People read in the newly opened branch of Sanlian Taofen Bookstore in Beijing. The opening of 24-hour bookstore has been welcomed by the students and residents nearby (XINHUA)
Devoted book lovers
Liu Zheng, a movie investor, insists sparing one hour for reading every day and shares notes with friends on WeChat. "Reading is a habit that I have maintained for years, but one that my busy work schedule almost stole from me."
Liu's reading covers a wide range including history, the movie industry, politics and psychology, among others. "No matter what your job is, reading can help to expand your world view and you may even find solution to your troubles in an unexpected way," said Liu. "I hear many complain that they are too busy to read, but reading and work are not mutually exclusive."
Liu has a collection of more than 500 books. "I actually bought many more than this, but give many away to friends. Sharing books is also a pleasure for me."
There is an ancient saying in China which goes "stealing books is not considered theft", which shows the nation's cultural priority for seeking knowledge.
Kang Xia, a book lover that lives in Beijing, is about to move to New York City soon. He has a collection of 1,741 books which he selected from many book stores around the world. He thought about how to deal with these piles of books and finally decided to sell them online.
"You just need to tell me your preferences and I'll pick some for you and mail the books to you. For 60 yuan ($9.7), you can get three books and for 90 yuan ($14.5), five. I assure you these are very high-quality books and you will get more than what you pay for," says Kang in the advertisement.
Kang posted the advertisement online on May 16, and within two hours, his bank account received more than 200,000 yuan ($32,258), far exceeding his expected number.
"It was more than a surprise," said Kang. "People swarmed to pay me money and I have to pay many of them the money back as I don't have any books to mail to them."
"It is a novel way to sell books and I saw his book list and was marveled by his selection. Some books were already out of print, I think that is why people were so excited," said Bai Xiaofei, a college student from Renmin University.
Some didn't understand it. "Why do they collect books?" pondered college student Xiao Yiran from Beijing Normal University. "All those 1,741 books can be stored in a Kindle and you can carry them anywhere you go. Why bother with buying and selling?"
Xiao said he had downloaded more than 100 books onto his Kindle after he bought it in 2012 but only finished seven.
Xie Yihai, a 32-year-old journalist who described himself as having "book fever," has a collection of more than 3,000 books. "I didn't read them all for sure, actually with some of the books, I just love the cover design."
Xie revealed that he earns about 10,000 yuan ($1,613) a month but spends about 3,000 yuan ($483.9) on buying books. "I tried a Kindle but it doesn't feel right for me. I love the smell of ink on the books and you can't get that from an e-book."
