Physical books are enjoying a renaissance in Asia, thanks to growing literacy, an expanding middle class, and the rise of English as a second language.
Printed book sales are down worldwide, but these are “exciting times” for the trade in Asia, Penguin Random House’s Southeast Asia chief told Nikkei. Literary festivals, from India to Malaysia, are major cultural events, and owning physical books has become aspirational.
Social media, despite its reputation as an attention-killer, is driving the change, Nora Nazerene Abu Bakar said: Celebrities host online book clubs, determining which books become bestsellers. The books themselves are key, she said: “The pages, the smell. It’s a whole sensory experience.”