'Naked reading' scandalizes Nanjing   

裸体阅读引争议：到底贴近了什么灵魂？

(ECNS) -- Posters of two nude girls reading books, part of an exhibition of "naked reading" held by the Popular Book Mall in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, has caused a stir among readers.

Captions like "Let's make our souls connect with the books," and "Reading books naked, the real beauty" are written below the pictures. But some onlookers wondered: "Is there really any connection between reading and being naked?"

"What if children see those pictures?" said a parent concerned that the photos would pose a negative influence on minors.

"The development of e-books and online book stores has been gaining momentum in recent years. The event has been designed to call more attention to printed books," said Zhu Min, sales manager of the Popular Book Mall.

"We want people to focus more on the development of printed books, so we decided to hold this eye-catching event to make our voices heard by the public," said Zhu.

Facing concerns over the possible negative influence of the pictures on minors, Zhu said that because the bodily positions of the models are covered by books, there is nothing unsuitable for children to see in the pictures.