Chapter 564 261: Countertrend Growth (Part 4)

However, most of the time, people are inclined to spend money on products like clothing displayed on mannequins in shop windows, Indian Ali's flatbreads with the scent of baked flour, and the floral-scented bottled perfumes in Saint Laurent's experience store.

Buying books at physical bookstores... this kind of choice seems old-fashioned, struggling to keep up with the times.

Compared to the pages exuding the scent of ink and wood pulp, people are starting to prefer e-reading.

The heyday of physical books, when everyone on the street carried a pocketbook, is long gone, and Waterstones, which has a strong partnership with Scholastic Group, is the financially best-performing large physical bookstore globally. However, its annual shipment share is decreasing year by year, to the point where it needs to sell coffee to increase revenue and cut costs.

Today.

A stunning illustrated poster successfully moved the historical gears forward by half a century, awakening the long-lost impulse in countless people to pick up a physical book.

In principle, the illustrated poster in front of Waterstones is no different from the photo of the global brand ambassador sports superstar Son Heung-min on the sign of the neighboring Burberry store.

The only difference is that, at this moment, Detective Cat's illustration is even more captivating than the bright smile of the Premier League Golden Boot.

And buying a book won't require an ordinary person to scrimp for half a year like buying a dark Burberry trench coat would.

People's eyes swept over—

Looked,

Paused,

Their hearts were moved.

...

In the bookstore, Dean Hawke was sweating all over.

The elderly gentleman finished absorbing ink from the ink bottle, screwed the fountain pen cap back on, wiped off a few strands of carbon ink from the 17K rose gold nib with a tissue paper, and signed the flamboyant letters "HAWK" below the book's title page in a specially designed font.

Awesome!

Dean Hawke felt the tingling and aching sensation in his fingers and wrist bones, yet his spirit remained highly excited.

A book signing is like a premiere for book people.

Seeing the bookstore bustling with people, and the light of yearning in each pair of eyes on every face, as they chant your name, praising your achievements.

Any writer would be overwhelmed with happiness for this sense of accomplishment.

Translation is considered a secondary creation of a book; in the process of localizing foreign language classics, the translator is absolutely the most crucial figure.

Charlie Hawke, honored as the Dean of the University of Oxford's Faculty of English Language, is among the top three translators in England, has translated countless world classics, and has published a polyphonic novel "The Fragmented Random World."

However, whether it's translations or personal creations, Hawke's writing direction leans toward traditional serious literature with an average reader age of over 35.

It's the kind of lively scene usually seen at book signings of popular fantasy novels like "Game of Thrones," "The Lord of the Rings," or "Twilight City."

Dean Hawke encountered such a scene for the first time too.

"I never knew I had so many fans. The literary taste of local readers in London seems to have improved a lot over the years!"

The elderly gentleman was pleasantly surprised as he handed the book back to the lady in front, and in high spirits, casually thanked her: "Thank you for attending my signing event."

"Mm-hmm, the illustrations in this set of books are really beautiful."

The lady also gave a thumbs-up to the Dean of Oxford.

Uh.

Dean Hawke's lips twitched slightly.

This wasn't the first time the gentleman had heard this compliment, and on top of that, he even encountered readers asking the staff if they could get the illustrator's autograph.

The illustrations are indeed beautiful, Hawke certainly admits.

Many of Saint-Exupéry's storylines are inseparable from the assistance of illustrations.

When the gentleman learned from the publisher that the original set of line drawings couldn't be obtained this time and required subsequent additions.

Hawke had many concerns about whether the Illustrator could grasp the essence of "The Little Prince" and not drag him down.

Fortunately, that Detective Cat seemed to have a profound understanding of "The Little Prince" storyline itself.

When he first saw this set of illustrations, he was also amazed by the expressive power of the visuals.

But what is the focus of this book?

It's his delicate and enduring words, isn't it?

Hearing constant praises for the illustrations at the signing event, Mr. Hawke couldn't help but feel a bit overshadowed.

Coincidentally, a staff member passed by with a large basket of statistics on the purchasing intentions of readers attending the signing event.

Dean Hawke paused his signing and waved to the staff member.