If you thought buying books online was all about English and all about metros, Amazon India begs to differ. Looking back at its two-year journey, the books division of the retail website shared with t2 some insights into India’s book-buying habits.

While original English titles are always popular, about 80 per cent of Amazon India’s Top 20 Hindi bestsellers are translations of English titles. This not only includes popular fiction writers like Amish and Ashwin Sanghi but also international writers of non-fiction, like Rhonda Byrne and Dale Carnegie. Some of the most popular translated Hindi books are Amish’s Shiva Trilogy, Rahasya (The Secret) and Jaadu (The Magic) by Rhonda Byrne, Lokvyavahar (How to Win Friends and Influence People) by Dale Carnegie and Chanakya Mantra (Chanakya’s Chant) by Ashwin Sanghi. 

Original titles in regional languages are also doing well. Madhushala by Harivansh Rai Bachchan continues to be a favourite, while classics by Premchand and Amrita Pritam also notch up clicks. 

Ishq Mein Shaher Hona by Ravish Kumar immediately made it to the Top 10 after its release in February and remained there for several weeks. Surendra Mohan Pathak, Neelesh Mishra and Satya Vyas are other popular Indian authors on Amazon. 

The books team was also pleasantly surprised to see children’s books as a part of their bestseller lists.  

The other big seller among books is graphic novels. Amazon India has over 75,000 titles in 37 languages. And the demand comes in from more than 350 cities and towns, from Calicut to Jalandhar, Kutch to Bidar. 

Calcutta is among the top six cities that contributed 65 per cent of sales of graphic novels. And the one that has sold the most on this platform is an illustrated biography of Steve Jobs titled Steve Jobs: Genius by Design by Jason Quinn, with illustrations by Amit Tayal. 

The highest selling Indian title is Tulsidas Sundarkaand: Triumph of Hanuman, a graphic novel adaptation by Shyam Prakash, illustrated by Sachin Nagar. Among Indian-language graphic novels, Kos Kos Shabdkosh by Rakesh Kayasth, is a topper.

“Our vision for India is to build a destination where customers can find, discover and buy anything that they desire online and we endeavour to build that by giving customers more of what they want — vast selection available at competitive prices, fast and reliable delivery and a trusted and convenient experience,” said Samir Kumar, director, category management, Amazon India. 

Do you prefer buying at bookstores or online? Tell t2@abp.in

 

THE PRINCESS IS BACK!

When young girls picked up their first copy of The Princess Diaries back in 2000, it was perfect! Everything a teen would want to happen to her was happening to Mia Thermopolis — from her “You’re a princess, Mia” moment to her makeover from a gawky high schooler to sophisticated royalty. And then there was her habit of pouring her heart out to her diary, which made so many young girls start writing down their woes in a pink leather-bound notebook, with a lock to keep the nosy parkers at bay.

Now, 15 years later, Meg Cabot is back with Royal Wedding (Pan Macmillan India, Rs 299), the 11th instalment in the series, and Mia, who’s grown up to be a lady of 25-going-on-26, is finally getting married to high school sweetheart Michael Moscovitz.

You might expect a book revolving around the planning and execution of a grand royal wedding, but there’s, in fact, trouble brewing in Mia’s fairy-tale world. One royal calamity after another follows, and readers find themselves on a roller coaster of events that seem to shadow Mia wherever she goes, including her very interfering grandmother, who simply rubbishes Mia’s attempts at having a taco and nacho bar at her wedding and a hoity-toity hairdresser who advises the permanently distressed princess to chill and “enjoy her diamond shoes”. And oh, her father might just be a felon.  

Add to that Mia’s permanent fixation with her rank in Rate the Royals (not that she cares!) or her fear of the ominous online troll RoyalRabbleRouser (who promises to bring the princess down) and you are left wondering if the sunny shores of Genovia will ultimately see a royal wedding or whether our favourite princess will be robbed of her “happily ever after.” 

PS: Now that Mia’s all grown up, Cabot has a new series, From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess, with Mia’s smart and spunky half-sister, Olivia Grace, who also makes an appearance in Royal Wedding. 

Riddhima Khanna,Do you love The Princess Diaries? Tell t2@abp.in