Calling book buffs

The Hindu : Metro Plus Hyderabad: "THIS IS the story of four entrepreneurs (the oldest of the lot is twenty three), and yet another venture stemming out of an online platform. The fresh concept happens to be a book club called Habits, best defined as "what Café Coffee Day did to the brew -- revolutionise reading. Make reading a part of lifestyle," says CEO Sasikanth, a BITS Pilani alumni. Partnering him in the venture are Harsha (CA), Raj Kiran (BE) and Tejaswy (MBA).

An award for their model at Conquest, the BITS Pilani business plan competition that has B-school graduates also bringing in their presentations, was the required fillip for them to quit their cushy jobs and go ahead with the business of books. Read, providing whole gamut of bibliographic services, books— fiction, non fiction, technical, self-help volumes and e-books, conducting book reading and story telling sessions, screening movies made out of books, organising in-house learning and training sessions, workshops on grooming and etiquette, and sale of customised stationary and merchandise.

Barely a few weeks old, the club has already started extending service to corporate clients to begin with, offering books on specific subjects enhanced with training on the same, such as a `how to' workshop and hands-on experience on Java by the language expert, upgrading existing libraries and conducting more team building activities.

As for the club, plans ahead include services to schools -- inculcating reading habit among the young, maintaining in-house libraries, offer discounts to individuals on online purchase of books and a mini reading lounge."