Islamabad: A book service by a young Pakistani woman to fill the literary void in her life has caught the fancy of many book lovers a year after its launch.
"The Last Word", the bookshop, is housed inside the popular eating joint `The Hot Spot` (THS) in Lahore`s Gaddafi Stadium and `THS` in Karachi.
Owner Aysha Raja, who returned to Pakistan to set up the bookshop, says "I was born and raised outside Pakistan, but to say I came to live in Lahore by chance is an understatement. I`ve had a love affair with Pakistan since a very young age and, after nearly a decade of living here, I can say with certainty that I`ve never once regretted my decision."
Raja gives regular updates on Facebook and also Tweets to let the members know of the latest additions.
"A definitive book service, `The Last Word` believes in the power and splendour of the written word and its ability to inform and inspire. We painstakingly select the coolest,
most exciting books found anywhere in the world," reads the introductory note on Facebook.
Her last Tweet is on the controversial biography on cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, which claims that he had an affair with slain former premier Benazir Bhutto.
Raja`s shop boasts a collection of the most exquisite books on art, photography, modern design, architecture, food and travel. It also caters to the "as-yet ignored bulk of urban and distinctly cosmopolitan reading public".
"We take our literary fiction very seriously too! We stock nothing but the most talented, original and moving writers of contemporary fiction as well as modern classics that shaped the generations before ours. The Last Word believes books improve the quality of life, which is why we are always open to suggestion from readers and non-readers alike," she wrote.
Apart from stocking books, Raja`s been busy creating a literary scene in Pakistan. She`s helping out with the region`s first ever short story prize competition, "Life`s Too Short".
She`s planned events with Pakistani writers Nadeem Aslam, Mohammed Hanif and Daniyal Mueenuddin. Raja started the shop to fill the literary void in her life.
"She wanted more than what was the standard Pakistani bookstore fare: self-help, current events, business management, Sufi spiritualism and some airport fiction," Shomial Ahmed who often drops by at the bookstore wrote about `The Last Word`.
"I`d go to the bookstore when I wanted to fill a void too. Once, when I was in bad mood on a hot, Lahore day, I dropped in for a `super thick` Belgian chocolate shake. I bought two novellas too. I bought a graphic novel and a comic book when I couldn`t think of something better to get for a friend`s wedding," Ahmed added.
Raja is now busy with "Life`s too short" short story prize, which was conceived to reinvigorate this oft-neglected genre in Pakistan.
Bureau Report
First Published: Thursday, September 3, 2009, 18:58
