LETTERS: THE reading habit of our young people is dwarfed by social media gadgets and devices. Books are not as lively and attractive as social media apps, which appeal to the senses.
On top of this, books are expensive. So the reading culture has become a forgotten trade. A total of 95 bookstores have closed since 2018, and 32 outlets were closed in 2020. There are fewer than 2,000 bookstores operating in the country, and many are facing shutdowns due to poor turnover and business.
Reading books is no longer a past-time activity; it has become a thing of the past. Today, the young and old are reading e-books, digital tabs and social media apps.
Furthermore, digital media allows avid book readers to purchase books online through the Internet.
I am in my mid-60s, and now I shop online using many platforms such as Book Depository and Better World Books, which despatch new and used books from the United States. And they always have offers and promotions that are posted to your email.
After the Covid-19 pandemic, even our own blockbuster book seller, Big Bad Wolf, has gone digital.What is in store for the fewer than 2,000 bookshops remaining in the country? What fate awaits them?
Hopefully, bookshops and libraries will reinvent themselves and come up with innovative and creative ways to win back the book-reading culture.
The traditional setting of bookshops has to change. The prices of books need to be marked down.
Promotions and book sales have to be ongoing, and flyers should be sent to schools and higher learning institutions.
Bookstores and libraries should organise colouring, spelling, reading and story-telling competitions. Bookstores and libraries need to make themselves relevant to the times and needs of the younger generation.
SAMUEL YESUIAH
Seremban, Negri Sembilan
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times