The popularity of the Taipei International Book Exhibition seems to indicate that we live in a nation that loves to read, but a closer examination may point to a different conclusion, for most of the crowds visiting the fair have actually been attracted by the comics and animation pavilion, while the literary section received much less attention.

These two students enjoy their visit in the Taipei International Book Exhibition very much as they've bought a lot of books.

On the average, they spend more than 3 hours reading since junior high school and they love to read books more than comic books.

While 90% of their classmates love to read comic books, they are quite special.

The book exhibition also gives us some idea of the reading competency of high school and college students.

Most booths in the World Trade Center hall 1, which exhibits literary works, novels and non-fictions were quite empty on the first day of the event.

Not many young people were spotted at the areas.

According to the 2010 Programme for International Student Assessment, the reading literacy of Taiwanese students has slided by 7 ranks, behind many other Asian countries.

Experts suggest that parents read to their children when they are two to three years old and help them to develop a reading habit and cultivate competitiveness through extensive reading.