Book festivals are more relevant in the digital age

One couldn’t agree more with the views expressed on how the Sharjah International Book Festival (SIBF) keeps the love of books alive. It has been promoting reading culture and carries on the legacy even during the pandemic. Picking up a book to read, holding the spine and touching and feeling the pages as we pour over the written word has a unique charm of its own.

People should rekindle their interest in books. Life can be get busy and reading sometimes is restricted to correspondence related to office or home, or simply messages floating on social media. But reading books is among the best stress busters. The culture of reading and its importance is being passed down to the younger generation through events like SIBF in the middle of their world of gadgets and gizmos. The festival is encouraging budding writers and common people to get an exposure to book, know what it is like to be a writer or get a peek into the mind of the writer. As they listen to renowned authors and interact with them, they can visualise a future in writing, as a full time professional or nurture it as a hobby or simply develop a way to express their emotions, experiences.

The authorities should be commended for hosting the festival even during the pandemic and doing it so safely. — Latha Narasimhan, Sharjah