Karnataka - Bangalore   

Teens go back to reading

— PHOTO: H. VIBHU

Back in the habit: With the resurgence of teen fiction, the number of teen books in the market is growing.

BANGALORE: It is becoming something of a myth that teens spend all their time playing games, watching television, surfing the net and text messaging each other. The phenomenon of teen fiction has changed all that.

The number of teen books in the market is growing, and books of all genres are being snapped up, observe the city’s bookstore owners.

And of course, the influence of Harry Potter cannot be underestimated for having whetted a voracious appetite in Gen Y for fiction and fantasy.

“Ever since the release of the first Harry Potter 10 years ago, which introduced this new magnificent world to children and teenagers and captured their imagination, there has been a hunger for fiction,” says Prakash Gangaram of Ganagarams Bookstore. “I noticed that every time J.K. Rowling took a hiatus before her next book, the sale of other fantasies such as Eragon, Artemis Fowl and Animorphs shot up,” he adds. The Amulet o f Samarkand, Ptolemy’s Gate, Novice, and even good old Sherlock Holmes are popular among young adults.

Twelve-year-old Ananya busily scans the “Young Adult” section at Crossword. “I am drawn to fantasy because it intrigues me to imagine that there may really be another world out there,” she says. “I usually buy two books a month.”

Graphic novels — whether on war, crime, fantasy and even techno thrillers — are also becoming popular with children, says S. Krishna of Bookworm.

Teenagers are becoming increasingly mature in their taste. Biographies, even books on self-development such as Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and The Tipping Point, books on technology, cars and sports, a re hugely popular with teenagers, observes Iqbal Jagirdar, Manager, British Library.

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