Last week I only had to go to work for two days (Monday and Tuesday) because it was the first term break of the academic year. I didn't have any plan to leave Jakarta and go on a trip on my holiday so I thought I would fill it with something good, positive and enlightening. As if God knew my intention (haha), God made my old friend contact me before the holiday and inform me about an event that was going to be held by the company where she works. The event is a mini gathering for bloggers who write about books. I thought the event was a great opportunity because it would allow me to meet new people who blog and are passionate about books, just like me. So I registered for the event and went there last weekend.
The event is called Book Lovers in Digital World and it was organized by a company called Yes24 Indonesia. When you hear the name of the company, you might directly associate it with Korean things. Yes, the company does sell things like cosmetics, CDs and clothes from Korea, but I found out from the event last week that Yes24 Indonesia also sells books online. I first thought that they only sell Korean books, but I checked their website (http://www.yes24.co.id/) and found that they have many kinds of books in their online store. They have books about religions, dictionaries, language books, children books, imported books written in English and Korean, school books and textbooks. I checked the fiction section in the English books category, typed up some book titles in the search box and found all the books that I looked for in their collection. So I think their collection is pretty complete. I'm definitely going to try buying books from them because I love buying books online; it's easier and sometimes I just don't have time to go to bookstores. I will use the vouchers they gave me last weekend too hahaha.
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| Me and the other participants at Yes24 Indonesia's office. Go check their website and start shopping! |
At the event, I met other bloggers and we shared our thoughts and feelings about being loyal fans of printed books in the era of e-books. Even though our lives can't be separated from digital devices these days, it turns out that book lovers, including myself, still prefer reading printed books. The attendees have many different reasons why they choose printed books over e-books, but I myself like printed books more because reading them has its own sensation. Flipping the pages, folding the top right or left of a page when you find a good quote there, journeying from the first page until the very last one... There's nothing quite like it. E-books might be easier to access and more efficient, but I will always love printed books more.
The discussion got more exciting and interesting as we continued talking about our love for books. We all agreed that we have to spread our love of reading to other people because the people in our country, Indonesia, have generally low interest to read. I personally think that we should make reading a habit. How can we do it? I would suggest what my school does (I work as a teaching assistant for an international school in Jakarta). There, there is one period every week when the students can go to the library and choose some books to be taken home and read. After they finish choosing, they usually sit with the librarian and listen to a story that he reads from a book. My students really enjoy these activities. I think these activities really help growing children's love for books and turn reading into a habit for them.
So, I had so much fun attending the event last weekend. I hope there will be more events like this in the future because I would love to join more events like this. It's just really nice to meet and talk to people who have the same interest as me. Thank you, Yes24 Indonesia, for creating the event!
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| Our discussion |
The discussion got more exciting and interesting as we continued talking about our love for books. We all agreed that we have to spread our love of reading to other people because the people in our country, Indonesia, have generally low interest to read. I personally think that we should make reading a habit. How can we do it? I would suggest what my school does (I work as a teaching assistant for an international school in Jakarta). There, there is one period every week when the students can go to the library and choose some books to be taken home and read. After they finish choosing, they usually sit with the librarian and listen to a story that he reads from a book. My students really enjoy these activities. I think these activities really help growing children's love for books and turn reading into a habit for them.
So, I had so much fun attending the event last weekend. I hope there will be more events like this in the future because I would love to join more events like this. It's just really nice to meet and talk to people who have the same interest as me. Thank you, Yes24 Indonesia, for creating the event!
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