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April 23 is World Book Day－a day for celebration of all things wonderful about books, especially for bibliophiles. At SCNU, book lovers, whether it be faculty and staff, or students, all find it a good opportunity to express their love for books.
Xiao Na, a teacher from the School of Foreign Studies, is one of them. In the teacher’s office, as usual, she just picks up a book after finishing checking students’ homework. She says that she usually reads at least two hours, and up to 8 hours every day. “Through reading, I can get to know lives of different people in our society so I can have an overall picture of the whole society.” For her, reading has become a routine.
Xiao Na usually spends at least two hours reading every day.
What’s more, Xiao says reading enables her to deal with problems that already happened and those yet not occurring. “For most people, they may just shift their focus by singing or other things else when a problem comes, but it won’t be solved. Instead, for me, I resort to books, and through reading learn how to solve problems, hopefully even in different ways,” she says. “The more I read, the more able I am to find solutions to problems, and even predict them in advance—so why bother to be annoyed next time you encounter them?”
Xiao says she has read at least 100 books over the last year, that is, almost two books a week. She believes reading is a vital and inseparable part of her daily life.
Like Xiao, Qiu Ling, a postgraduate at the School of Education, is also a big fan of books. She tops the list of the students with the most borrowed books for year 2020, according to statistics from the school library.
Qiu Ling tops the list of students with the most borrowed books for year 2020.
“A place piled with books is my peaceful utopia, where I can explore endlessly without interruption and observe the outside world in a deeper way.” she says.
Nowadays, with a choice of innumerable books, some people are trapped by the dilemma of which book to choose. Focusing on this confusion, Qiu, as an arts postgraduate, considers: “For me, classics should be the prime choice,” revealing that for her, what really matters is the value of the book, rather than the quantity of books read..
“When it comes to reading translated works, it is better for us to take notice of publishers and translators,” she adds. “Books we read should also be of our interest and within our reading ability, so that we won’t be discouraged to finish a book.”
In the university library, there is a dazzling array of books on the shelves and in display cases, which is undoubtedly an appeal to book lovers. However, what attracts SCNUers more often are postings announcing reading activities on the LED-screen.
Wang Chunfang, a librarian working in the reading promotion department, has taken part in the design of such activities. “I hope what we do helps students foster good reading habits!” Wang says.
Wang Chunfang works to promote reading at the school library.
She recalls one of the books that impressed her most during her college days. “I was completely blown away by the novel The Count of Monte Cristo,” she says. “The main character reignited his hope for survival in prison by taking in large volumes of books. Inspired by his resilience, I also find my own way out of any confusing period of time.” She hopes students at SCNU can draw on her experience, and thus be enlightened in a similar way, at a younger age.
According to Wang, the reading promotion events have started since 2016. To ensure students’ reading experience, before every book session, she and her colleagues read the books that they need to share first, which sometimes makes them stay up late. “I do wish through those events our library can cultivate an atmosphere with a profound humanistic spirit so that students learn to love reading, and thinking deeply in a joyful way."
“Until now, we have explored different innovative forms of activities related to reading, such as selecting a proper book list and exploring many other auxiliary ways to help them absorb the content of these books better. In the future, the reading project will target various book genres for readers at different levels.”
If you have any impulse to read, don’t hesitate. Just to do that, especially on this special day. One thing is for sure, reading never fails you. Why not just embrace it?
Some sources from SCNU News Agency
Written by Liu Yalin, Guo Zekai
Proofread by Edwin Baak
Edited by Li Jianru
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