Though wading through crowds might not be an attractive activity, just this once, it will be worth it. With over 1,300 publishers participating in the event and some love from Russia, the book fair holds much promise. Most of the big publishing houses are just warming up as they churn out book launches, signings, readings, discounts and more offers that just can’t be refused.

If you breathe for fiction, make a beeline for the Penguin, HarperCollins and Rupa stalls. Penguin (hall 1 S, stall number 65-84) is celebrating its Penguin Classics series from both the UK and India, and one of the highlights is the 10th anniversary celebration of Arundhati Roy’s Booker winner The God of Small Things. The author spotlight is shining on Amitav Ghosh, and Penguin has brought out all Ghosh’s previous titles in a run-up to this summer’s big release: Sea of Poppies.

If you’re a business bug, pick up Billions of Entrepreneurs: How India and China are reshaping their future and yours by Harvard Business School professor Tarun Khanna.

And if that last title was too exhausting for those seeking easy information, head to Rupa (hall 1 F, stall no. 95-114): the publishers are playing a DVD of all their titles on a large television set.

Dropping in next week will prove fruitful as they organise the release of Sons of Babur by Salman Khurshid on February 7, and Gulzar will only be too pleased to sign your copy of his Two Tales of My Time at noon on Friday.

HarperCollins (hall 2, stall no. 677-692) throws up a real treat with the launch of HarperCollins Readers’ Club — an effort to come closer to readers. And they are celebrating Valentine’s Day a week early with Why Mars and Venus Collide — John Gray’s another take on relationships in the 21st century — and The Japanese Wife, Kunal Basu’s collection of 12 short stories about the unexpected.

The book fair has seen an increase in the number children and Katha Book Stall has already sold an encouraging 7,000 copies on the first day. “It’s wonderful to see parents encourage their children to read and especially stories from the country instead of American pop-fiction,” says Amrita Talwar of Katha.

If you want to do your good deed of the day, buy their Book Kit, cloth storybooks available with linen, soft toys for children from the age group of 3-5 years.