Book fairs in our Arab world (16 fairs annually) have not succeeded in influencing the reading rate, which, according to statistics, does not exceed a quarter of a page per person, compared to 11 books per year for the American reader. Meanwhile, the Arab child reads for seven minutes a year, and the American child for six minutes a day. The Arab book market does not hesitate to fall in love with the millions of visitors, even though UNESCO statistics confirm that the average reading rate for every million Arabs does not exceed 30 books, compared to 854 books per million Europeans.

Writer Abdullah Al-Jumaili believes that the findings of a previous report issued by the Arab Thought Foundation on "Cultural Development in the Arab World" are not encouraging and do not indicate that Arabs read. While there is one book published for every 12,000 Arab citizens, there is one book printed for every 500 English citizens and one for every 900 Germans. Furthermore, the reading rate in the Arab world does not exceed 4% of the reading rate in England. He also points out that some statistics indicate the average Arab citizen dedicates only 6 minutes a year to reading, compared to 200 hours for citizens in Europe and America. Al-Jumaili asserts that the high volume of visits to book fairs, or the percentage of purchases made, does not provide a true impression or indicator. Most of these practices are aimed at imitating others, seeking prestige, or posting photos for social media to show off, "Hey everyone, look at me, I'm cultured! I buy books to read!" Al-Jumaili called for a national campaign to encourage reading and spread its culture throughout all segments of society, with the Ministry of... Culture, in cooperation with institutions related to spreading the inclination towards reading, supporting school libraries, updating their books to keep pace with the changes and developments of the times, allocating study times or periods for reading, encouraging male and female students to read with competitions and prizes, and motivating readers among them with extra marks! Opening public libraries, even small ones, in neighborhoods, targeting gathering places in airports, waiting areas in parks, hospitals, and other places with various portable books, and issuing books in popular editions with suitable or symbolic prices to be accessible to everyone.

Poet Ahmed Al-Mujathal noted an increase in the number of visitors to the recent Riyadh Book Fair, despite the introduction of new regulations, including registration through the fair's electronic platform and setting a symbolic entry fee of (5) riyals. He pointed out that the printed book has a special status, and he considered it a cultural and intellectual asset despite the technological and artistic development and the multiplicity of media and means of knowledge and the modernity that the cultural content industry has undergone since the recipient's relationship with the book. The book has not complained or suffered from the competition from traditional means such as audio or visual media, and the printed book has remained vibrant in acquisition and purchase.

Al-Mujthal considered the international book fairs’ adherence to their presence in the cultural scene, from Frankfurt to Cairo to Riyadh, Jeddah to Sharjah and Abu Dhabi, as an indication of the value and motivation of the recipient, even if some opponents tried to belittle the returns of book fairs, as they are not sufficiently aware of the importance and value of the book in people’s hearts. He added that with our belief in the reality of technology, audiobooks and electronic books, book fairs have contributed significantly to the turnout at fairs and the purchase and acquisition of paper books. He looked forward to serving the spread of the paper book by reducing obstacles, including exempting publishing houses and publishers from permit fees, taxes, shipping costs, and exorbitant costs, including the amounts of renting spaces and facilitating the entry of publications.

The philosophical researcher Abdullah Al-Hamili believes that the crowds of visitors to book fairs are different from any other fairs that attract a group of visitors, as the success of the book market depends on the visitors to buy these books and the publishing houses that are present and provide the publications. There may be phenomena accompanying the fairs, but I do not think that they will be held for viewing, for example. Of course, the quality of publications and texts that people aspire to acquire and the keenness to ensure that they are books that are difficult to obtain in libraries. The phenomenon of book fairs is like the libraries of the world being present in one place. Al-Hamili attributed the eagerness to visit book fairs to the reading instinct that is active in book forums. Personally, I fear for myself because of this feeling if it does not make me crown my acquisition of books with the completion of reading them. Although book fairs are a primary goal, they are also an opportunity to hold meetings with various intellectuals and writers from different regions of the Kingdom, such as the Riyadh International Book Fair and the cultural gatherings and evenings that take place there. He pointed out that the influx is evidence of the continuity and permanence of the printed book despite the existence of alternatives that have tried to compete with it, such as audiobooks, podcasts, and electronic books. He expressed his optimism about the turnout for reading and thought and the rejection of superstition and everything that distorts awareness, as long as there is conscious reading and reading awareness.

The poet Saleh Al-Harbi is hesitant about the number of visitors to book fairs, and he sees it as greatly exaggerated to favor one fair over another, to make it appear to have a better presence and more visitors than others, stressing that the Arab reader is voracious, but his appetite has declined greatly in terms of buying paper books, as he has turned to reading electronic books and ordering them from electronic websites.

Ali Makki: "Counting in Lemons"

The writer Ali Makki believes that the question of the number of visitors to book fairs is a confusing question, and no one has an accurate or actual answer to it, perhaps because the organizers of these fairs are concerned with success by relying on statistics that promote their success, and (counting lemons) as they say. Therefore, every number or statistical figure that is put forward must be based on the credibility of the entities that organize the book fairs, in order to distance them from the suspicion of false promotion and claiming large numbers of visitors to the fairs in order to highlight their cultural effort and the importance of what they do.

In my opinion, any number announced regarding visitors to these exhibitions is unreliable unless we know the nature of these visits!

As for the question of the Arab person’s relationship with reading, I believe that the Cairo International Book Fair (in particular) has a presence that highlights the growing interest in books, and I have personally witnessed and felt a passion for books in more than one session in recent years.

But despite all that, I recall some studies – including those issued by the Arab Thought Foundation – which confirmed that the level of reading in the Arab world is still low compared to other rates in the world, due to economic and educational reasons.

Halima Muzaffar: Social media is an immediate alternative

I believe that large numbers at book fairs are a positive, vital, and delightful thing, and reflect the interest of individuals in culture in its general form. However, large numbers do not necessarily reflect their interest in reading books, because there are visitors to the fairs who are curious to discover and interested in the diverse cultural events held on the sidelines of the fairs, and this is normal. This does not mean that the relationship of the Arab person to reading is weak, as there are those who are interested in it as a conscious act and there are those who are interested in it as a mere act, like those who read what is brief and short on social media sites and draw their immediate awareness without examination or knowledge.