Plain Talk

By Mursi Saad El-Din

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Last Thursday was World Book Day, in honour of the printed word. Unfortunately, the day passed unnoticed in Egypt, as not a single mention was made in the media, let alone some form of celebration.

This is in complete contrast to what took place in England where the day, established by the UNESCO, was commemorated in different fashions. Other than press articles dealing with the importance of reading, some newspapers came up with original ideas.

The Independent Review, for instance, asked the "leading lights of British letters" to name the characters who give them the greatest reading pleasure. A hundred literary luminaries were asked and The Review published their choices, along with the reasons behind them.

The characters varied from William Brown to Madame Bovary; other choices including Sir Lancelot, Sherlock Holmes, Tom Jones, Kim, Hamlet and Moll Flanders. Together with these literary landmarks, there were choices of more contemporary nature such as Philip Marlowe, the private detective created by Raymond Chandler, and Harriet Welsch, author Louise Fitzburg's precocious 11- year-old New Yorker obsessed with spying.

The reasons behind the choices were interesting. Barbara Trapido chose William Brown because he is a "child rebel in stifling suburbia. His instincts are against social climbing, pseudo-intellectualism and the mundane".

Wendy Holden, author of The Wives of Bath, chose Sir Lancelot not only for favourite character but also for sexiest man in literature. In Tennyson's The Lady of Shalott "he is drawn with hilariously euphemistic zest -- all that stuff about [...] his helmet with its plume. It's barely decent, frankly, and it puts a smile on my face every time I read it," she says.

Jamila Gavin, author of Coram Boy, chose Rudyard Kipling's Kim. Kipling, she writes, "describes his hero as an 'imp' and that's what makes him one of my most favourite characters. I admire his cheerful arrogance and independence".

On the occasion of this day, another survey was conducted about what makes of a book a best- seller. It is not the imaginative displays by publishers and bookshops which propel a book into this position, but rather "word of mouth". One in four of those polled said that the last book they read was chosen based on accounts by friends or family members. The survey also showed that approximately one third of readers under 35 years of age mentioned recommendations as the most important factor in choosing their readings. Another twenty-six per cent of those polled, on the other hand, said that loyalty to a favoured author made them chose his books.

Commenting on the results of the survey, Louise Jury of The Independent, says she was disappointed "for the promotional teams who spend up to £100 million on book advertising every year" since only six per cent of the interviewees said they chose a book because they saw it advertised.

Some authors agreed that their books became popular through word-of-mouth, though it customarily requires some time before bearing effect. This explains why first print runs are low compared to successive ones which can go on to sell hundreds of thousands of copies.

The World Book Day is quite an event in England. According to John Walsh of The Independent Review, "World Book Day [is] the day on which every Briton is encouraged to stay at home and read a book from start to finish." Accessing a book should not be difficult since, according to the survey, a large number of people said they had copies of books they had enjoyed giving away to friends.