What Hong Kong can learn from China’s bookshop cafes
I am writing in response to the article, “China bookshops offer an old-school reading experience in the digital age” (May 28), about the resurgence of modern bricks-and-mortar bookshops in mainland China.
In the digital era, being tech-savvy seems to be the way to survive. Using a “dumbphone” on the street, you become the centre of ridicule; reading a novel in a train, you will probably hear whispers that you want to look scholarly and gain respect. It is no wonder that stalwart supporters of physical books feel dejected about the declining reading habits of Hongkongers.
China bookshops offer space to relax and read
Whether it is plausible to adopt such multi-functional design in Hong Kong’s existing bookstores does depend on the degree of our government’s advocacy of reading and people’s will to take it up as a pastime.
Cash rewards for bookshops in Chinese reading campaign
Natalie Mak, Diamond Hill