I remember reading a fine piece on the book vendors in Addis a few years ago; it was on Addis Neger – a now defunct newspaper. The article mainly highlighted the plight of the vendors and how hard it was for them to make ends meet, as the market was not strong. Self help books were more popular then. They were also the ones that were more available and I presume no serious reader would buy such books.

A lot has happened since then; books of different and more serious genre have been published. Auto biographies and biographies by and of the military commanders of the Dergue era especially proved to be popular. Writers such as Adam Reta published books which also caught the public’s attention. Poetry books have become abundant as well. All these have contributed to the growing market. And I would say that the vendors are benefiting.

I was talking to one of these vendors the other day; he had sold me a book the day before and checked to see if I wanted another book. I told him I cannot afford a book a day and then we started talking about the market. He was positive about the market; he sells 20 books on a good day and on average he earns a profit of Br. 70 per day. That is huge for a book vendor – well, life has become so expensive, one would add. Yet, that was huge.

The book vendors are a smart bunch; they take one look at a person and guess (most of the time correctly) if he/she would buy a book. If you wear spectacles and have a beard or long hair, you will be ‘targeted’. They also know which books are ‘hot’. And once they know what kind of books you want, they will try to sell you the type of book which they think are in the same genre if you pass by them the next day. They are polite too. They serve you much better than the waiters/ waitresses at the expensive cafes that are now so common in Addis. A cup of macchiato and a cake at one of the posh cafes with ‘unposh’ service will cost you anything between Br. 20 and Br. 30. For this price, you can buy a decent book and get a better service!!

Well, one might as well tell me this: a man went out to the market to buy a sheep and he was told the price was Br. 70 (the good old days!!) and the man remarked, “I would buy a sturdy donkey for this price”.  “Sir, you know which one tastes better for you!” the seller snapped.

I know! The books do.