People prefer religious, 'How to' books
People prefer religious, 'How to' books
JAKARTA (JP): "Things that rich people teach their children
about money that poor and middle class people do not."
That is the blurb on the front cover of a book titled Rich Dad
Poor Dad by author Robert T. Kiyosaki.
Yes, it is one of those "how to get rich" books, and
apparently, it is among the best-selling books that publisher
Gramedia has sold at the Jakarta Book Fair.
The fair, organized by the Jakarta branch of the Indonesian
Publishers Association (Ikapi) at Senayan Indoor Stadium, will
run until July 22.
"I have no idea about the content, but the book sells like hot
cakes," an assistant at the Gramedia counter said on Sunday. He
did not elaborate.
A man who was buying the book only smiled when asked why he
bought it.
"My friend said it's good. Since it's not that expensive, I
decided to buy it," he said.
The price of the book is Rp 27,000 (US$2.45).
Beside Rich Dad, Poor Dad, another title that has attracted a
lot of buyers is the series of "Chicken Soup" books, a
compilation of true stories.
The books occupy their own bookshelf at the counter and have
various titles: Chicken Soup for the Mother Soul, Chicken Soup
for the Teenage Soul, Chicken Soup for the Unsinkable Soul, and
so on.
Their price ranges from Rp 27,000 to Rp 38,000.
A lot of people, mostly women, stopped in front the Chicken
Soup shelf, made their choice and bought it.
According to sisters Riri, 29 and Anggi, 17, such books are
inspiring and give valuable lessons about life.
"I collect them. They're just so interesting. My favorite is
the 'Unsinkable Soul' ... It has a story of a person with an
incurable disease, but who is very patient, and so on. Very
touching," she said.
Another type that sells well is religious books, particularly
Islamic books, as indicated by the dozens of people crowding the
counters.
Kusmanto from Jakarta-based Gema Insani Press said sales of
their books had been increasing every year.
"Every time we participate at a book fair, or any kind of
fair, our books are always sold out," he told The Jakarta Post,
adding that there had been a sales increase of 30 percent to 40
percent in the past year.
"In book stores, Islamic books always rank within the top 5 of
the most popular books," he said.
"It's in their nature to go back to religion, as people can't
find the solutions they need elsewhere," he added.
In addition, people are also looking for books that discuss
family problems or children's education, Kusmanto said.
According to Kusmanto, people always want to improve
themselves.
The fair was also the chance for parents to look for
educational children's books.
Andreas, an employee of a private company, said that it was
rather difficult to find books for his children, aged six and
four years old.
"The educational books, like encyclopedias or text books, are
very rare in bookstores. I can only find them at book fairs," he
said.
However, such educational books are not cheap. It cost him Rp
2.7 million for several books.
"Well, anything for my children. Fortunately, we can pay it by
installments over the course of a year," Andreas said.
Besides these kind of books, abundant books of various types
are available at the annual book fair.
Aris Buntarman from the fair's committee said that there are
105 publishers involved in the event.
"Most are from the city, but there are some from other towns
as well," he told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
The event is held every July, with last year's fair attracting
some 100,000 visitors.
"This year, we decided to sell only books, with no clothes or
VCDs like last year. We wanted to focus on books, and besides, we
didn't want to encourage the illegal VCD trade," Aris said. (hdn)