The increasing number of bookshops and kiosks whether new or second-hand reflects the level of education of Jordanians diminishing the view that we are not a reading nation. Some of these bookshops in downtown Amman are quite old going back to the 1930s and 1940s. “We are the pioneers of second-hand book shops in Amman,” the owner of the famous ‘Khazaen Al Jaheth’ bookshop said. “Our shop was originally established by my grandfather in Jerusalem in 1918 who loved books and used to collect them along with manuscripts,” he added. “My grandfather used to hate books being thrown away so he would either take them or buy them and that’s how the bookshop grew. Later on, we moved to Amman and the bookshop began to flourish. The idea that there is no reading public in Jordan seems to be a myth for people of all ages interested in reading. Would you believe the ages of my customers range from just five years old to 80?” But he did acknowledge most are middle-aged men and women. “Second-hand bookshops are quite cheap. The price of books starts from 100 fils,” he explained.

“Jordanians like the rest of the people in the Arab world are highly politicized. Although people have different tastes, most people who come to my shop are interested in political books related to the current events in the world or religion books.” As we were talking, a man in his 30s came in and asked about the books of the late ‘Sayed Qotub’, the well-known Muslim intellectual and thinker.

But there is no accounting for tastes. Youths for example are interested in books on sports and entertainment. “I buy second-hand books because they are cheap and valuable. I especially like to read novels and sports magazines,” 23-year-old Ahmad Qasim told The Star. Some of the book kiosk owners are also avid readers. “My hobby is reading. My uncle is a writer so maybe I inherited my love for books from him,” said Mohammad. Selling books is not a profitable business but I don’t actually mind that as long as I am enjoying my work,” he added. All sorts of people come to his kiosk. “They are mostly young between the ages of 22 and 35 and they come for all kinds of books, cultural, scientific, medical, political, or entertaining. And you can’t draw a line between male and female readers.” Muna Ahmad, 22, looks for political books. “They keep me informed about the background of all the events happening around us,” she said. But I also like reading for pleasure so I buy second-hand novels in both Arabic and English.” Saleem was standing with his wife and holding a religious book about prayers. “New books are becoming more expensive so I buy second-hand books to get the benefit I want at a low price,” he said.

Not all book kiosk owners are readers though. “I chose this business because it is easy going and gives me the chance to see different people every day,” 26-year Amjad told The Star. “My customers age between 30 and 50,” he boosted later, clarifying that most of the customers tend to be men. “Maybe this has to do with the location of my kiosk” (which is at the center of downtown Amman). Amjad sells all kinds of books. “I sell scientific, political, and religious books along with second-hand magazines and I sell them at half price of the new,” he added. Abu Khalid, 45, likes to collect Islamic books. “I always search for old Islamic books; these are relatively expensive if bought new so I look for second-hand books. This gives me the chance to buy twice the number of books at half price,” he explained. Hanan, 21, told us that she looks for university books that are available in some second-hand shops. “I’m studying English literature at university and books are expensive. I was buying a magazine from a bookshop when I saw one of my university books there and when I asked about its price I was startled. It was 300 fils! Can you believe it? I can save a lot of money by buying books from second-hand book shops but it needs a lot of searching,” she said.

Despite all the distraction of television and satellites people are still interested in books and the desire to read seems to be continuing. The search for second-hand bookshops reveals that although some people cannot afford new books they still look for alternatives to feed their hunger for education.