Not many people read books in Pakistan. How then are the bookshops coping with the pandemic?
Paradoxically, however, the small market for books may actually have been growing before the virus struck. Liberty Books, Lahore.
I hoard books like old desi aunties hoard bobby pins. A visit to any of Pakistan’s top bookstores – whether it is Reading’s, Liberty, The Last Word, Vanguard or Variety – ends with me walking to the check-out counter with a heap of books, heavier than a boulder and more expensive than a week’s groceries.
My daughter, on the other hand, is all about minimalism. Her stock usually comes from Reading’s online store and then she only buys what she’s sure to read. She stares at my receipt at the bookstore check-out counter and rolls her eyes at me. “Liberty Books is 30% off for the World Book Day sale online.” She says.