Into the zone of Book Zone in Ranchi

“Book readers are special people, and they will always turn
to books as ultimate pleasure. A great book is a friend that
never lets you down. You can turn to it again and again,
and the joy first derived from it will still be there.”
—Ruskin Bond

Quoted from Ruskin Bond’s autobiography Scenes From A Writer’s Life to define an obscured philosophy of Vinod Poddar who runs Ranchi’s most a la mode bookshop, Book Zone, for special people looking for great books. This bookstore in Ranchi is a comfy and resourceful corner which fascinates both young and old readers alike. Jyaneswar Laishram of All About Book Publishing just stopped by for a transitory exploration of the bookstore’s splendid collections. Vinod Poddar’s vision for a bookshop in Ranchi was a book corner to offer rare or unavailable books in the international or domestic market. “My wife was sole inspiration for everything as she has an extraordinary interest in books. We decided to unveil Book Zone as a unique shop where booklovers would eventually whew a sigh of relief because they would no longer need to wander anywhere else anymore in search of the books of their choice,” told Vinod Poddar.

Available range

Fictions and non-fictions, children’s comic books, short stories, educational reference books are the varieties available on the shelves of Book Zone. This bookstore is the place where readers/buyers find more than what they are looking for. “Readers have different tastes for books which we should understand precisely. Whenever a buyer turns up in search of a particular author’s book, we give him the opportunity to browse some other or entire works of the author. This is how our buyers enjoy the plenteousness at Book Zone,” admitted Vinod.

Sole supplier

In addition to the walk-in book customers, leading libraries in Jharkhand are Book Zone’s regular clients for whom the bookstore supplies books regularly. To name a few, Central Institute of Psychiatrist (CIP), Dilsa Agricultural University, Central University of Jharkhand, Ranchi University, IIM Ranchi, ATI, Indian Institute of Coal Management, CMPDI and others are closely associated with Book Zone for books for their libraries. These institutes recognise Book Zone not only for books but also for the service that the bookshop offers with a commitment.

‘Publisher’s Month’

There is the fact that Book Zone is known for its dedication towards the interest of their customers. ‘Publisher’s Month’ organised annually by this bookshop is a workshop in which a chosen publisher showcases its range of publications for a month at Book Zone. Such programme gives an opportunity for customers to interact with the publisher, in addition to enjoying the complete range on display during the month-long workshop. “So far we have organised ‘Publisher’s Month’ inviting Penguin, Rupa, HarperCollins and Oxford University Press and we received warm feedback from visitors,” mentioned Vinod.

Bigger zone

Book Zone is now looking ahead for a strategic move to expand the store into a comfort zone format. “We are planning to move our location to a bigger space where we will present in a more customer-friendly format than the existing setup,” mentioned Vinod adding that the new format of Book Zone will have a reading/sitting zone where people can sit to read and discuss over a cup of tea for hours. Broadening of Book Zone is indeed an awaited ecstasy for many who are regulars to this splendid bookshop in Ranchi.