A culture of reading

On a slightly rainy winter Saturday afternoon, the only seemingly sensible options were to either take a nap in a cozy bedroom, or make a short trip to the local community library. I opted for the latter, and I was amazed that I discovered a ‘culture’ of reading.

I heard that there was a community library around where I live, and I have moved in this area for around three weeks, but I did not have an opportunity to explore the local public facilities, including the library.

On Saturday afternoon after having the mid-day brunch, Mary and I decided to visit the library. We walked along the Kingsway, and we asked for a number of locals for directions. We passed by a variety of shops and restaurants, where people enjoyed themselves either with grocery shopping, or gourmet food and chatting around with families and friends.

We headed towards the end of the Kingsway where we were told the community library was located. I was saying to Mary, some people needed ‘food’ for their tummies, while others ‘food’ for their brains. We smiled at each other and then went directly into the library.


It was a quiet and medium-sized library, with a reception area, and isles of bookshelves with abundance of books and multimedia products. There were also different sections, where people with different interests could comfortably enjoy themselves, such as children’s story corners, community language reading areas, rooms with glass doors and windows packed with rows of computers. There were, of course, people, young and old, and of difference races, reading, playing around, surfing on the Internet, or simply sitting on couches dozing the weekend afternoon away.

Mary went directly to search for her favorite books, while I went to the Information Desk, where a warm-hearted receptionist greeted me. I said to her that I was new to this community, and she asked me, with a warm smile, whether I could speak and read English. I said I could do with both English and Chinese.

She then passed on a library membership pack to me, and she also said she would print out several pages of the ‘terms and conditions’ for users of the library. She asked whether I would prefer a Chinese version of the printouts. I responded ‘yes’, and she followed up by asking whether I would like a Mandarin or a traditional Chinese version. I said I could read both, but I’d prefer ‘traditional Chinese’.

In just a couple of minutes, the receptionist processed my membership application and issued me a library card, while in the meantime, she was having a lovely chat with me about the community, about how I could make use of the library and the different branches of the library in different areas, and she also chatted with me about my daughter, about the differences between a young child and a teenager or a young adult.

With a brand new library card, I felt like a member of the community, and a full-fledged user of the library. I looked along shelves upon shelves, and I picked a couple of books, about Hong Kong, and about China in the 70s and 80s, and a novel by Eileen Chang for my wife, entitled ‘Little Reunion’.


With the books in hand, I was looking for Mary. At a Children’s Corner, I found her sitting comfortably on a huge beanbag besides a window, spoiling herself with a teen’s story book, and she was already 2/3 into the book. I approached her and showed her the books I selected, and then sat next to her on the beanbag, reading mine.

Mary and I were like travellers, taking a rest in an oasis after a long journey. Both of us enjoy reading, from Perth to Hong Kong, and currently in Melbourne. Libraries have always been our hideouts or sanctuaries. We didn’t speak to each other, but we both immersed in the culture of reading.

After reading for a while, I stood up and walked around for a break, and I saw kids with their parents look for their favourite books. One of the kids was all on his own, standing on a jumbo step reaching the top of a shelf for a book of his favourite detective series. I was touched by what I saw, so I took a snapshot of it, and I also imprinted the image subconsciously onto my memory.

Walking home with Mary with a bag of books and CDs, I felt like coming back from a local tour of culture reading. I was thoroughly impressed by how much people (including kids) still love reading in this electronic era, and how the community library nurtures a culture of reading.