Reading into the joy of books

Dubai - The UAE's campaign declaring 2016 as the Year of Reading has proven a success

Despite the pervasiveness of digital devices, many people still prefer to have a tactile connection with whatever they read. They say that reading a book held in your hands is an entirely different experience than reading the same text on a screen.
This is not to belabour the divide between e-books and the printed ones because reading is still reading in whatever form and shape. But for some people, the joy of reading is not fulfilled without flipping through every page and enjoying the smell of paper and ink. Luckily, Dubai - very much digitally connected to the world - remains a haven to these 'traditional' readers.
Khaleej Times have scored various bookstores - not the ones found in the malls -- and we've seen people huddled in the corners, indulging in their favourite book. These 'friendly' neighbourhood bookshops are quite becoming popular, specially for those who are looking for a more homely bookstore - where they can sit, relax and read without having to trek all the way to the malls to reach the franchise bookstores.
And it is good to note that reading is alive and well in this part of world - the UAE's campaign declaring 2016 as the Year of Reading has proven a success.
Proof of this is the recent Arab Reading Index, ranking the UAE fourth among 22 Arab nations surveyed. Statistics show that readers in the UAE spend an average of 51 hours a year reading, with each one finishing 24 books every year. Of those books, 18 are in Arabic, with the other eight being in other languages. An average of 15 books are read extracurricularly or for reasons other than work.
Truly, it's a good time for reading and book lovers in the UAE.
reporters@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai