Do they read in Atyrau?

What do they read in Atyrau and do they read at all? An interesting data was obtained by the sociologists of Almaty Institute of Political Research. It turned out that Atyrau is among the three cities of Kazakhstan whose people are not much of readers. Is it true indeed? – Our reporter found this out by quizzing the salespeople of local book shops.

NOT DUMB, BUT ADVANCED

According to the book sellers, there is such a problem in Atyrau indeed. But the cause is not the cultural backwardness, but the new technologies. Who buys books? People above their 40s. They are still experiencing nostalgia over hardcopy reading materials.
- You know, it is cheaper and simpler to download stuff on a mobile phone or a flash stick, rather than hanging about book shelves and spending money. Personally, I stick to the first option, - says a salesman of a book shop.
- We know our every client by sight, since there are not many of them, - says the seller of another book shop Baurzhan SADAKBAYEV. – Some visit us right after watching a film they liked.
Many such books as Twilight Saga by Stephenie MEYER and Harry Potter by Joanne ROWLING caused tremendous rush. Few years ago the latter was wildly popular among teenagers that they bought them all up within hours.

HOW TO BE SMARTER THAN OTHERS

Salespeople say that practical literature is enjoying bigger demand than entertainment one. Besides season rushes around school books, books on professional subjects are very popular – accounting, software development, and psychology (!) hold the first place by popularity, especially among foreign citizens. Apparently, women, men and teenagers are all trying to puzzle out their souls. Usually they buy such advice-givers as Dale CARNEGIE (‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’), Vadim ZEELAND, Paul EKMAN, etc.
In belles lettres section people prefer fantasy genre (about lords and heroes, warriors and wizards, assassins, warlocks, dragons). Among the leaders there is ‘Game of Thrones’ by George MARTIN and ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ by Stieg LARSSON.
Scientific and reference materials, foreign classics and biographies are the least popular genres in Atyrau, people very seldom buy books of this kind. But light romance novels and children’s books are always in demand.

By Anastasia PASTUKHOVA