Over 7000 Books on Show at Arab Book Fair in Lattakia
LATTAKIA, (ST) – More than 7000 books, dealing with literature, philosophy, history, politics, education, science, heritage, society, art and human resources development, are on show at the Arab Book Fair in Lattakia.
The month-long fair, which was organized by al-Majd Publication and Distribution House, is being held within the framework of Al-Assad Culture House program for this month aiming to encourage reading.
Eskandar Mayya, the head of the Directorate of Culture in Lattakia, said the event is an invitation to all social categories to return to the world of paper books. It is an opportunity to revive the relation between individuals and paper books, as digital reading has overwhelmed the cultural scene in most societies.
According to Mayya, the fair, which includes a big number of diverse publications that satisfy people’s cultural taste, encourages adopting reading as a cultural behavior to enrich knowledge.
On the obstacles facing the process of booth distributing and reading books, The Fair’s organizer Hassan Younis said reactivating reading needs effective contribution by concerned cultural parties, which, according to him, have not so far able to take a tangible step to promote reading.
Younis pointed out that modern literary production doesn’t receive the moral and financial revenues it deserves. Besides, shedding light on the books and writers has been subjugated to several considerations which may not necessarily include invention.
“These are among the problems which led many authors to abandon writing, thereby causing a setback to the Arab book and a push forward to translations,” Younis added.
Ranim Haydar, a university student, said she always visits book fairs held regularly in the governorate so as to keep in touch with the most important and up-to date publications.
She added that most fairs offer discounts to encourage buying books, pointing out that she is mostly interested in the books which deal with bio energy and self-skill development.
H. Mustafa