Light reads at a city store. Picture by Anindya Shankar Ray

What can you get for Rs 100? A pair of flat slippers at Metro Plaza, a snack at McDonald’s or a ticket for a morning show at the multiplex. You could also buy yourself a book with that amount — not too thin, not too fat, not too highbrow and a good way to kill time.

And you will be spoilt for choice too, with city bookstores stocking up on a range of light reads at surprisingly affordable rates.

The trend started with Chetan Bhagat, all of whose books are priced at Rs 95, right from Five Point Someone in 2004 to his fourth, 2 States, published this year.

Though earlier books like Who Moved My Cheese? and The Inscrutable Americans were priced in the same range and did well too, “Chetan Bhagat was the trigger,” feels Gautam Jatia, the CEO of Starmark.

“This (the Chetan Bhagat formula) has played a key role in determining the price range of books in this category,” says Mou Sen Mukherjee of Oxford Bookstores.

The “me too” books have Calcutta’s Gen Y hooked to buying books like never before. “The low price helps push up volumes,” says Jatia.

The sales figures in this category are better than other genres in Indian English writing. Starmark sells 50-100 copies a fortnight and Oxford Bookstore around 100 a week.

But price isn’t the only factor. “Price plays a role but the determining factors are usually best-selling authors and reviews. Most love stories sell well too,” says an Oxford representative.

Adds Sidharth Pansari, the managing director of Crossword: “These books usually centre around an academic institution and have a love story. The language is simple and the story not too long. So even non-readers are attracted to them since they aren’t serious tomes. It’s not literature, it’s entertainment.”

When it comes to books, familiarity breeds sales, not contempt. “The stories have the usual smattering of slang, the characters are people you would find in any college, who frequent youth hangouts like Nirula’s in Delhi or Rambhai in Ahmedabad. So the 15-30 age group identifies with them,” says Pansari.

Most of these books are published by Rupa or Shrishti Publications. Other publishers are following suit. Ruskin Bond’s books are available for Rs 125 and many of Satyajit Ray’s translations are priced at Rs 99. The Mills ‘n’ Boons books have “only Rs 99” stamped smack on the front cover.

Pansari explains the business module: “Low cost of production coupled with high volume of sales make it worthwhile for publishers to keep the price so low.”

Most stores insist this trend is not city-specific. But Alpana Choudhury, 24, a research associate in a law firm, makes sense of the Calcutta craze. “I’m not a bookworm, but I just can’t resist a bargain!” she smiles.