Hong Kong Book Fair offers hope for a future full of reading
The city’s annual book fair plays an important role in boosting reading and sales, and its success suggests the appeal of reading will endure
The joy of reading books is easily overlooked when so much time is now devoted to scrolling on social media and conversing with artificial intelligence (AI). People’s attention spans are shorter and the idea of spending hours enjoying a medium offering no interaction might be viewed as belonging to the distant past.
But the timeless pleasure of reading a book remains. The buying and reading of books needs support, both for the good of the publishing industry and for the benefits brought to the reader.
This year, the book fair adopted a travel theme. It ran alongside the Sports and Leisure Expo and World of Snacks, offering visitors a wide range of attractions. The three events drew 770 exhibitors from around 30 countries and regions.
A survey by the organisers showed the average amount spent at the book fair to be HK$923 (US$118), with fiction and literature the top preferences. The first Asean Literacy Festival as well as book fair seminars allowed readers to engage with authors and discuss cultural issues. One series focused on children and youth reading, given the importance in fuelling a passion for books at an early age.
The city has long been a place where East meets West, an advantage reflected in the fair’s range of works in Chinese as well as English and other languages. Readers were able to engage with an international line-up of writers from China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Sweden and the UK.