Hot trends from the 25th National Book Expo in Taiyuan

Publishing companies attract visitors by displaying boards of books at their exhibition booths. [Photo/Xinhua]

Pocket books are on the rise

Large-sized luxury books are no longer the main character in the Expo. Instead, publishing companies are launching simple packaged pocket books to compete with e-books.

Five publishing companies of China South Publishing and Media Group recently launched a series of 50 pocket books. The series covers classic works from politics and philosophy to literature and culture.

After a mass investigation, Zhang Qinghua, vice general manager of China South Publishing, decided to publish a series of pocket-size separable books. Each book keeps 50,000 to 80,000 words printed on picked thin paper.

"Fragmentation and superficiality are the characteristics of online reading in modern society. It might be convenient for readers, but the content usually lacks selection and editing. Traditional books are too heavy for readers. So there comes the pocket book. The books are light but qualified in content. In the future, it will be a new trend in the field of publishing. It will be an important competitor of online reading as well," said Zhang.