Urban Indians are not just hooked to Netflix! They are reading more than ever

Remember the discussion around reading and how the habit may get lost in the face of Netflix and social media? That speculation can be put to rest. “People are reading more than ever,” says Milee Ashwarya, Publisher, Penguin Random House India. 

In an interaction with Business Today, Ashwarya said that the publishing industry has been disrupted most by technology and then the pandemic, but a lot of people have returned to avid reading in recent years. What they are reading, however, has changed. 

The growing Indian middle class is interested in personal development and self-help books. “It is generally observed that as an economy develops and people gain spending power, they turn towards personal development. This is the reason that bookstores are increasingly stocking up on self-help books,” says Ashwarya.  

It is the heyday for non-fiction, she says, and publishers too, are more drawn to the genre than fiction.

“There is always a chance that a work of fiction may do well, but it doesn’t happen easily. In comparison, a good non-fiction work already has a ready audience. Naturally, more and more publishers are keen on non-fiction,” Ashwarya says. 

The ‘reading’ space which exists between bookstores, authors, and readers she claims is intact, despite all the dynamic changes that the industry has undergone in the recent past and at a time when some publishers and bookstores have pulled down shutters for good.  

“Reading has changed its form, it is now a distributed experience over paper books, e-books, and audiobooks. We as publishers have transformed with time to accommodate the changing requirements of readers, but overall, the keenness for information and the need to grow with books are both in place,” Ashwarya says.

Talking of emerging authors, Ashwarya is excited with regional literature increasingly appearing in English language. “Emerging regional voices translated in English is the most enriching trend when it comes to Indian literature today,” she adds.  

Just as the appetite to consume the written word is prevalent currently, Ashwarya thinks the new authors of today are both young and restless. 

“What I do notice among new authors is the lack of patience, a reason for which self-publishing has become common; an easy solution. Getting a good book out takes time and the author should have the patience to work alongside a team. Authors should indeed try and put in their best for a book because when a book is out, it is out and it will always be out there. While many are turning to the route of self-publishing, it is still a good idea to polish one’s work well enough. A book needs effort,” she adds. 

The task Ashwarya feels that lies ahead for parents today is to be able to inculcate a habit of reading among the next-gen readers.  

“Let's allow children to read in whatever form they want because reading after all is about being open to stories and information. There are various ways to absorb those stories and narratives and once children are introduced, they would naturally grow up to be readers,” she says.