BuffHello Posted October 11, 2005 Report Share Posted October 11, 2005 EDITORIAL: Bangkok: World Book Capital? Published on October 10, 2005 Fun City wants to be recognised by Unesco as a place where reading is beginning to be taken more seriously. Members of the reading public from Bangkok and other parts of the country have been turning up in force at BookExpo 2005, which began on Thursday at Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre. If the event?s organiser, the Publishers and Booksellers Association of Thailand, has its way, some 1.5 million men, women and children would have visited the venue by the time it concluded yesterday. The theme of this year?s fair, ?Knowledge beyond boundaries?, is being promoted with a heightened sense of urgency ? Bangkok is building itself up as a candidate for Unesco?s World Book Capital in 2008, in a bid to show the world that Thailand has what it takes to effectively and creatively encourage reading among its people. According to the organiser, there are already encouraging signs as the result of sustained efforts jointly made by the public and private sectors in recent years to instil the love of reading among young people. The average age of visitors to the BookExpo is getting lower. The strategy of getting people hooked on reading while they are young seems to be paying off. People from all walks of life make it a point to bring their children to the book fair, which offers a chance to browse through thousands of titles in a single place. Many books are offered at significant discount. Book lovers tend to splurge at such big book sales, rare as they are in Thailand. This is of course welcome news for publishers and booksellers. The good business seen at the fair generally continues through the rest of the calendar year, with book buying being particularly heavy in the gift-giving season highlighted by the Christmas and New Year holidays. The prospects of Thailand being considered for World Book Capital have improved markedly. Since 1996, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, or Unesco, has been named a World Book Capital every year to support the efforts of cities around the world to encourage people, especially youngsters, to read more. The organisation also wants to advocate books as a means for people to disseminate knowledge. There are no financial rewards for being the World Book Capital, but inherent in the title is acknowledgement of the city?s ability to produce effective reading programmes and promote reading among residents, which may lead to more buying of books. Bogota, Colombia, will be World Book Capital 2007. The city was named by a judging panel comprising international publishers associations, the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions and the International Booksellers Federation. If Bangkok is named World Book Capital 2008, it will become a venue where creative programmes and events will be launched to motivate people to read more, thus enhancing the country?s promise of a future society based on knowledge and even wisdom. It is encouraging to see the city aspiring to the honour. But given the threats to freedom of expression today in Thailand, Bangkok?s bid may be more difficult, since the city chosen to be World Book Capital is expected by Unesco to be a place where freedom of expression thrives. A lot more needs to be done to interest Thais in reading. According to Se-Education, the country?s biggest chain of bookstores, only 4.4 per cent of Thais read books on a regular basis. There are many readers out there who have healthy appetites for knowledge and the urge to cultivate themselves. There are also people who see reading as a form of escapist entertainment activity, which is not bad in itself. Children?s books, particularly those that are translated from English and other Western languages, are among the best sellers in Thailand. But only children of well-to-do families can afford to read them because these books tend to be expensive. That?s why it is a welcome move by Bangkok?s government to pledge to double the number of public libraries in the city and its environs to 50 in the near future. In addition, school libraries will also be upgraded to create more stimulating ambiences, complete with multimedia capabilities to encourage young people in their quest for knowledge and self-improvement. If Thailand is selected the World Book Capital it will be a good thing. If not, the country and campaigners to promote love of reading have nothing to lose, as their efforts will have made tremendous positive impacts on future generations of reading public in this country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chilli13 Posted October 11, 2005 Report Share Posted October 11, 2005 Chok dee krung thep Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liquidflux Posted October 11, 2005 Report Share Posted October 11, 2005 More comic books for everyone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chilli13 Posted October 11, 2005 Report Share Posted October 11, 2005 Yeah but I think they still need loads more comic books to compete with the japanese or would that be more porn comics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khun_Kong Posted October 11, 2005 Report Share Posted October 11, 2005 Are they fucking kidding? I think we need to start a new thread: "Bangkok: The Hub of Hubs" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.. Posted October 11, 2005 Report Share Posted October 11, 2005 They might want to think about lowering tarriffs on books if they want this. Books are opressively expensive here. I mean, the Looney Palnet Tokyo city book was B1291 at Kinokunia (that's over 30 bucks -- only $13 on Amazon)! I cannot believe that they are that much even in bookstores elsewhere!!! Cheers, SD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pom Michael Posted October 11, 2005 Report Share Posted October 11, 2005 Duty for books (in English) is 0% So, it isn't the tariff that is making the cost so high. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.. Posted October 11, 2005 Report Share Posted October 11, 2005 That's interesting! I wonder why the extreme pricing then? It's not just Kinokunia. Asia Books same-same. Maybe they just do not sell enough English language books? Of course, Amazon does deliver, but where is my instant gratification dammit! Cheers, SD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torneyboy Posted October 11, 2005 Report Share Posted October 11, 2005 More young people reading is a good thing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khwaimaisabai Posted October 11, 2005 Report Share Posted October 11, 2005 BuffHello said: only 4.4 per cent of Thais read books on a regular basis. Hi buff, Wonder how this compares with other countries? A pure guess - not a lot different in the west. Interesting. GF came over to visit me recently and brought a book she was reading. I asked her what it was about and she said it was about a uni student working part time as a "phu ying khrang kheun". An English transaltion would be fascinating to read. GF reads quite a lot, believe it or not, including comic books, but real books as well. On price, books in Thai language I have always thought to be very cheap. I bought some childrens books translated from English (for my study purposes) for 100 - 150 baht each at Nanmee(?) books on Soi 31. Not a lot, I thought. Khwai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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