Mumbai's bookshop owners, managers on titles that helped them sail through 2021

Reorienting with the environmentBooks titillate a readerrsquos tactile senses Book havens shelter their restless minds Kitab Khana a home for books in Fort reopened its doors in March this year after being gutted by a fire Owner Amrita Somaiya recounts ldquoWe kept receiving positive messages throughout the period we were closed Poet and critic Ranjit Hoskote joined us when we reopened Writer and journalist Anil Dharker had phoned to say he will visit us but soon after he passed awayIqbal MerchantThe warmth and support meant so muchrdquo She adds that corporate houses bought many copies of The Psychology of Money Morgan Housel as gifts ldquoGiven the recentness of topics such as the history of climate change and the migrant crises in India Amitav Ghoshrsquos The Nutmegrsquos Curse was doing wellrdquo Somaiya maintains A big chunk of readers also sought the graphic interpretation of Sapiens by Yuval Noah HarariCan money buy certaintyWith the advent of the second wave and yet another year of staying indoors parents wanted to keep children engaged Trushant Tamgaonkar executive director at Title Waves says ldquoKidsrsquo books sold really well Most guardians were unsure about the reopening of schools they bought stacks of books that would last them a month or at least a few weeksrdquoAhalya Naidu MomayaAnother September 2020 publication topped the charts for the Bandra bookstore with people realising the value of money ldquoThe Psychology of Money has been in demand for some time Customers still come looking for it maybe because the pandemic has encouraged everyone to invest James Clearrsquos book titled Atomic Habits also earned us steep sales This year made us introspect and develop good habits for a wholesome life as a result books on personal development found a wide marketrdquo Tamgaonkar sharesSpeak a new languageBhaskar Devendra owner of Cambridge Book House tells us that people who wanted to travel or relocate to another country were buying books to crack the English language test called IELTS ldquoOur bookshop is an extension of the Cambridge institute and our foreign language classes let us stay afloat in these timesrdquo says DevendraTrushant TamgaonkarAccording to him Covid19 gave people a window to learn new skills Many signed up for our French German and Korean language sessions ldquoThe classes were held virtually but to keep practising books on language like Netzwerk Deutsch als Fremdsprache and Protagonistas Libro del alumno were being bought in large numbersSharing a good laughTrilogy the curated bookstore and library off Carter Road has recently started welcoming instore browsers But only fully vaccinated adult readers can come after fixing an appointment informs Ahalya Naidu Momaya cofounder of the library She adds ldquoWhile this has been a satisfying year for nonfiction and translations some readers have been particularly keen to read literature that delightsAmrita SomaiyaTheyrsquore looking for books that incorporate witty wordplay or books about encounters with charming persons who make the times seem manageablerdquo Momaya mentions Alexander McCall Smithrsquos books PG Wodehousersquos books and the everrelevant The Hitchhikerrsquos Guide to the Galaxy by Adam Douglas as the most popular choices ldquoI can remember The Thursday Murder Club and The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman as soughtafter titles toordquo she recalls Reading in the ninetiesSecondhand bookshops that often double up as reading rooms have an oldworld charm Iqbal Merchant owner at Mahimrsquos Victoria Library is holding on to this allure from the past He shares ldquoPeople bought bundles of books and kept saying they want to get back to reading now that they have the time Ask him about titles that stole the show and he says ldquoBooks by Lee Child found plenty of buyers Many bought The Phoenix by Sidney Sheldon and Tilly Bagshawe Indian writing in English was being preferred by young readers and so books such as Ashwin Sanghvirsquos Keepers of the Kalachakra sold like hot cakesrdquo He hopes the year ahead will be better