“A carton of beer seemed more affordable than a reading book.”

How many people have picked up a PNG-authored book and responded in the same way - ‘Wow that’s pricey!’

There’s always plenty of debate across social media about the price tags of various products, whether shoes, bags, perfumes, clothing or gadgets: the same product costing more in one place while lower in another.

The most common explanations are the costs of labour, freight, customs clearance and profit.

I’ve seen entrepreneurs explaining the lengthy and costly process they must go through to manufacture and bring a product to market.

“I hear you and I feel for you,” I think.

Just like entrepreneurs, authors invest time and resources to create a product to sell.

The difference that sets a book apart from other products is the value it of its content.

One book can impact an individual, a family, a community, a village or a country.

If you have 10 people in your home, you don’t have to buy 10 books because one book can be read by everyone.

It doesn’t matter what its size, shape or colour, the book can serve its purpose multiple times.

If you buy a size 16 meri blouse for K50, it can be worn only by women who fit into it. It loses value over time.

A book does not lose value. The colour may fade, pages may tear and the covers drop off, but its content – the words, memories, emotions and story – live on in those people who have held and read it.

With national elections coming up a few days from now, I’d like to see a political party with a policy aimed at improving the country’s literacy rate and ranking on the human development index.

A policy that specifically prioritises libraries and books.

A policy that will bring back to our society what once was the norm: reading at home and in public places –at bus stops and on the bus, in a long queue, at the market and so on.

When you spend K50 on a PNG-authored book, you are at the same time doing four other things:

1. Buying knowledge
2. Making an investment (one book priced at K50 can educate 10 people valued at K500 or 20 people valued at K1,000)
3. Preserving local wisdom and tradition
4. Promoting local literature
5. Creating a chain reaction by tapping into the space that will inspire more Papua New Guineans to get into the habit of reading and writing

So you see, buying a PNG-authored book goes beyond just supporting a local author.

And it all starts if you purchase a book by a Papua New Guinean author.