The annual Vietnamese Book Day will open on Saturday in HCM City, featuring a book fair and exhibition as well as talk shows. — VNS Photo Nguyen Manh Ha

HCM CITY (VNS) – The annual Vietnamese Book Day will open on Saturday in HCM City, featuring a book fair and exhibition as well as talk shows.

The four-day event Tu Hao Lich Su – Vung Buoc Tuong Lai (Being Proud of Vietnamese History – Stepping Forward to the Future) celebrates the 40th anniversary of Reunification Day (April 30), and the 70th anniversary of National Day (September 2).

The Viet Nam Publishers Association will work with major publishers and distributors such as Kim Dong , Phuong Nam and Nha Nam to offer their latest books.

The General Sciences Library of HCM City will present an exhibition displaying more than 1,600 titles on the resistance war against the Americans, President Ho Chi Minh, Vietnamese heroes, and the country's development. There will be talk shows between readers and authors, as well as discussions on reading habits and skills.

A fair offering old books is expected to be a place where visitors can find their favourites, both in Vietnamese and foreign languages.

Le Thai Hy, director of the city's Department of Information and Communications, said the event aims to honour and promote the reading habit, and encourages cultural agencies and organisations to focus on developing the habit among young people.

The event will be held in front of the Post Office, District 1. — VNS