Bhubaneswar, Aug. 23: A large number of youngsters in the city are heading for bookstores once again.

At a time when online buying of books is a raging trend, lucrative offers and activity sessions provided by bookstores is turning the attention towards the good old habit of buying books from shops.

Walking Bookfairs, an open-air bookstore, has collaborated with the publishing house HarperCollins India and initiated the ' online se zyada' campaign. As part of the drive, they are offering books at one per cent extra discount than provided by online stores. Akshaya Rautaray, the owner of the store, feels online shopping of books eludes the readers from the ability to socialise.

"It is important that a city and its citizens support bookshops because they are the real storehouse for gathering knowledge. One can catch up on the latest book release and strike a conversation on books with other readers," said Akshaya.

That apart, there is also a heavy discount of 20 per cent and the 'buy two and get one free' offer in a select range of books published by HarperCollins.

Incidentally, the Oxford Bookstore was offering books with up to 80 per cent discount till mid-August. They will start a flat 50 per cent discount sale again next month.

Jagadish Behera, assistant manager at the Oxford store, said: "We are providing heavy discount on books occasionally to attract more readers. "Buyers always look for good bargains and that goes the same for books. Such offers create an excitement among avid book lovers to visit the store and look for the prized deals," said Behera.

Asit Kumar Behera, a 26-year-old reader, said: "It had been a while since I had set foot inside a bookstore, but when I came to know about the sale, I explored it myself. I realised the charm of the bookstores once again."

The sale had also attracted a large number of their regular buyers who had lately reduced their visits to the store. A number of other popular bookstores in the city such as AK Mishra Agencies are also offering heavy discounts.

In a bid to attract more customers, bookstores are also organising reading and signing sessions with authors and poetry reading meets. A number of interactive sessions with authors such as Jerry Pinto and Ravinder Singh have been organised at the Walking Bookfairs.

"Book reading can be encouraged by connecting the bookstore to the community through such events. We want the store to become a meeting place for the young readers," Akshaya said.

Crossword, that opened at store in Patia in May, scores very high on hospitality as every visitor is offered complimentary packaged drinking water and tea or coffee. There is a huge demand for a coffee shop inside the store and we will have it shortly, so that readers can sit and read their favourite book comfortably," said Suvendu Patra, a store manager at Crossword.