Here's The Verdict: The Delhi Book Fair'17 Review Is Out & EVERY Book Lover Should Go For It!

All you bibliophiles out there, it’s time to rejoice! The Delhi Book Fair is back and it’s absolutely smashing. No matter what kind of books you’re into, you’ll surely find a treasure trove of your beloved genre here and you just wouldn’t want to leave until you’ve got your bags and hands full with every book you’ve been planning to buy! We obviously couldn’t resist going and you shouldn’t either! Here’s all you need to know about the 23rd edition of the awesome Delhi Book Fair:

There Isn’t A Genre Of Books You Won’t Find Here!

No matter what your favourite genre is, you’ll undoubtedly find a treasure trove of your most sought-after books to immerse yourself in, all under one roof! Magazines, novels, spiritual volumes, biographies, self-help books, encyclopaedias, and even text books, for all age groups and in quite a few languages is what this edition of the Delhi Book Fair has to offer and we promise you, you won’t be disappointed!

Your Fave Books @ Dirt Cheap Prices

The best part about any book fair is the fixed priced stalls and there are SO many of them at this year’s Delhi Book Fair! There are a lot of stalls where you could grab your favourite novels at JUST 99 bucks! That’s insane, right? Wrong! If you’re in the mood for a better deal, there are also lots of stalls where you can get three books for 100 bucks! Now that’s what you call a steal deal. You see why you need to carry extra bags on your jaunt to the book fair?

Mounds Of Books For Your Tiny Tots

This is probably the best place to come to if you want to buy books (and other cutesy things) for your little ones. There’s a massive collection of children’s books of all kinds here. From audio-visual story sets to the most colourful little comics, you’ve got it all! So whether you want to get your baby some fun stuff to read and play with, or you want some educational books that puts things across in the simplest and most adorable of ways, this is where you should be!

Home learning products giant Grolier had also set up quite an interesting camp for the little ones wherein you can spend time understanding some of the best home learning tools for children in grades 3 and up. They provide comprehensive non-fiction learning solutions for children to learn better at home. This was undoubtedly one of the most crowded set-ups here and we could see children having a gala time learning!

Religious Books Galore

In times of constant religious turmoil, the Delhi Book Fair has managed to get all the religions under one roof, at least on paper! We haven’t seen this big a number of religious works anywhere ever before. Books on spirituality and religion in many languages like Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, English and we’re sure many more that our eyes couldn’t spot, can be found here in abundance. In fact, there’s a quiet area opposite the unmissable Sai Baba foundation set-up that’s being used to promote and preach the art of meditation. 

Informative Volumes On Foreign Languages

What we absolutely loved was the number of books in foreign languages. Basic books in Japanese, Chinese, German, and French were some that we spotted. One could pick up the most basic books to learn a new language from here and add another language to their kitty of skills to boast about. This is also a great place for students - with dedicated stalls for Satish Brothers, IGNOU and the like, you’re bound to find every course-book as well reference book imaginable here!

Opt For A Blind Date With A Book @ BookChor’s Offline Stall!

Book Chor is our new fave online bookstore that peddles ALL kinds of pre-loved novels at prices that’ll make you weep with joy. And guess what - these guys will helpfully set you up on a blind date - with a BOOK! Yep, the book will come wrapped up in brown paper, and all they’ll tell you about it is a basic description with a summary of the plot and the genre. You’ll have to make your pick totally unaware about the author or the novel’s provenance - all at the price of Rs 150 a book. Think you’re up for this challenge?!

Tips To Save You Some Trouble 

As you may know, Pragati Maidan is undergoing extensive renovation at the moment and you will not be able to enter from most gates. The entry to the book fair is from Gate Number 1 and that’s also where you’ll get the tickets @ 30 bucks each. Now that’s the simple bit. How to reach there can be a little tricky, but don’t you worry, we won’t let you go through the hassle we went through because thanks to us, you’ll know exactly where to go and what to do!

If you’re taking the metro, you can simply get off at Pragati Maidan Metro Station and take an auto-rickshaw from there to the gate, or you could even walk it over if the weather allows it, provided you’re in the mood to. However, if you’re getting your own vehicle, you’ll have to be a little careful. You can either park along the other gates of Pragati Maidan on the footpath like quite a few people do, but we wouldn’t suggest that, because firstly, it’s not the best experience to try and get your car up there, and secondly, you never know if your car will get towed away or not!

So there’s an authorised parking lot near the Bhairav Mandir opposite Pragati Maidan’s Gate Number 1 where you could park for 120 bucks and then you just have to cross the road. The Book Fair guys have organized a free shuttle service from this gate that takes you right to the hall where all the action is - Halls 10 and 11. Similarly, you can easily get a shuttle back to whichever nearest gate you’ve parked your car at.

So head out and fulfil all your book cravings!
 
When | 26th August – 3rd September
Where | Pragati Maidan, Halls 10 & 11
Timings | 11 AM - 8 PM
Entry | Rs 30