Championing the cause of reading

SALALAH, Feb 27  - When an international book fair is happening in Muscat, someone, who is 1,000 km away from the capital city, is trying to encourage people to cultivate the habit of reading. Her strength is her passion for books and a collection of more than 1,000 books. Fatma al Mashani of Taqah and a IT graduate from Salalah College of Applied Sciences, was seen participating in a college’s Open Day event on Tuesday along with her books. She put up her books on a stall and was seen explaining about them to the students, faculty members and visitors. “Since I love reading books, I feel like telling more and more people to read books. And there cannot be a better occasion than this to convey the right message when Muscat International Book Fair is going on and the atmosphere is surcharged with talks on books, writing and reading.” She exhorts the young generation to pick up the habit of reading and take a break from their mobile phones. “The world of books is so nice and so vast that you keep on learning so many things… and there is good thing about the books that the titles are available for everyone’s area of interest.” Among her collections are novels, stories, poems, motivational books and books that promote positivity. She has developed a business model for her passion. Unlike casual readers she reads the books carefully and sells them to the prospective buyers. She claims to have read more than 200 books so far, mostly novels. Her collection ranges from love stories to comedy and adventure. Fatma has brain of a critic, which does not go only after big writers. “As a keen reader I find some great content by little known writers. But they do not sell much because they do not have publicity,” she said. It took time for her to choose a career. Once decided she did not care for her educational background, which would have made her an IT professional. She started collecting books for reading in 2013. She started her reading-cum-book selling venture with RO 30. Today she has books worth RO 1,500. All of the titles are read by her, which is a matter of inspiration for book lovers. She doesn’t regret not having pursued career in IT? “No I don’t. The knowledge acquired through my IT course helps me in organising my books and selling them to online buyers. I am happy that my books move fast and I get opportunity to read some books of my choice. Life goes very smooth in the company of books.”