What They're Reading: Picking up the Pages in Cambodia

What They're Reading: Picking up the Pages in Cambodia
May/June 2007
FOREIGN POLICY: How would you describe the reading environment in
Cambodia?
Pal Vannarirak: Cambodians have started to regain their interest in
literature. Over the past three years, there's been a lot of activity
focused on books and reading-a mobile library, literacy programs for
children. Books used to have to go to Japan, Thailand, and Sweden to
get published; now Cambodia is finally publishing its own books.

FP: Who are currently the bestselling authors and themes?

PV: Domestic violence, HIV/AIDS, and land disputes are all themes that
make their way into Cambodian fiction. Kong Boun Chhouen writes novels
about relationships that often include scenes that are racy by
Cambodian standards; he also writes ghost stories and historical
fiction, both of which are very popular. Among nonfiction books,
business books-about how to build a business and make more money-are
always big sellers.

Sam Suphearin is probably the bestknown young writer. One of his
books, Somnaok Anusavari ( Sorrow of the Remembrance ), is the story
of a former prostitute who meets a man who asks her for love but is
unable to relinquish her past.

FP: What about newspapers and magazines?

PV: Newspapers are becoming very popular as people are engaging more
with politics in this country. A single person will read three or four
newspapers-one linked to the ruling party, another to the opposition
party. They'll buy them or read them hanging on the newsstands.
Newspapers can also be rented out like books. The most popular
magazines are women's fashion magazines, with articles on hairstyles
and clothing....

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Relevant Pages

  • reading is on the rise as the once-popular Khmer pastime re-emerges from a turbulent era tha
    ... New generation revives 'lost culture' of reading ... Department of Books and Reading under the Ministry of Culture and Fine ... Book Sector in Cambodia, a non profit organization made up of book ... sellers, authors, publishers, distributors, librarians and ...
    (soc.culture.cambodia)
  • Re: column style
    ... Googling for "reading speed line length" yields the ... a typeface that is virtually never used in books or newspapers; ... The second hit ...
    (alt.usage.english)
  • Re: column style
    ... My own likewise (though based on what I've read in books written by people with a lot of publishing experience -- Stanley Unwin for example). ... Googling for "reading speed line length" yields the following as first hit: ... First of all, the reading was done from a computer screen, not from paper; second, the samples were displayed in 10-pt Arial, a typeface that is virtually never used in books or newspapers; third, the interline space was 12 pt, i.e. huge by the standards of newspapers and most books; fourth, the texts to be read were too short to test the problem of line skipping. ...
    (alt.usage.english)