Books Port

90% off on all imported books! the banner screams. Hmm, you think; if they're giving it away that cheap the books can't be too great. And walk away. So the organizers wisened up, and now the banner reads, "Upto 89% off on all imported books!" We don't know if this is working out any better for them, but at least you're assured of some really good deals at this exhibition housed just behind the British Library.

The collection isn't exactly brilliant, but they do have a decent set of coffee table books and classics. The literature section is small and scattered, but you'll find the collected works series a good buy. Oscar Wilde, Thomas Hardy, Arthur Conan Doyle and Virginia Woolf feature in this section of paperback compilations.

The dictionaries and other reference books are very popular, as are the children's books, although they're mostly of the color-and-learn variety. Puzzles, picture games and young literature in the form of Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys and others are also found all over the place, as are a number of recipe books, both Indian and international.

Several hardbacks on interior design and architecture are available at rates just a little lower than at the bookstores. Of course, the staple fare of every book exhibition, titles on self-help, astrology, vaasthu, palmistry etc. are rampant here, too.

The range is not very tempting at this little unnamed exhibition, but if you're looking for a handsome copy of a title you'd like to own, you have a pretty good chance of lucking out. But hurry - although the exhibition has been on indefinitely, it isn't a permanent fixture yet.