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Salman Faridi: 'Snacking' on books
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“Don’t waste your time reading fiction; you should be reading the classics,” they say. (Shutterstock/File)
B
ooks are for both business and pleasure for Bentang Pustaka publishing house’s CEO Salman Faridi. After returning from Singapore’s StoryDrive event in November, he is currently conducting content experiments with writing and reading platforms like Wattpad.
“This digital project is interesting because despite its extraordinary potential it still takes a long time and process to push for its growth and to gain a big income,” said the publisher’s CEO.
Even in Germany, he said a big publishing official revealed that digital market value was still around 5 percent compared to print.
Despite his busy schedule, running activities at his base in Yogyakarta, home to many creative communities, as well as traveling to Bandung and Jakarta, he still finds time to read both real and digital books.
(Read also: Kompas Gramedia acquires local e-book start-up)
“I always find time to read newspapers, articles and books. I call this habit ‘snacking.’ I do it in between breaks, at lunch and then in the evening when my children are sleeping. If the book is related to work, like a review of a book that is about to be published, I try to read it in the office,” he said.
For ebooks, he reads them on two popular platforms, googlebooks and Wattpad.
“Bentang has the Belia Writing Marathon project on Wattpad. We started in November last year and it is expected to be completed in April. So far, the response has been amazing and I even get addicted to the stories, reading one after another,” he said.
Despite the digital reading, he finds it hard to kick his habit of reading real books, feeling attached to “the feel” of paper.
“I regularly read my favorite book, which, in digital format, has an average 1,000 pages for each title. But I also find it fun to read thick Haruki Murakami books,” said Salman, who always carries at least two books when traveling.
‘Markesot’
Author: Emha Ainun Nadjib
Since college, I have always felt mesmerized by the magical, “acrobatic” words chosen by Cak Nun (as Emha is popularly known). At the start of my writing episode, I borrowed Cak Nun’s writing style to develop my paragraphs, to polish my stories so my readers would be charmed. Until today I still feel that Cak Nun is my writing teacher and made me get used to writing.
‘Bukuku Kakiku’
This book, which literally translates as “my book my foot”, is a compilation of articles from renowned people who have been touched by books. In its introduction, which made me unable to sleep after reading the book, is a question that asks readers to pick books that have revolutionized their lives.
‘Catatan Pinggir’ (Sidelines)
Author: Goenawan Mohamad
I feel that Goenawan Mohamad’s articles (which appear in Tempo magazine and have been published as books), which are rich with data and information, inspire me.
