Women readers at SIBF

 Sharjah, November 6, 2021

Thrillers, romance and puzzles fascinate women readers at SIBF 2021

The love for the written word is not alien to women despite the addictive influence of social media and they patronise SIBF 2021 in large numbers.

Jana, an Egyptian student of pharmacy at the University of Sharjah, has just bought a book by Chinese American author Kevin Kwan – China Rich Girlfriend at the Sharjah International Book Fair. Her interest in the book – about the Chinese diaspora in the US - was kindled after watching its film adaptation.

“It is a kind of suspense with some scientific information. And Kwan is an amazing writer,” said the 21-year-old. “I don’t have any particular author favourite. Whatever story I like - those with a plot twist in the middle or the end - I read. They can be romance, fantasy, mystery.” 

Nigerian expatriates Omotolani Diana Hassan and her sister Aby have bought a copy of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s My Vision. A teacher at Woodlem Park School in Dubai, she would like to buy a coffee table book on the UAE from Motivate Media. 

“I always wanted to read this book by the Ruler of Dubai about his vision for his country’s future. Seeing this book here, I felt I need to grab this,” said Aby, who is preparing for her nursing exam.

Omotolani, a Grade 2 schoolteacher at Woodlem Park School, is scouting for UAE universities for her daughter at SIBF apart from checking out the book stalls. She exulted: “The UAE is one country I love so much. I used to come here on visits before shifting here to work in 2019. I liked everything I saw here – the education, the people etc. I want to read about Sheikh Mohammed’s vision so that I can use it for my own vision since I am learning to be proactive, creative and innovative. I also want to show it to my children in class and share ideas with them in the way they will understand.” 

Emirati mother Noura bint Tamim has gone for a book of Sudoku puzzles along with some books in Arabic to read out to her two daughters. She likes to read novels in Arabic, and the family has made a big haul of books at the fair.

Two young Arab women, Hoda and Aya Sayed, were seen buying copies of Egyptian novelist Nabeel Farrouq’s Those who Were and Serena Valentino’s The Beast Within. Suspense thrillers were the favourites of the two working women. 

Kairavi, an Indian expat from Bombay, was looking for “good deals”. She would love to buy a copy of Robin Cook’s Viral, a medical thriller about a deadly virus that is eerily similar to the coronavirus pandemic. Many mothers visiting the stalls with their children were seen giving priority to books their wards sought to buy.

An expat family from Kerala,  Asha, working in Dubai Media City, and her mother Radhamani, 61, have bought a few Malayalam books for themselves. “I am a retired bank official and have ample time to read now. Even otherwise I love to read. One of the books is written by a friend, Priya A.S., and she is a great writer. Then there is S.K. Pottekat’s In the land of Cleopatra and 21 backbones, a collection of short stories by 21 women authors,” said Radhamani who is visiting her daughter in the UAE.

Brazilian publisher Laura Di Petro whose publishing house Tabla won this year Turjman Award for translation from Arabic language, was leafing through children’s illustrated books in Arabic in a mission to find new interesting books to translate from Arabic to Portuguese. 

“I am always looking for new authors and titles. If I like, I pick up the cards and my team then decides on the next book to publish,” said Di Petro as she examined a copy of Just like Usby HH Sheikha Maryam Saqr Al Qasimi.