Priced at Rs 699, there weren't too many takers for The Lost Symbol
Priced at Rs 699, there weren't too many takers for The Lost Symbol
Dan Brown's latest novel, The Lost Symbol, brought a steady stream of customers to bookstores but notu00a0 all of them ended up buying due to its price Rs 699.
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Not yet found: Sales of The Lost Symbol failed to match up to the hype that surrounded the book's launch
pics/Nolan Pinto |
Though bookstores reported fairly steady sales yesterday, the buzz that surrounded the sale of Harry Potter was missing. And so were the madding crowds.
"It's a little expensive for the Indian market. The price should have been in the range of Rs 250-300," said Prakash Gangaram, from Gangarams Book Bureau and Gallery.
His bookstore, one of the largest in town, had placed a conservative order about 100 copies and sold only about 10 today.
Another reason for the not-so-great sales is "that hard cover does not suit travellers who want something light and easy to carry and Bangalore has a large number of them", said Gangaram.
Bookworm, on Brigade Road, reported better sales. They had ordered for 750 copies and sold 150-160 of their 200 pre-ordered books.
Mahindra, shop manager, says, "We are expecting much better sales tomorrow and over the weekend."
Landmark, Koramangala, ordered about 1,000 copies and sold somewhere in the region of 30-40, according to Dinesh, assistant floor manager.
Crossword on Residency Road sold about 40 books while Oxford Bookstall at the Leela Galleria sold 25 to customers and another 20 to those who had pre-ordered. Both stores said most of the buyers fell in the 25-30 age group.
Reliance TimeOut on Cunningham Road cited company policy and declined to give out the number of books sold but reported a good response from Dan Brown fans.
They were the first in lineI had pre-booked last week itself. I could not put The Da Vinci Code down. I loved the movie too. Angels and Demons was good too. I hope this book is as interesting as the rest."
Vinod Prabhakar, investment banker, who was the first to pre-order the book at Crossword and the first to buy it from themu00a0
"Angels and Demons along with The Da Vinci Code gave a lot of interesting information on the various cults. I bought this book hoping it makes for interesting reading like the previous ones."
Ganesh Sivasubramaniam, an IT professional, who came to buy the book at about 6.30 am from Oxford Bookstall at the Leela Galleria
"I've been waiting for this book ever since I heard it was to come out in a week's time. The first thing Iu00a0u00a0 did today was to get up early and buy one for myself. I am almost done with three chapters and it promises to be as amplifying as the previous ones."
Natasha Rego, II degree, Mount Carmel College
"I have read all his previous books. It is entertaining and gives us a lot of knowledge. The plots are very well-constructed and there are no loose ends. I would compare him with Michael Crichton."
Umesh Agarwal at Crossword Bookstore
