I usually do. When I go to a library or a bookshop, first thing I do is wander around in search for inspiration. I let the book call me and then when it jumps in my hand, I look at the cover, reading every single tiny detail on it, even the most unusual, like the name of the graphic designer who took care of the "outfit" of the book. Even the touch or the smell are important...is it smooth, or rough? Does it smell of paper and ink? Next step is opening the first page and reading the incipit, just a couple of sentences are enough, and then I go to the last page and read the last word. If it is convincing and awakes my curious, the adventure starts and I bring it home.
That's how I judge a book...but what happens with humans?
Last Thursday, the 1st of October, we went to a human library.
Before applying for this project I had never heard of it, but the name was convincing enough to make me do more research and when I found out what it was, I liked the idea very much. It was one of the tiny details that made me choose this evs instead of another one. It was exciting to finally take part in this event and touch with my hand what it meant and how it worked.
In the frame of Phaneromeni Square, there they were, the human-books, sitting on their shelf, waiting for somebody to be attracted by their cover and starting consultig them. None of them was left to dust, there were enough curious readers for everybody. The organization was very efficient and quick: read the description, choose your book, book your reading and here we go...half an hour of consultation and you return the book to its shelf undamaged, ready to move to the next one.
And what you share is much more than a catchy title or a colorful cover (sometimes white, sometimes black, sometimes both)!
The first minute could be a bit awkward, maybe because it is the first time you read such a book, maybe because you have so many questions that you don't know where to start. But if you allow yourself to go deeper in the conversation, this awkward minute will last just one second and you will dis-cover pages and pages of beautiful different stories. What makes them special is that they are full of feelings, emotions, welcoming smiles, eyes that look directly into yours, eyes that change with every word as the story develops, page after page.
And in the end, when the clock tics its last second, you will find yourself filled with that story, your mind open, your heart thankful, your eyes different. Maybe even your way of looking changed. After sharing somebody else' story, you may realize that in the end, even if we all are different from one another, with different covers, titles, year of publication, graphic designer, stories, ... we still have so much in common, each one of us is special and worth-reading!
Special thanks to the two beautiful books I read and to the ones I didn't read, hoping to have the chance to read them in another library.
That's how I judge a book...but what happens with humans?
Last Thursday, the 1st of October, we went to a human library.
Before applying for this project I had never heard of it, but the name was convincing enough to make me do more research and when I found out what it was, I liked the idea very much. It was one of the tiny details that made me choose this evs instead of another one. It was exciting to finally take part in this event and touch with my hand what it meant and how it worked.
In the frame of Phaneromeni Square, there they were, the human-books, sitting on their shelf, waiting for somebody to be attracted by their cover and starting consultig them. None of them was left to dust, there were enough curious readers for everybody. The organization was very efficient and quick: read the description, choose your book, book your reading and here we go...half an hour of consultation and you return the book to its shelf undamaged, ready to move to the next one.
And what you share is much more than a catchy title or a colorful cover (sometimes white, sometimes black, sometimes both)!
The first minute could be a bit awkward, maybe because it is the first time you read such a book, maybe because you have so many questions that you don't know where to start. But if you allow yourself to go deeper in the conversation, this awkward minute will last just one second and you will dis-cover pages and pages of beautiful different stories. What makes them special is that they are full of feelings, emotions, welcoming smiles, eyes that look directly into yours, eyes that change with every word as the story develops, page after page.
And in the end, when the clock tics its last second, you will find yourself filled with that story, your mind open, your heart thankful, your eyes different. Maybe even your way of looking changed. After sharing somebody else' story, you may realize that in the end, even if we all are different from one another, with different covers, titles, year of publication, graphic designer, stories, ... we still have so much in common, each one of us is special and worth-reading!
Special thanks to the two beautiful books I read and to the ones I didn't read, hoping to have the chance to read them in another library.
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