As a translator and author of many published books, Nguyen Quoc Vuong is also known as a speaker with reading promotion activities in many localities across the country.
On the occasion of his recent visit to Tien Giang to attend a talk on “Developing reading culture in the digital age”, Nguyen Quoc Vuong shared about the role, significance and experience of building a “Family Bookshelf”.
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According to speaker Nguyen Quoc Vuong, a reality in our country today is that houses often have all the necessary things except for bookshelves. If we want citizens to have the habit of reading, we must have a reading environment right at home, through building and exploiting family bookshelves. Although family bookshelves are small, they will bring many benefits.
First, it creates a connection between family members. Parents and grandparents read books to their children and grandchildren. These activities help to bond people, strengthen emotional ties, and increase empathy.
Second, family bookshelves create a cultural and learning environment suitable for children's healthy development, helping them to passionately learn about the world around them.
Third, family bookshelves are a useful tool for the whole family to participate in building a learning society, improving the quality of family life in terms of material and spiritual aspects.
* Reporter: Up to this point, how has the book impacted you and your family, as well as the personal path you have chosen?
* Translator Nguyen Quoc Vuong: I was born in a small, poor village in Bac Giang province, far from the center, but I was lucky to read books since I was a child because my father was a Math teacher but loved books. He had a bookshelf in the house for the whole family to read since the 1980s.
Thanks to that, I read books from a very early age and read a lot of books during my high school years. All four of my sisters were like that. As a result, all four of them went to university later, and I went to graduate school and research in Japan.
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| Nguyen Quoc Vuong takes pictures with Tien Giang readers. |
Now both my sister and I are writers. I think the books I read and the bookish environment in my family had a big influence on my studies and my current job.
My children are also children who love to read and read often. Living in an apartment in Hanoi, I turned the living room into a “family library” with lots of books. My life is now closely linked to books, from work to pleasure, entertainment…
For me, a translator, writer and reader, books are extremely important tools and means.
* Reporter: A question that many people are concerned about is how to create a reading habit, especially for young people?
* Translator Nguyen Quoc Vuong: To form a habit, you need an environment, long-term practice, and the right method. If parents can create a suitable reading space in the family, read to their children from 0-6 years old regularly and persistently, then there is a high possibility that the child will become a book lover and have a reading habit. As children grow older, forming good habits like reading will become more difficult.
| Speaker Nguyen Quoc Vuong (born in 1982), is the author of more than 70 translated and written books on many fields such as: History, reading culture, school education... have been published. He graduated from Hanoi Pedagogical University, majoring in History, and spent 8 years studying abroad and doing PhD research in Japan. Nicknamed "The Street Book Seller", Nguyen Quoc Vuong is also known as a dynamic speaker in the field of reading promotion in Vietnam. |
To build and exploit the family bookshelf effectively, it is necessary to design a reading space and a suitable bookshelf arrangement space. The place where the bookshelf is placed should be close, a space where family members always come and go, easy to concentrate. The books put in the bookshelf should be suitable for the needs of each family member and should be updated and supplemented regularly.
Children’s books should be placed low, within reach of children. Parents and grandparents need to set an example in reading and need to actively read to their children or discuss with them the books they are reading or have read. Families can also open their family bookcases for nearby families to borrow and read, creating a community of book lovers…
In addition, each family needs to choose books that are suitable for themselves instead of trying to read difficult books right from the start. You can use your current interests (football, health, love, work, etc.) as a starting point to choose books. You can also seek advice and suggestions about reading categories from others.
When reading, don’t read too much. Just read a little at a time, and when you get to an interesting part, you can stop and “save it” for the next day. When you feel comfortable reading for a while, you can gradually increase the reading time…
Practicing consistently for a period of time such as 6 months or 1 year will have solid results. In the reading process, it is necessary to combine many parallel operations such as: Reading - imagining, reading - thinking, reading - writing, reading - speaking, reading - practicing...
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* Reporter: Your journey of spreading reading culture to everyone over the years has been a long and arduous journey. Can you share more about your passion for work?
* Translator Nguyen Quoc Vuong: I started focusing my work on reading promotion in 2017 and devoted full time to it since 2020. At first, I encountered many difficulties without the support of those around me.
There are many differences between ideals and reality, between mission and real life. However, I am also lucky that some macro policies have contributed to promoting reading such as: "Vietnam Book Day", "Library Law" ... were issued promptly. Before me, there were many people who pioneered the path of reading promotion, typically Mr. Nguyen Quang Thach with the movement "Rural Bookization", so I have learned a lot of experience for myself.
Besides, the more I promote reading, the more people support and help me. They connect me to give talks everywhere, build bookshelves and libraries with me, encourage relatives and friends to read books, donate books to disadvantaged areas and buy the books I translate and write… This is a great source of encouragement for me.
* Reporter: Coming to Tien Giang to discuss books this time, what impressed you the most?
* Translator Nguyen Quoc Vuong : This is the first time I have interacted and talked about reading promotion in Tien Giang. I was surprised that everyone participated in large numbers and seriously, really listening. In the program, many young people asked me many interesting and profound questions.
This shows the great potential of Tien Giang in developing a reading culture. Your questions during the exchange also reminded me once again of my mission. I hope to have many opportunities to return here to exchange with readers and conduct reading promotion activities in the near future.
* Reporter: Thank you translator!
KHANH NHU (performed)
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