[Video] Reading culture in Qatar: A downward trend?

Book reading, at many parts of the world, is perhaps a daily activity for many.

But in Qatar, book lovers find it difficult to get hold of books they want to read, since books in Qatar all go through inspections of the Ministry of Culture.

Here’s a video exploring book reading culture in Qatar—

So where do we find books?

The most traditional way is to go to a bookstore. This year, WH Smith opened new branches in Doha and expanded their book collections. Still, many complain that the variety of books available is not too impressive. Branches of WH Smith could be found in Hayat Plaza at Al Aziziya, Ezdan Mall at Gharrafah District, and Nuaija Mall at Al Hilal.

University libraries are a good resource for those of you that have friends or family there if you are not a student yourself. They usually have a good collection of books you don’t find elsewhere.

Qatar Book Corner (http://www.qbookcorner.com/) is an online bookshop. They have a decent collection of second-hand bestsellers, and they deliver to your door. If you are looking for a place to sell your books, they also buy used books in bulk.

Qatar Living has a special section (http://www.qatarliving.com/classifieds/search/category/books-magazines) dedicated to books and magazines under classified ads. If you are not looking for something in particular, check it out and see if anything interests you.

Rising use of tablets and e-reader devices also provides another alternative way to get books. Most of their respective online bookstore collections keep up with print versions. Sometimes you also find books released on Kindle bookstore before they are in actual bookstores in America and Europe.

By Penny Yi Wang. Photo by Penny Yi Wang.