The Big Bad Wolf Book Sale has come knocking on Cambodia’s doors after its launch on Thursday at the capital’s Borey Rung Reung Market.
The sale offers more than one million brand new English books with between 50 and 90 per cent discounts on the recommended retail price.
The book fair has pledged to donate 500 books to libraries and encouraged readers to contribute as well to accommodate the underprivileged.
The initiative was said to be motivated by the organisation’s mission to make reading accessible to everyone regardless of socio-economic status.
In a press release on Thursday, the organisers said they would collaborate with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport’s central libraries through the corporate social responsibility arm, Red Readerhood, to donate books to the needy.
“Visitors are encouraged to donate books at the Red Readerhood corner, which will be located at the cashier counter of the book fair.
“To kick-start the Red Readerhood initiative in Phnom Penh, the book fair has pledged to donate 500 books, on top of donations collected throughout the sale,” the press release said.
The book fair’s spokesperson, Ouk Chandara, said bringing English-language books to students in non-native English speaking countries would help increase the readers’ comprehension of the language.
“The book fair will help Cambodian society, too. We call on the public, especially youths, to come and buy books. They can even donate a book through Red Readerhood, which will send them to the Hun Sen Library and Scholar Library in Phnom Penh,” he said.
Some 50,000 people are expected to visit the fair, which will run from January 9-20, Chandara said.
Scholar Library co-founder Sok Lak considered the book fair to be a rare opportunity for avid readers.
“The books are sold at the lowest prices, compared to the retail price at national and international markets. This provides an opportunity for less able readers to get books of premium quality,” Lak said.
He expressed hope that the fair would reach the provinces to truly jumpstart the reading culture in the Kingdom.
The Big Bad Wolf Book Sale offers a multitude of books in all genres, including fiction, non-fiction, graphic novels, architecture and design.
