VietNamNet Bridge – Readers in HCM City will have an opportunity to own rare and old books at a fair opening today (Sept 18) at Nha Nam Thu Quan Coffee Shop.

Illustrative image -- File photo

The three-day fair, organised by Nha Nam Publishing House, will display more than 1,000 book titles published decades ago that cannot be found on the market.

Vietnamese pre-war poetry books and novels, old dictionaries, Soviet literary works and old newspapers will be on display.

The fair will also include an auction of valuable rare books, to be held at 9.30am on Sunday.

These include Dao Duy Anh's Viet Nam Van Hoa Su Cuong (Overview of Vietnamese History and Culture) published by the Bon Phuong Publishing House in 1951, and Tri Tan (Learn Something New) magazine released in 1943.

Nguyen Du's Truyen Kieu (The Tale of Kieu) in Vietnamese and French by translator Nguyen Van Vinh published by the Vinh Bao Publishing House in 1951 will also be auctioned, as well Nguyen Tuan's novel Vang Bong Mot Thoi (Reminiscences of a Golden Era) published by the Cao Thom Publishing House in 1968.

These rare books belong to Nha Nam and city-based collectors.

All profits from the auction will be donated to the HCM City-based Audio Books Charity Fund for the Visually Impaired.

The event will also feature bestselling and newly published books, including novels by Vietnamese and foreign writers and colouring books from local publishing houses and book distributors such as Nha Nam, Tre and Alpha.

Bestsellers and newly published books will be offered at a 25-50 per cent discount.

The fair will include a stall selling old books from VND5,000-20,000 (US$0.25-1.00), and a stall where visitors can exchange old books for new ones.

The fair will be held from 8am to 8pm at 43 Ho Van Hue Street in Phu Nhuan District.

VNS