From the love of books, many clubs and groups across Da Nang have connected and shared their interests and reading habits in order to find companions and spread the reading culture to everyone.

Many universities and colleges across Da Nang encourage their students to go to libraries to read books. IN THE PHOTO: Students of the Da Nang College of Commerce are seen reading a book in the library. Photo: H.L

Towards the reading community

After a nearly 4-months hiatus period, the Da Nang Reading Club has just held two consecutive activities to introduce two books titled ‘The Courage of Saints’ and ‘Irrational’.

Self-identified as a bookworm, Chairman of the Da Nang Reading Club Nguyen Tat Truong said his love of books motivated him to set up a free reading community in the city.

According to Truong, many young people citywide are passionate about reading but have not found a suitable reading space.

“In Ha Noi, there are many academic groups such as Hobelap, Bookhunter, F-group, and Sophie Library, which satisfies the reading needs of young people. In addition, these groups regularly organise seminars to discuss classic books related to economics, culture, science, philosophy and literature. This is also the reason why I am determined to form a free reading community in Da Nang in early 2022", Truong shared.

Till date, the club has had dozens of members who majorly are students. The club is a place where everyone listens, shares the joy of reading, and at the same time motivates each other to maintain the good reading habit.

In addition to talk shows about books, the club offers prizes to individuals for sharing interesting and meaningful books.

Currently, the Da Nang Reading Club maintains its activities at book cafes on weekends.

Regularly participating in such activities, Tran Thi Minh Hue, a member of the Da Nang Reading Club, said that her reading habit and hobby have changed positively after connecting and interacting with the community.

“In the past, I only liked reading economic and financial books. At present, thanks to everyone's sharing, I read more classic literary novels and have the opportunity to access more books by attending book content sharing sessions with other club members" Hue said.

Book-related activities maintained

Over the past time, many universities and colleges in the city have paid great attention to organising book-related activities.

For example, at the reading festival themed ‘Turn pages of books - Fly your dreams’ organised by the Students’ Association of the Da Nang University of Economics in late April, Mrs. Ngo Phuong Thao, Director of the Anbooks Co., Ltd. shared the experience of reading and choosing books in the digital era.

According to Mrs. Thao, in order to read books effectively, readers should open up an interactive space that integrates the following elements: reading, seeing, feeling, sharing, and even interacting with authors and publishers.

In addition, many publishers are trying to find effective ways to publish books, such as interactive and online books, in order to provide readers with new experience.

Moreover, book exchange activities take place regularly to spread reading culture to students.

After only 5 days of organisation, the event to swap books for stone lotus pots, hosted by the Book Club of the Viet Nam-UK Institute for Research and Executive Education in Da Nang (VNUK) in April, collected nearly 300 books of all kinds. The books were then donated to the school library, aiming to enrich sources of books at the school.

Student Dinh Thi Ngoc Anh, Chairman of the VNUK Book Club, said that this was the second time the club had organised the event to swap books for stone lotus pots. The event was responded to by many lecturers and students.

Anh said that the activity partly helped the club to survey the reading situation among students, and increased opportunities for students to connect with the school library’s activities.

Reporting by HUYNH LE - Translating by M.DUNG