London Book Project

June 4, 2007 at 8:53 pm · Filed under Amman

Here’s a brilliant idea:

The London Book Project is a free book exchange on a massive scale. Using the London Underground as a high speed distribution network, we aim to bring real literature to London’s commuters. Scrap the freesheets – read a free book instead!

Over the next two weeks we’ll be distributing thousands of second hand books across the tube and we want YOU to get involved. If you see one of our books, please pick it up! Then read it and replace with any book of your choice. Let’s make the tube a giant, free library! Meanwhile, browse our website to find out more about the London Book Project and some alternative reporting about the world’s most diverse capital city.

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Awesome. The fact that people wouldn’t read in Amman aside, where would you think such a project would work in terms of infrastructure in a city as small as Amman?




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  • http://al-arabiat.blogspot.com Mohanned

    The idea will not work, because books will be used for tormos and sandwishes in jordan, not to forget also the tradition of small kids making fire using books..

  • wa7id

    hehehe, Mohanned that’s funny that’s very close to what i was about to say.
    Imagine little kids, 2a7babo allah, coming from wi7dat marching in a big group of 15 little innocent kids, each one of them equipped with a little moos ta7t lsanoh, and that sweet gang of 2a7babo allah pass jamb a pile of books that say: majjanan.

    momkin tkamli il mash.had ? :D

    but!

    it could totally work if we put the books in maktabit shooman, in the british and french council mathalan, inside all social clubs and gyms, in couple of seriously expensive cafes y3ni, i think if we do that we can make it work.

    sho r2yik inti?:)

    we can put them in universities too, but lazim n7o6 a guard beside each pile to decide if the book that is being put instead of illy bin2akhad is qualified and momkin yin7a6. just a sort of quality control y3ni, o kaman y3ni 2i7im, il shabab fil jam3at zimmit.hom waseee3a shway 3arfih inti :D

  • http://kekosworld.blogspot.com KeKo

    Might just work on the buses that go to Aqaba and Petra :) the journey is long enough and you might get some tourist who well help kick start it.

  • http://kekosworld.blogspot.com KeKo

    opps meant to add, you better now sort it out, I expect it up and running by my next visit :P I might even donate a book or two

  • طفيلي( ahmad)

    There is a statistics studying done by UN about how many books does each person read annually the world they found Arabs are in bottom of list.

    For 1000 persons, one book is read by one of them annually. If there is 400pages in a book that mean each person read 4 pages. The story has finished yet because 60% of these books get read by us, they are trash talking about ghost (JIN) how you avoid or do envy.

  • http://iheartamman.blogspot.com Firas

    In Jordan?

    Thaqafeh Street
    5:00 am: Some ridiculously cute western Ammani kiddos put stacks of free books in the middle Thaqafeh street area
    5:10 am: Abu Ahmad calls Abu Sanad : Bagoolak Hassa3 Jeeb El Bakam o ta3al , la tes’alni leeshبقولك هسع جيب البكم و تعال ، لا تسألني ليش
    5:30 am: Abu Ahmad,Abu Sanad,Ahmad, and Sanad are loading the Bakam with loads of FREE books
    6:00 am: A Basta is being spread in Wast El balad
    8:00 am: Abu Ahmad and Abu Sanad just make 120 Neera
    8:30 am Abu Sanad and Abu Ahmad fight over the 120 Neera
    9:15 am: Ahmad Befga3ing Sanad a moos resulting in 7 stretches.

    Books are evil, and good for heating in Jordan’s winter.

    Maybe that is some negative thinking, but I bet JD500 on this scenario (names and cuteness of people involved may vary).

  • http://iheartamman.blogspot.com Firas

    On a serious note , I think the tunnels in UJ street (ra2eesi and Zera3a) would be perfect.

    Near the small Habeeba place in Wast El Balad, opposite to Kusk abu Sanad el Thaqafi (Abu Sanad won the fight and opened a Kusk near Abu Ali’s)

    Ok, ma asga3ni….

  • http://Abedhamdan.com Abed Hamdan

    The communist cafe in East Amman. Jafna ?? or Javna ?? nseet esmo.

  • http://linasturmoil.blogspot.com Lina

    Abed, it’s Jafra :) and they’re setting up a library there!

    Firas, I was going to say the tunnel in UJ street…
    I think such an idea would be cool on a less local scale, if you do it in airports! Just imagine where the book you leave behind would travel and who might end up reading it. I think I read of a similar project on SubZero Blue’s blog.

    Speaking of used books, I heard that they’re going to set up used book stalls in the renovated rainbow street! I just hope it’s not all the cheap romance novels..

  • http://confessionsofavegetarianshark.blogspot.com/ Ammar

    Ok, one of the best things about being in London is the easy access to large bookshop chains, Waterstones is one, but this is only one part of the coin, the availability of books isn’t enough, you also need a collective culture of “reading”, and unfortunately we lack this culture, reading is just not one of our prefered activities, partly because of the economic dificulties people face..books are considered luxery items, as well as the “culture” of not thinking of reading as a free time activity..its not “fun”. it’s affiliated with studying..ie a duty.

    long story, but basically, reading in our society is a “nuclear” activity. meaning its an activity encouraged..or discouraged on the nucleus scale..immediate families..parents and children…not by any means larger than that.

  • http://www.londonbookproject.com Campaign Manager

    Thanks for linking to the London Book Project! We’ve had some great feedback so far – Check out our latest news on LBP in the blogsphere at: http://www.londonbookproject.com/article/campaignnews

  • http://Abedhamdan.com Abed Hamdan

    Jafra, thanks lina.

    Actually the communists in Jordan are very well cultivated, and I’m not surprised to hear that they will establish a library there.