Bhubaneswar, Nov. 4: Bibliophiles of the Temple City have their hands full, browsing through books at two ongoing book fairs.

The 2nd Ekamra Book Festival, which began on Tuesday at Janata Maidan, and 15th Kalinga Book Fair that commenced a day later at Exhibition Ground here are compelling book lovers to shop till they drop.

Both exhibitions house a wide range of fiction and non-fiction works. In the first category, one can find classics penned by Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Leo Tolstoy, Rabindranath Tagore on the shelves. Finding a novel by contemporary Indian authors, such as Chetan Bhagat, would not be difficult either.

Several kiosks have displayed works of stalwarts of the Odia literary world such as Upendra Bhanja, Fakir Mohan Senapati and Pratibha Ray.

Ekamra Book Festival has also displayed a special kiosk dedicated to legendary Odia littérateur Gangadhar Meher paying tribute to him on his 150th birth anniversary.

For those with an inclination towards religious reading, epics on Indian mythology are available in large numbers, while those with a knack for history can pick biographies. Colouring books for toddlers and children’s storybooks such as Panchatantra and Aesop’s Fables is also attracting many people to the fairs. There are colourful stationary items and educational CDs, too.

Textbooks of science, mathematics and arts displayed at the fair are keeping parents of teenagers quite intrigued. Several banks have also set up their kiosks, offering education loans. In the evening, cultural programmes at both venues lined up with an assortment of events such as literature discussion, painting, poetry, drawing, debate competitions, folk dance and musical recitals are pulling in crowds.

In all, Ekamra Book Fair has put up 110-odd kiosks while Kalinga book fair has about 150. Many publishing houses from outside the state are also participating in the fairs.

“I order novels from popular websites but fairs are a one-stop shop. One can avail big discounts here,” said Sujata Dash, a college student.

Both fairs are on till November 11.