<p>After two years of uncertainty, bookstores in Bengaluru are buzzing again. </p>.<p>Some stores <span class="italic">Metrolife spoke to are reporting an increase in sales over their pre-pandemic numbers.</span></p>.<p>Younger readers are flocking to Bookworm on Church Street. “Sales have gone up by 15-20% since our pre-pandemic days. Walk-ins are really good,” says Krishna Gowda, owner.</p>.<p>New readers usually look for suggestions and are still trying to figure out what kind of books they enjoy reading, he says. </p>.<p>Blossom Book House, with two stores on Church Street, has collectively sold about 70,000 books in May. “This is almost 50% more than our pre-pandemic sales,” says Mayi Gowda, proprietor.</p>.<p>While in-store sales have picked up tremendously, their newly launched online store is still finding its feet. “People actually want to come down to the stores and buy books. Many crave human interaction after two years of on-and-off lockdown restrictions,” he says. </p>.<p>The desire to move away from the screen has given birth to a new generation of readers, book sellers say. And most new customers gravitate towards young adult novels. </p>.<p>The decline of Covid-19 has helped boost sales, says Sreeja V N, co-founder of Bahuroopi Book Hub in Sanjay Nagar. The store opened amidst the pandemic in 2021. “We are finally getting to experience the full volume of walk-in customers this year,” she says. Readers ask for autobiographies and self-help, finance and time management books. “Fiction is popular in Kannada,” she says. </p>.<p>Aakruti Books in Rajajinagar has seen an increase in the demand for works translated from Indian languages to English, and from English to Kannada. Guruprasad D N, owner, observes a publishing boom in Kannada, and “a big influx of both originals and translations.” </p>.<p>“People are more aware and want to support independent bookstores. And more and more readers are showing an interest in content translated into Kannada,” he says. </p>.<p>Prakash Kambathalli, owner of Ankita Pustaka in Gandhi Bazaar, agrees. The bookshop launched its online store in 2020. “Our online store has picked up tremendously for Kannada books. People from Tier 2 and 3 cities account for the biggest chunk of our sales,” he says.</p>.<p><strong>Top 2 bestsellers</strong></p>.<p>Blossom Book House</p>.<p>The Love Hypothesis by<br />Ali Hazelwood<br />The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid</p>.<p>Bahuroopi Book Hub</p>.<p>Kathe Dabbi by Ranjani Raghavan<br />Jeeva Kodale, Chaha Kudiyale by Damodar Mauzo, translated by Kishu Barkoor</p>.<p>Aakruti Books</p>.<p>Kino Mattu Itara Kathegalu (Murakami stories) translated by Manjunath Charvaka<br />Land, Guns, Caste, Woman: The Memoir of a Lapsed Revolutionary by Gita Ramaswamy</p>
<p>After two years of uncertainty, bookstores in Bengaluru are buzzing again. </p>.<p>Some stores <span class="italic">Metrolife spoke to are reporting an increase in sales over their pre-pandemic numbers.</span></p>.<p>Younger readers are flocking to Bookworm on Church Street. “Sales have gone up by 15-20% since our pre-pandemic days. Walk-ins are really good,” says Krishna Gowda, owner.</p>.<p>New readers usually look for suggestions and are still trying to figure out what kind of books they enjoy reading, he says. </p>.<p>Blossom Book House, with two stores on Church Street, has collectively sold about 70,000 books in May. “This is almost 50% more than our pre-pandemic sales,” says Mayi Gowda, proprietor.</p>.<p>While in-store sales have picked up tremendously, their newly launched online store is still finding its feet. “People actually want to come down to the stores and buy books. Many crave human interaction after two years of on-and-off lockdown restrictions,” he says. </p>.<p>The desire to move away from the screen has given birth to a new generation of readers, book sellers say. And most new customers gravitate towards young adult novels. </p>.<p>The decline of Covid-19 has helped boost sales, says Sreeja V N, co-founder of Bahuroopi Book Hub in Sanjay Nagar. The store opened amidst the pandemic in 2021. “We are finally getting to experience the full volume of walk-in customers this year,” she says. Readers ask for autobiographies and self-help, finance and time management books. “Fiction is popular in Kannada,” she says. </p>.<p>Aakruti Books in Rajajinagar has seen an increase in the demand for works translated from Indian languages to English, and from English to Kannada. Guruprasad D N, owner, observes a publishing boom in Kannada, and “a big influx of both originals and translations.” </p>.<p>“People are more aware and want to support independent bookstores. And more and more readers are showing an interest in content translated into Kannada,” he says. </p>.<p>Prakash Kambathalli, owner of Ankita Pustaka in Gandhi Bazaar, agrees. The bookshop launched its online store in 2020. “Our online store has picked up tremendously for Kannada books. People from Tier 2 and 3 cities account for the biggest chunk of our sales,” he says.</p>.<p><strong>Top 2 bestsellers</strong></p>.<p>Blossom Book House</p>.<p>The Love Hypothesis by<br />Ali Hazelwood<br />The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid</p>.<p>Bahuroopi Book Hub</p>.<p>Kathe Dabbi by Ranjani Raghavan<br />Jeeva Kodale, Chaha Kudiyale by Damodar Mauzo, translated by Kishu Barkoor</p>.<p>Aakruti Books</p>.<p>Kino Mattu Itara Kathegalu (Murakami stories) translated by Manjunath Charvaka<br />Land, Guns, Caste, Woman: The Memoir of a Lapsed Revolutionary by Gita Ramaswamy</p>