SIBF keeps readers glued to stories and storytelling

Under the vast roof of the Sharjah Expo Centre, where the 44th Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) took place, readers from every corner of the world chased stories; some in futuristic digital worlds, others in dusty, sepia-tinted chronicles of the past.

- Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

From children clutching gaming guides to adults leafing through tales of faith, real-life rebellion and travel, the 12-day annual event this year has become a microcosm of how the world reads today: curious, eclectic, and endlessly connected. And it has drawn people from all over the world.

Ask fourteen-year-old Dhananjay Iyer, a Grade 9 student isn’t here for fantasy or fiction.

His picks are Minecraft handbooks that, he says, give him more than a “beginner's coding guide.”

“'m reading books that help me build things,” he says, flipping through a new Minecraft manual.

“Minecraft teaches you how to build using redstone,” he adds, talking about the powerful circuit-based component used in Minecraft to create complex contraptions, functioning like a real-world electrical system.

“It even teaches some form of coding and so books like these make my games smarter.”