated version of books by foreign authors is also getting a good response from readers, said Bharali. “Books authored by Anuradha Sharma Pujari, Mamoni Raisom Goswami, Purobi Bormudoi, Maini Mahanta, Dr Prafulla Katoki, Hemanta Kr Bharali and Aminur Rahman have been most sought after,” stated Makhan Hazarika, proprietor of Banalata. According to Ujjal Hazarika, proprietor of Bani Mandir children book, novels, short stories, dictionaries and quiz books were the most sold out books during the past five days.

National Book Trust, India, which is stocking a vast collection of moderately priced books of fiction and non-fiction in 15 major Indian languages is also attracting book aficionados by the plenty. Their collection range from children books, short stories, national biography, folklore, classics, world literature, creative learning and aadan pradan series. Book titles from the Nehru Bal Pustakalaya series like A journey through the universe, Inventions that changed the world, The Earth of Ours, The world of trees, Stories from Bapu’s life, Science and You, Romance of postage stamps have been well received by children, says Ashis Sinha of National Book Trust.

Connoisseurs of Russian books were seen congregating at the Vostok Publications stall from Kolkata, which is having an enviable collection of famous books by famed Russian authors like Leo Tolstoy, Alexander Pushkin, Mikhail Sholokhov, Fydor Dostovesky, Karl Marx, Maxim Gorky. The most sought after books are Mikhail Sholokhov’s Quiet Flows the Don, Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, Fydor Dostovesky’s Poor People, Maxim Gorky’s Maa, Karl Marx’s Das Capital, Alexander Pushkin’s Dubrovosky, informs its proprietor Mohan Kar. Vimal Dua of Priya Book Distributors, Delhi said that books by Shobha De, Kushwant Singh, Salman Rushdie and Vikram Seth were eliciting good response from book lovers. Another notable feature of the 5th Dibrugarh Book Fair is the publication of a daily eveninger, Dainik Sandhya Batori which has managed to earn some popularity among readers.