Shillong, Sep 24: “We want these books to reach their destination, to the right readers,” Sister Marisa of Daughters of St Paul said as she arranged the books on display outside Pauline Book Store in Laitumkhrah as part of the annual book fest.
It was the book fest’s last day, and the store was filled with young readers. Sister Marisa showed the collection that was at a 50% discount. “We have DVDs too at that discount. The discount will continue even after the book fest as we want readers to benefit. These are not second-hand books,” she explained.
A basket beside the book table was half filled with DVDs of children’s songs and movies. A label on it said ‘Free’, which meant anyone could pick up as many DVDs as they wanted.
(Read: Pauline Book Store: Spreading the light of spirituality)
The fest had a wide collection of children’s books, novels, classics, and inspirational and religious books. Among the visitors were many regulars like Phoebe Sahkhar, who came with her daughter and niece.
“Both are 6 years of age. They often come to Pauline Book Store and the book fest is another special occasion,” said Sahkhar. While her daughter Aksana loves Bible stories and books about mermaids, her niece Eudora loves fairytales.
Sister Helena, who was at the counter, informed Meghalaya Monitor that this year, the fest witnessed fewer visitors than the previous years.
“This is because we did not have many events, such as essay competitions. Of course, students from several schools visited as we had distributed pamphlets,” she informed.
“We are short-staffed too this year. But we hope that next year, we will be able to have all the fun events for children,” said Sister Marisa.
The fest started on September 13 and concluded on September 23.
