Book lovers unite! The annual feast of cheap books -- 20% off, at least! – has arrived: the Shanghai Book Fair kicked off on Wednesday at the Shanghai Exhibition Center. Beat the crowds; go at night.

The layout hasn't changed much, with major publishers and bookstores grouped together, and English books relegated to the International Hall (booth: W7-1 to W9-1). It remains a great place to pick up discount bestsellers, like The Dark Tower series (150rmb here, usually 485rmb), and Yuval Noah Harari's Sapiens (68rmb). Art books go even cheaper, at 50-70% off. The hardcovers, like Taschen books, hover around 100rmb. New releases are rarer; I spotted only Jordan Peterson's 12 Rules for Life and Paul French's City of Devils. Penguin Random House, Sinan Book, and the Mix Place, on the other hand, have less mainstream books from authors such as Kazuo Ishiguro, Paul Beatty, and Eley Williams. For Shanghai-philes, Tongji University Press (W16-3) has a number of well-designed bilingual books about Shanghai's urban planning, architecture, and contemporary culture. Meanwhile, Shanghai International Literary Week is taking place around the city. Follow their WeChat (ID: guojiwenxuezhou) for info, though it’s all in Chinese. Authors taking part include Swedish historian Peter Englund, Mozambican Neustadt International Prize winner Mia Couto, and Álvaro Enrique.