India IS A rare country where hawkers(街头小贩) still peddle pirated books(兜售盗版书籍) at traffic lights. Congestion is often terrible, it is true, but it is not novel-length(小说长度的) bad. The black-market trade(黑市交易) saysseveral things about the place: that there are not enough bookshops; that Indians are keen readers; and that copyright enforcement(版权执法) is somewhat lax. No matter. For many authors—if not their publishers—seeing knock-off versions of their books from car windows is the ultimate sign of success.(对许多作者而言，看到自己作品的盗版出现在车窗前是成功的终极标志。)
印度是一个罕见的国家，小贩仍在红绿灯处兜售盗版书。交通堵塞固然糟糕，但还不至于像小说那样冗长。黑市交易说明了该国的一些情况：书店不够多；印度人热爱阅读；版权执法有些宽松。不过没关系。对许多作者——如果不是他们的出版商——而言，从车窗看到自己书籍的翻版是成功的终极标志。
The observant commuter(细心的通勤者) will spot something else. In a country where only a small minority has any facility(能力，熟练) with the language, and an infinitesimally tiny(极其微小的) one speaks it natively(以之为母语), all the books sold at red lights are in English. So are most of those at roadside second-hand-book dealers, in bookshops and in the top 100 on Amazon India. English-language books make up about half of (non-educational) official sales. For a country as linguistically and culturally kaleidoscopic(千变万化的) as India, that makes English books a rare example of common ground(共同基础). What Indians read offers a glimpse of their hopes and dreams.
细心的通勤者会注意到另一件事。在一个只有少数人掌握英语、几乎没人以英语为母语的国家，所有在红绿灯处出售的书籍都是英语的。路边二手书商、书店和亚马逊印度站前100名中的大部分也是如此。英语书籍约占（非教育类）官方销售额的一半。对于印度这样一个语言和文化如同万花筒般的国家，英语书籍成了罕见的共同基石。印度人读什么揭示了他们的希望与梦想。
Bookshop displays and bestseller lists reveal the chief concern(主要关注点) of the Indian reader to be self-improvement(自我提升). English is itself the biggest giveaway(最大的线索): it is the language of aspiration(抱负的语言), not of pleasure. The split within English(英语书籍内部的分化) is illuminating(有启迪作用的), too. Half of all books sold are non-fiction, with fiction and children’s books roughly equal. That is in contrast to other big English-language markets, where fiction has a clear lead.
书店陈列和畅销榜单显示，印度读者最关心的是自我提升。英语本身就是最大的线索：它是抱负的语言，而非娱乐的语言。英语书籍内部的分化也颇具启发。售出的书中一半是非虚构类，虚构类和儿童书大致相当。这与其他大型英语市场形成对比，在那些市场，虚构类明显占优。