Gradually, the city’s scepticism made way for acceptance; and second-hand book business thrived. Online bookstores, e-readers, mobile phones, and social media changed the way books were bought, read and discussed. The avid reader keeps coming, but it is the impulsive reader, Mr. Latheef says, that he has lost to the city’s malls. However, while a number of city bookstores downed shutters, second-hand bookstores, housed in ordinary buildings with only their mounting piles of books as testimony, have survived. Faced with limited supply and retail remaining his top priority, Mr. Latheef, however, is unsure of making the online leap.

Source: The Hindu October 23, 2016 00:07 UTC