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)